Firm facing fines over caravans

A fruit picking firm could face rolling fines after failing to meet a deadline to tear down 300 mobile homes erected illegally in Herefordshire.

The county council said it was taking legal action against S&A Davies, which erected the caravans for migrant workers near Leominster in 2004.

The caravans were built without planning permission and the government has twice demanded they be taken down.

S&A Davies refused to comment when contacted by the BBC.

The secretary of state Ruth Kelly ordered the firm to remove the homes last summer after rejecting a planning appeal by the firm.

Weekly fines

She issued the firm with a deadline of 10 January to remove the homes.

It had previously been ordered to remove the homes by the then secretary of state John Prescott in December 2006.

Herefordshire Council had rejected a retrospective planning application for the caravans in 2004.

A spokesman for Herefordshire Council said it would now take the firm to the High Court and seek rolling fines on a weekly or daily basis until the caravans are removed.