Shrewsbury Crown Court fined Jarsan Ltd and company officer Thomas Edward Jones £24,000 with £45,000 in costs for offences relating to illegal waste activities.

The Court ordered that Jones rather than the company should pay the fine and costs

The prosecution related to the deposit of between 21,000 and 31,000 tonnes of waste soil and rubble at Knockin Heath Business Park in rural Shropshire.

Some of the waste originated from the construction of a new superstore in Welshpool, where Jarsan, trading as Rob Jones Tractor Hire, was one of the appointed waste management companies.

Jones was a director of Greyhound Services Ltd and an officer of Jarsan who own and operate Knockin Heath Business Park on the B4396 between Shrewsbury and Knockin.

Jarsan had registered a series of waste management exemptions with the Environment Agency but in May 2010 officers visited the Knockin Heath Business Park in order to investigate waste soil and rubble deposited at the site.

They discovered that that far more waste soil and rubble had been deposited than that permitted by the waste exemptions.

Speaking after the case, an Environment Agency officer in charge of the investigation said: “We use permit exemptions to enable the reuse and recycling of waste materials, but we ensure that measures are in place to protect the environment.

“Waste crime is a serious offence with tough penalties as it can damage the environment, blight local communities and undermine those who operate legally. This case demonstrates that we will not hesitate to prosecute when circumstances warrant it.”