A Sunderland man has been ordered to pay more than £12,000 following a hearing at Sunderland Magistrates Court.

Mr Clifford Shee, 55, of Bright Street in Sunderland, was successfully prosecuted by the Environment Agency and fined £1999 (£1230 for charge 1, £769 for charge 2). He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £120, plus costs of £10,800, taking the total to £12919.

Mr Shee, who ran the operation from a site on Burham Road, Birtley, was prosecuted for operating outside the requirements of three exempt waste activities, including illegally storing mixed waste onsite containing general waste and foodstuffs, inappropriate storage of hazardous waste, and a failure to keep accurate details of waste transfer documentation between September 2017 and February 2018.

He was also prosecuted for failing to safely store 99 45-gallon drums containing polluting, hazardous and combustible wastes, which were carelessly located near a ditch running into Rowletch Burn, a short distance from the main North South Railway line.

Although the drums were initially fly-tipped on to his property, Mr Shee failed to take the appropriate steps to remove the hazardous items, storing them outside in the open air, disregarding the risks to the environment and neighbouring premises. He ignored all advice and guidance provided to him by the Environment Agency and deliberately continued to operate his waste company in breach of the rules.

Johnathan Stirland, acting on behalf of the defendant, told magistrates that Mr Shee had gaps in his knowledge about operating the site and was keen to undertake training.

Magistrates found Mr Shee’s operation of the facility without a permit as deliberate, telling him “…you knew what you did was wrong and you did it for a long period of time”, and that he “…disregarded advice given”.

Jamie Fletcher, Area Environment Manager for the Environment Agency, said: “Our role as regulator aims to help protect the public, residents and the environment from situations that may potentially cause serious harm. In the case of Mr Shee, he continuously ignored the advice from the Agency, and ran a waste company that was in breach of environmental rules that are in place for a reason: to help people.

“The successful prosecution and level of fine shows how the Environment Agency is always looking to clamp down on unlawful activities, and will seek to bring to justice those individuals and businesses who aim to bend the rules.”