Farmer jailed for illegal dumping

Surgical gloves, incontinence pads and timber were all dumped

A Fermanagh farmer who kept an illegal dump on his land has been jailed for four months and fined £10,000.

Philip Johnston, 63, from Killadeas, Enniskillen, was charged with keeping or disposing of controlled waste.

A court heard the rubbish included metals, surgical gloves, incontinence pads and timber.

Johnston was also charged with keeping or disposing of controlled waste in a manner likely to cause pollution of the environment or harm to human health.

A court in Fermanagh heard how officers from the Department of Environment's Environment and Heritage Service (EHS) visited Johnston's farm on 8 October 2004, following allegations that rubbish was being burnt and buried on the land.

Beneath an area that had been grassed over, they discovered an estimated 1,900 tonnes of mixed municipal waste.

'Farmers undermined'

Further examination showed that the waste had come from Dublin, Wexford and Cork.

EHS officials calculated that it would have cost £88,000 to have disposed of the rubbish legally in Northern Ireland and 420,000 euro to have disposed of it legally in the Republic of Ireland.

A defence solicitor outlined the defendant's "severe financial constraints and various debts".

Resident Magistrate Austin Kennedy said Johnston had made a deal with a person from the Republic of Ireland for a "substantial payment".

The resident magistrate told Johnston he had told a "tissue of lies" to support his story.

Mr Kennedy told Johnston: "Farmers are the guardians of the countryside.

"By your actions you have undermined the work of a good majority of farmers in Northern Ireland."

Johnston was jailed for four months concurrently on each charge and ordered to pay £5,000 on each charge.