A BARBER is being prosecuted by his council for allegedly leaving bags of “toxic'' hair clippings outside his shop.

Laurence Cawley

A BARBER is being prosecuted by his council for allegedly leaving bags of “toxic'' hair clippings outside his shop.

Council staff photographed the sacks on the doorstep of Lee Haynes's salon in Sudbury and when they found he didn't have a proper waste disposal licence, charged him with three offences under the Environmental Protection Act.

The 46-year-old hairdresser is accused of breaching the law by failing to ensure the transfer of waste was to an authorised person and not giving an accurate description of the waste.

Haynes, who faces a fine of �5,000 on each offence if he is convicted, told magistrates in Bury St Edmunds that two bags a week contained simply hair and sandwich wrappers.

He denies all of the charges.

He told the court that he had been invited by a council bin-man to trim his hair in return for disposal of the two sacks a week.

"I was approached by a council worker who offered to get rid of the waste and I wanted to ensure that it wasn't fly-tipped - he said he would put it in the skip used by the council on market days," he said.

"It is not a huge factory and I am not sure it counts as controlled waste - it's just hair but the council insist it may have traces of bleach or dye in it."

Caroline Watling, a solicitor for Babergh District Council who brought the case, said Haynes had been reported because the waste was defined as "toxic or dangerous" and he had "benefitted financially by not employing a registered waste contractor".

The case was adjourned.