A KENT company which illegally stockpiled large quantities of waste on an industrial estate has been fined £12,000 with the threat of a further £500 a day fine until the rubbish is removed.

Medway magistrates found Eurotech Waste Ltd guilty on six charges under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, after hearing it had consistently refused to comply with regulations.

The court heard, through a prosecution brought by the Environment Agency, that in October 2003 an officer inspected a unit on the Temple Marsh Industrial Estate in Strood and found a stockpile of waste which included soil, paper, polystyrene, wood, glass and metal.

Eurotech Waste did not have a Waste Management Licence and was warned that the rubbish they had deposited should be removed.

Further visits were made to the unit last year but Environment Officers found that the company had failed to remove the waste, and it did not comply with an enforcement notice served in May 2004, requiring removal of the waste.

After the case, environment officer Alister Andrews said: "We hope this is a warning to others that the Environment Agency takes waste offences very seriously and those operating illegally will not get away with it."