A CONTROVERSIAL farmer who flouted environmental orders by dumping and burning waste has been ordered to pay £18,000 in prosecution costs and fines.

Sitting at Preston Crown Court, Judge Philip Parry also gave John Leslie Allison, 71, until June 30 to clear waste from land at Hubbs House Farm and Delves Lane, Colne, or face further court action.

Prosecuting the case at an earlier hearing, Rosalind Emsley-Smith told Burnley Crown Court how Environment Agency officers had noticed an increase of waste on the Delves Lane site in September 2015.

Over a number of separate areas of land there was household waste and builders’ waste.

Agency officer Gabriella Boca visited the site on October 22, 2015, and noticed an increase in waste, which included pellets, builders’ waste in bags, piles of bricks and wood.

Eight days later Ms Boca spotted Allison attaching a rusty trailer full of waste to the back of his tractor in Scotland Road, Colne.

Allison admitted he wasn’t a registered carrier for waste.

On December 2, 2015, Allison was seen on his land in Delves Lane driving the tractor, which had a trailer full of waste on the back.

Ms Boca noticed an increase in waste on the site, including building bricks, carpets, linoleum and plastic bags full of household waste.

On one of the locations alone there was waste covering between 90 and 100 square metres, Ms Emsley-Smith said.

Allison had said the waste had been prepared for a bonfire and the court heard the fire service had attended the site on November 11 and used 4,000 litres of water to extinguish a fire.

At that time Allison was issued with advice that what he was doing in Delves Lane was illegal.

Ms Boca returned to the site on December 17, 2015, and there was an increase waste. There was also evidence that attempts had been made to burn it.

Ms Boca returned to the site on February 1, 2016, and saw the trailer full of waste parked at the entrance.

In full view of the officer, Allison unhooked the trailer and tipped its contents on top of existing waste on the land.

Allison told the officer he didn’t bring waste on to the land and what he was tipping was from a ‘dig-out’ - soil he had dug up from elsewhere.

Ms Boca observed waste on one part of the site now totalled between 100 and 120 square metres.

On February 18 the agency served a Section 59 notice on Allison, requiring him to remove the waste on his land.

But when officers returned the following month the waste had increased to cover between 280 and 290 square metres.

On May 15, he was witnessed by two of his neighbours towing waste in his trailer.

On June 14, agency officer Christopher Jamieson spotted Allison with a trailer full of clay and waste. Despite being warned by the officer that he would be committing a criminal offence, Allison tipped it anyway.

Ms Emsley-Smith told the court that when the agency’s interventions weren’t working, Lancashire County Council’s Trading Standards department took their own action.

On September 29 Allison was sent stop notices warning him that he did not have planning permission to run a waste site.

Officers visited the site on October 6 and October 24 and discovered even more waste had been dumped on the site and he had taken no notice of the stop notice.

Allison, of Hubbs House Farm, Southfield Lane, Colne, admitted two counts of breaching an enforcement notice, one of contravening the requirements of an environmental permit and two of breaching the terms of a suspended sentence requirement.

Defending, Robert Elias said his client was vulnerable and had been the target of fly-tippers.

He said: “He’s an isolated individual who is stubborn.

“He has not taken steps to stop others exploiting his naivety.”