A man has been fined £400 after a resident complained about him hoarding scrap metal.

Medway Council visited Marcel Bucuresteanu, 52, of Canterbury Street, Gillingham after a resident living on the same road complained about him storing scrap metal.

An officer from the council’s Environmental Enforcement Team visited the property and issued a Community Protection Warning to all of the adult occupants, telling them to stop collecting, storing and dismantling scrap metals and to stop making loud noise, in January 2018.

A month later the officer revisited the property but there were still large amounts of scrap metal there.

The complaints continued until April 2018.

Bucuresteanu was given a fixed penalty notice. He failed to pay the notice and was summoned to court.

On Thursday, January 10, he pleaded guilty to failing to comply with a community protection notice at Medway Magistrates’ Court.

He was fined £400 and ordered to pay a £40 victim surcharge and £400 costs, totalling £840.

Medway Council’s Portfolio Holder covering Enforcement, Cllr Jane Chitty, said: “The loud noises coming from this property was causing a nuisance to neighbours and had a negative impact on their quality of life.

“This was totally unacceptable behaviour.

“All of Medway’s residents have the right to live peacefully and we thoroughly investigate all noise complaints made to us.”