A farmer, hailing from North Yorkshire, has been handed a two-year sentence after he allowed thousands of tonnes of waste to be illegally dumped on his land, according to the Environment Agency (EA).
Hayden Fortune, a 50 year-old male living in Wigglesworth near Skipton, was sentenced at York Magistrates’ Court last Thursday (March 26) , with the farmer previously pleading guilty to operating an illegal waste site.
The court heard that EA officers were first made aware of Fortune’s illegal waste operation at his Pyethornes Farm back in May 2024.
Officer who attended the farm reported large amounts of shredded plastic, metals, electrical items, and aerosols at the “smelly site”.
Following repeat visits, officers discovered evidence, such as excavators in operation, which indicated that waste was being buried on farmland.
The EA claimed that the illegal dumping operation continued, even after the visits, despite formal warnings and a statutory notice requiring the removal of all waste from the land.
In February this year, the agency were able to stop the dumping by securing a restriction order at court.
During court proceedings, Fortune’s waste offences were determined to be “deliberate and significant.”
The farmer’s full sentence included 12 months in prison, which was suspended for two years, and a fine of £2,500 for breaching an unrelated suspended prison sentence.
In addition to this, he will also carry out 20 days of rehabilitation activity, pay costs of £10,000, and a victim surcharge of £187.
Fortune has been granted a two-year deadline to clear all waste from his farm, with the farmer facing a return to court if he does not comply.
EA
Ben Hocking, an area environment manager at the EA, said that illegal waste offenders show “a total disregard for the law, the environment, and their community.”
“I hope this [investigation] sends out the message to others that we are cracking down on waste crime and we will take action against those who breach the law,” he commented.
According to the EA, the farmer was previously sentenced in April 2023 to a 12-week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, for animal welfare offences, where he also received a lifetime ban from keeping animals.
