A SUFFOLK landowner who dumped waste in a village pit for more than a decade has been given a two-year Criminal Anti-Social Behaviour Order (Crasbo).

Suffolk County Council brought Paul Fenton before Ipswich magistrates after he had breached nine enforcement notices and contravened a stop notice.

Fenton, of The Channel, Flowton, near Needham Market, had previously been ordered to pay nearly �35,000 in fines and costs by South East Suffolk Magistrates’ Court for breaching the planning enforcement notices.

A spokeswoman for Suffolk County Council said: “Mr Fenton has accepted the county council’s application for a Criminal Anti-Social Behaviour Order against him, meaning that he is restrained from undertaking waste management or disposal activities without planning permission or a licence.

“The Order extends to the whole of Suffolk, and has the standard duration of two years. If we can prove breaches in the future he will be at risk of imprisonment.”

For years Fenton had been shipping tyres, rubble and heating oil tanks, among other bulky items, to the village and dumping them in Flowton Pit, despite being served with a planning enforcement notice back in 2000. The items have been dumped in Flowton Pit, which is owned by the 45-year-old and located just several hundred yards from his home.

Neighbours had raised concerns with Suffolk County Council over the years and are worried about the long-term effect the unofficial landfill site could have on the village.

Previously, Gordon Watkins, chairman of the Flowton Parish Council said: “This was an historic pit left from hundreds of years ago. We don’t know exactly what is in there because it is covered with tonnes of soil.

“The people living in neighbouring properties use a bore hole to source their water from deep underground and they are very worried that eventually it may contaminate their water system.”

Despite the enforcement notices, Fenton continued to flout planning laws and was prosecuted in 2002 and in 2007.

Development Control Officers from Suffolk County Council visited the site again this year following further complaints at the parish meeting and took the case to court.

Following his guilty plea in October, magistrates fined Fenton a total of �10,000 for breaching the stop notice, a further �10,000 for four offences of the retention of waste and �10,000 for four offences of the bringing of waste.

He was also ordered to pay costs of �4,712, and a victim surcharge of �15.