A Dorset man has been ordered to pay £3,345 in fines and costs for operating an illegal scrap metal business.
Malcolm Forse was stopped in January 4, 2008 during 'Operation Piston', a combined Environment Agency and Dorset Police operation intended to crackdown on the illegal movement of waste and metal theft.
The defendant's vehicle contained a quantity of scrap metal including a set of industrial scales which he claimed came from his garage. A number of receipts were found inside the vehicle that indicated Forse was operating a business.
Further checks were made with a local scrap yard Forse had sold metal to. They showed that since May 2007 he had received more than £9,000 in payments.
A court heard that Forse refused to open the cab of his vehicle in an attempt to prevent officers seeing evidence of his business activities. Eventually, police broke a window and the vehicle was searched.
'People transporting scrap metal as part of a business must register as a waste carrier with the Environment Agency. It is an offence to operate without a licence and people caught in roadside spot checks will be prosecuted,' said Clive Clasby
Appearing before Wimborne magistrates on Monday (June 9), Forse, of Creekmoor, Poole was fined £1,000 for transporting controlled waste without a registered waste carriers licence and £1,000 for wilfully obstructing Agency officers. Forse, who pleaded guilty to both offences, was also ordered to pay £1,345 costs.