A man from Telford has been ordered to pay a penalty worth more than £6,000 for operating an illegal waste site.

William Wellings was fined £3,200, ordered to pay more than £2,900 in costs and a £120 victim surcharge.

According to the Environment Agency (EA), the Hill Top Farm didn’t have an environmental permit and it received complaints about waste and odour from the site.

When the EA officers visited the site they found around 30 skips with general household and clearance waste with biodegradable material as well as a large pile of general construction and demolition waste.

The site was not engineered to the standards required to prevent any harm to the environment, the EA stated.

An Environment Agency officer in charge of the investigation added: “Waste crime is a serious offence with tough penalties as it can damage the environment, blight local communities and undermine those who operate legally. We offered advice to Mr Wellings to help him run his business legitimately while protecting the environment but he failed to take necessary action. This case demonstrates that we will not hesitate to prosecute when circumstances warrant it.”