A FARMER has had to pay more than £2,000 after he was found guilty of illegally burning waste.

David Boardman, who leases Horwich Moor Farm, Bolton, was fined £480, ordered to pay £1,500 prosecution costs and a victim surcharge of £48 after a prosecution by the Environment Agency brought at Bolton Magistrates Court.

Mr Boardman had been caught out twice before for burning waste and had been given two formal cautions. He has also been convicted of depositing waste without an environmental permit, said an Environment Agency spokesman. This time reports of illegal waste operations came to the attention of the Environment Agency in December 2018.

Officers established that Mr Boardman had burnt waste that should have been disposed at permitted facility. The act of unregulated burning can lead to pollution of the environment and pose a potential risk to human health, added the spokesman.

Mark Easedale, the Environment Agency area environment manager for Greater Manchester said: “The Environment Agency takes pollution very seriously as it can cause severe damage to the environment and misery for local residents. This and other prosecutions we have taken show we are determined to make life hard for criminals. Mr Boardman had been warned about burning waste but he chose to ignore the advice and guidance that was given to him.”

Defending, Jonathan Bell told the court: “It is a sad day when a hardworking man is brought before the court. This was wood waste that was produced on site. Mr Boardman burnt it, in days gone by that was allowed, however this is no longer the case. He accepts that he shouldn’t and pleads guilty at the first time of asking”