THE owner of a Brighouse car spares business has been fined £8,000 by magistrates for waste offences.
Raymond Fisher, 57, of Brookfield Road, Bradford, pleaded guilty at Calderdale Court to two offences and was fined £4,000 for each. He was also ordered to pay costs of £1,305.36 to the Environment Agency, which brought the case.
The court heard that on May 18, Environment Agency officers and police visited Ford and Vauxhall Spares at Bridge Road, Brighouse. They found 49 scrap cars, plus gearboxes and engines.
Oil was leaking from gearboxes and some of the engines, and two drains, both of which contained standing water, were very heavily contaminated with oil, as was the yard service drain.
Fisher was interviewed at Halifax Police Station and said he was the sole trader.
He took in between two and five cars each week and was selling car parts and taking £600 to 700 per week. He was aware he needed a Waste Management Licence and accepted that the cars had not been de-polluted.
He said he had been there for two- and-a-half months and accepted by trading unlawfully he had saved money.
He also accepted the site did not have planning permission.
Trevor Cooper, for the Environment Agency, told the court by not having a waste management licence, Fisher had avoided costs that would have been paid by lawful competitors.
Mr Cooper also said by having vehicles and parts that had not been de-polluted, there was a serious risk of pollution through contamination of the ground, groundwater or surface water. Any oil that percolated through would have a long-lasting impact.
Fisher told the court he had taken over the site from his son and had now stopped trading. He had no previous convictions.
Environment Agency officer Alex Johnston said: "This case shows that failing to abide by the legislation on de-polluting vehicles before disposal can result in major fines.
"If the Environment Agency says you need a licence, then you need a licence."
