A SCRAP metal firm has been fined £40,000 for operating an illegal waste transfer station in Warminster.

EJ Shanley & Son in Trowbridge was also ordered to pay an additional £1,813 in costs by Chippenham magistrates on Wednesday after pleading guilty to two offences under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

These included depositing, keeping and treating controlled waste on land in Copheap Lane, Warminster, without a Waste Management Licence.

The court heard on Wednesday how on March 14 2007, an officer from the Environment Agency (EA) visited the site in Copheap Lane and saw it was being used for 'the storage and treatment of mixed household, commercial and industrial waste', which requires a Waste Management Licence.

The company was told it must stop work and clear the site of unauthorised waste and a warning letter from the EA was sent on March 19.

The court heard that, when an officer returned to Shanley's in July he once again saw unlawful handling and storage of waste.

Mixed construction and demolition materials including soils, stone, wood, metal and plastics were being brought to the site in skips.

Speaking for the EA, Mike Cape said: "This company continued to operate an illegal waste transfer station despite being warned by the Agency that it was running an unlawful operation."

The maximum fines for these offences can be up to £50,000 each, which could have seen the company fined by as much as £100,000.

Mike Dunning, a spokesman for the EA, said: "It is unusual for the full fine to be imposed although this is a sizeable sum. It clearly sends out a message that waste offences are taken seriously.

"It is on the higher side of charges to other cases but at the end of the day I think magistrates just felt it was appropriate."

Paul Shanley, of EJ Shanley & Son, said they would not like to comment on the case.