The director of a skip firm is facing a £20,000 bill for running an illegal waste site.

Daniel Lawrence hired two adjoining plots at Heaver Tropics Trading Estate, in Ash, near Sevenoaks, for use of his waste management service Lawrence Grab and Skip Hire Limited.

But the owners started to become concerned about the company’s activities when they noticed that instead of empty skips being left in the yard, they were being brought back to the site full of waste.

The rubbish was then being tipped in the rear of the yard and had also caught fire on several occasions which led to the landowners evicting the firm from their premises.

Before they were kicked off the estate, the Environment Agency had launched an investigation during which officers found piles of waste, including aggregate, soils, stone, metal, plastic, wood, and household waste, sometimes 20 feet high.

They said it was apparent it was being tipped illegally as no permits or exemptions were registered at the site.

Lawrence, of Barker Fields, Southfleet, near Gravesend, has since been found guilty at Maidstone Magistrates’ Court for running an illegal waste site.

The 41-year-old was fined £1,733, ordered to pay costs of £7,435, a victim surcharge of £173 and compensation to the owners of Heaver Tropics Trading Estate of £10,850 – a total of £20,391.

He has also been disqualified from being a company director for five years.

Environment manager for Kent at the Environment Agency, Matt Higginson, said: ”Through our officers’ investigations, this prosecution sends out a strong signal to others that we will continue to fight tirelessly to combat illegal waste crime and bring those responsible to justice.

“We all create waste, and we all have a responsibility to ensure it is handled correctly. Businesses and householders also need to do everything possible to ensure that waste does not end up in the hands of operators who break the law.

“We thank the owners of the trading estate for bringing this to our attention.”