A haulage and site clearance company has been prosecuted for illegally dumping thousands of tonnes of soil and stone on farmland in Devon.

CC Haulage & Sons Ltd, based at Manor Farm, Colebrooke, Crediton was fined £14,000 with £5,000 in costs at Exeter Crown Court on Wednesday, 15 January. A £90,000 Proceeds of Crime confiscation order was also imposed by Judge Geoffrey Mercer.

The Environment Agency (EA) visited Beech Down Farm in Tedburn St Mary in November 2016 where waste was being tipped into a valley by CC Haulage.

Farmers are allowed to accept up to 1,000 tonnes of non-hazardous waste including soil and stone under a permission known as an 'exemption' that is commonly used on farms to build hard-standings, bases for buildings and tracks and doesn't need an environmental permit.

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However, inquiries revealed CC Haulage had deposited 7,820 tonnes of waste at the farm. Excessive quantities of waste, much of it from building and construction sites, had also been tipped at three other Devon farms at Longdown, Exeter, Yeoford and Crediton.

The EA was made aware of the offences after examining waste transfer notes that identified CC Haulage as the source of the excessive amounts of waste material. The company also benefitted financially by paying the farmers less to accept the waste than it was charging its clients to take the material away.

CC Haulage said it believed the farmers had the necessary permits to accept the waste, but admitted the company should have checked.

Richard Cloke of the Environment Agency said: "Haulage businesses must ensure they comply with the limits and conditions of environmental permits and exemptions.

"These are in place to stop the illegal deposit of waste, protect the environment and create a level playing field for the waste industry."

(LM)