Farmer with 12,000t of waste on his land fined £18,000

A farmer who allowed 12,000 tonnes of waste to be dumped on his farm has been ordered to pay £18,000 and handed a six-month suspended jail sentence.

William James Gill, 31, from Raffrey Road, Killinchy, County Down, Northern Ireland, was prosecuted under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

Downpatrick Crown Court heard on Thursday (24 September) that the offence was discovered by NI Environment Agency (NIEA) officers, who visited Mr Gill’s land in November 2013.

The agency estimated the site contained approximately 12,678t of dumped items including piping, concrete blocks, bricks, car parts, red brick, shredded plastic, carpet and other mixed waste.

Officers from the NIEA crime unit conducted a financial investigation and calculated that Gill had benefited from his criminal conduct by £18,000. He was ordered to pay the money back through a confiscation order within three months.

Mr Gill was also sentenced Gill to six months imprisonment suspended for two years for permitting waste to be deposited on farmland controlled by him.

He pleaded guilty in October 2014 to one charge under the Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997.