Thousands of sinks dumped in field

10:24pm Monday 4th February 2008

Comments (27)   Have your say »

By David Watkinson »

THOUSANDS of ceramic sinks were strewn across a beauty spot in an "appalling" act of fly-tipping.

The sinks were scattered across greenbelt land on a hillside between the Waterside area of Darwen and Belthorn.

The dumping began last February and has blighted the landscape for a year, even though those responsible have now been brought to court.

Magistrates heard that the scrap Belfast-style sinks belonged to Shaws of Darwen, which pleaded guilty to three separate offences relating to duty of care in relation to waste and was fined £4,545 with £205 costs.

The Blackburn court heard that landowner Morton Hamer, of Sandy Lane, Lower Darwen, wanted to "tidy up the site" and use the sinks as hardcore for a landscaping project.

He and contractor Richard Catterall, of Spencer Street, Accrington, pleaded guilty to depositing controlled waste on land but were fined just £215 and £315 respectively as well as being told to pay £60 costs.

Darwen east rural councillor Julie Slater, who represetns the affected area, said: "This is a lovely area where people go walking.

"I am shocked at this appalling act and I think the magistrates should have come down much harder on the landowner and contractor.

"A small fine doesn't sent out the right message."

Hamer does not have any planning permission to build at the site but a decision on how and when the site is cleaned up has yet to be made by Blackburn with Darwen Council, which discovered the dumping.

A spokesman said a decision on removing the sinks will be made after a planning application from Hamer to use the site for vehicle turning and parking is heard.

The application is likely to be refused because it involves greenbelt land.

After the case, Coun Salim Lorgat, the council's executive member for housing and neighbourhoods, said: "This is a shocking amount of waste and highly unusual.

"The sheer scale of the waste at the site is something that I have never seen before and completely over the top.

"This was an excellent result for the council and it sends out a clear message that we will investigate and prosecute where possible, anyone who breaks the law in relation to their duty of care for rubbish."

A spokesman for Encams, the keep Britain tidy group, said fly-tipping is unacceptable.

He said: "Dumped waste is not only unsightly but costs taxpayers an average of £73.7 million each year for their local authorities to clean up. This is a huge burden on the taxpayers' pocket."

The court heard that Hamer decided to create a hard standing on his plot of land on which he could build an area to move vehicles and manage a garden and allotment site. He contacted Catterall and arranged for him to deposit large quantities of broken ceramic sinks on the site.

The court heard that Catterall, who runs a plant hire business, was a regular visitor to the Shaws factory, where they threw out lots of scrap sinks.

It was claimed that around 22 trailer loads of sinks were dropped off at the site over several months, starting in February last year.

The court heard that there was no waste management licence in place in relation to Hamer's land.

Magistrates were told that Hamer was aware that the sinks came from Shaws and was even present on site on several occasions when they were dropped off.

Although Shaws had the relevant trade waste agreements in place for their factory, the court heard that Catterall was authorised to take the sinks by the maintenance manager.

Magistrates heard that the company had no control of how much waste product was removed from the factory, had no idea where it was going and did not have the required documentation or transfer notes for the sinks.

A spokesman for Shaws, which is based in Waterside and has been trading since 1897, said: "The company will undertake to ensure that all policies in relation to waste management procedures are adhered to by its employees and its representatives."