A HAULAGE boss has been fined £15,000 and ordered to pay costs of more than £3,000 after he allowed more than 60 tonnes of rubble to be dumped at a beauty spot.

Roger Trimmer, of Peregrine Close, Covingham was ordered to pay £18,377.88 at Swindon Magistrates Court yesterday after admitting three counts of fly tipping and not holding a waste management licence.

Trimmer will have to pay the fine over the next 12 months.

The court heard that on Saturday, May 3, last year Trimmer, who trades as Liam Anthony Haulage, allowed three truck drivers to dump 60 tonnes of demolition and excavation rubble into a field entrance near Badbury, between Swindon and Aldbourne, near the ancient Ridgeway path.

The rubble had come from a housing project in Lambourn.

Over three previous days much of the rubble had been disposed of correctly at a site near Cirencester. But on the final day with the final three loads, the drivers were keen to go home.

Within 10 minutes three large tipper trucks had dumped loads of 20 tonnes each in broad daylight and in front of passing traffic.

But each of the tipper trucks was caught on a special video camera hidden on the other side of the road installed by the Environment Agency and Wiltshire Constabulary in an attempt to catch would-be fly-tippers.

Footage captured by the camera and shown in court clearly showed each tipper lorry unloading the waste material.

Alysha McClintock, prosecuting on behalf of the Environment Agency, said: "He has not been a registered waste carrier and as the owner of the vehicles, and whether or not he was present, Mr Trimmer allowed the dumping of this material on this site even though there was a sign warning of fines."

Speaking to Trimmer, she said: "You also prevented access to the field by the farmer and because you tipped rubble there it gave others the same ideas."

Hugh McKee, for the defence, said: "My client cannot be blamed for the actions of others. There was no financial motivation for dumping this material on this site. In fact my client was only being paid £18 per load not per tonne for this material to be moved.

"I also believe that the fact that my client paid for the rubble to be moved, six lorry loads rather than the original three, and the cost involved in that operation should be taken into consideration."

The chairman of the bench, Mr Ken Price, said: "I am satisfied with your early plea of guilty and that there was little financial motivation for dumping this material.

"But your actions encouraged others and interfered with people's normal activities."

Rod Gould of the Environment Agency said: "We are glad that this incident has been taken seriously and we are pleased that he has been convicted."