Man who ran illegal tip in Sunderland ordered to pay more than £1,700

Jonathan Patrick Finn, 21, of Flaxtead Grange, Sunderland Road, Newbottle, admitted illegally storing and treating mixed waste when he appeared at South Tyneside Magistrates Court and was handed a £200 fine with £1,530 costs.

The court heard Finn leased land on the north side of Sheepfolds Road in January 2016. The land had previously been fly-tipped and Finn was offered six months’ rent free and £3,000 in return for lawfully disposing of the waste. Instead, he added to it.

Between January 4 and 8, CCTV captured a red flat-back lorry, laden with waste, approaching the site. Footage showed the lorry leaving empty a short time later. On January 4, a fire was also photographed on the site.

When Environment Agency officers visited the site on February 2 they saw around five tonnes of waste, including construction waste, plastics and timber on the road outside. The court heard officers visited the site twice more, each time reporting an increase in waste.

In May, the land owner was given four weeks to clear the waste after Environment Officers were informed Finn had abandoned the site. They discovered waste was being cleared to a site at Pallion Industrial Estate, owned by Finn’s father who confirmed some of the waste had come from Sheepfolds.

Rachael Caldwell from the Environment Agency said: “Environmental laws are there to protect communities and the environment from pollution.”