Somerset building firm fined £10,000 over oil dumping

A Somerset building company has been fined £10,000 for contaminating land with domestic heating oil.

The Environment Agency brought a case against Norton Masonry after its officers were called to a site in Colerne in January this year.

A representative of Shepton Mallet-based Norton Masonry showed inspectors a barn where a domestic oil tank had been drained prior to its removal.

Local residents claimed they had seen workmen pour a yellow liquid onto a fire in the garden, and had also seen them pour two full barrels of oil over a wall into a nearby field.

Officers found several patches of discoloured grass in the garden and a field. There was also a strong smell of oil in the area and dead worms on the ground.

Magistrates later heard that a specialist company had to be called in to remove and dispose of the contaminated soil.

A spokeswoman for the Environment Agency said: "This company behaved in a highly irresponsible manner. Its actions resulted in significan contamination of soil and air and left neighbouring houses affected by odour for up to three weeks."

Norton Masonry was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £2.851 costs by Chippenham magistrates after pleading guilty to two offences under the Water Resources Act 1991 and Groundwater Regulations 1998.