A MAN has been fined £5,000 for failing to have the correct permits to store waste on an industrial site.

John McCaffrey, 63, pleaded guilty at St Helens Magistrates’ Court to an offence between August 30 and October 27, 2011.

Dave Bradley, prosecuting, said: “Where waste is managed and dealt with you need a permit to carry it out, and there are charges for them.

“For a short time it was operating without a permit.”

He said the site in question was unit 7 on Sankey Valley Industrial estate in Newton, where Mr McCaffrey was involved in a demolition business.

Following a visit by Environment Agency inspectors, they discovered mixed waste on site, including a quantity of plastic. The site is no longer in operation.

Magistrates said the actions of McCaffrey, who is on incapacity benefit, were not “careless, but reckless”.