A MAN was fined £4,000 after pleading guilty to depositing and keeping scrap metal on land in Newport.

Mark Cutter, 45, was prosecuted by the Environment Agency Wales after it discovered a quantity of scrap metal on land he owns at Greenacre Farm, St Brides Wentloog.

Abergavenny Magistrates’ Court was told that agency officers found the metal on Friday, July 6, last year.

When questioned, Mr Cutter said he had not ordered it and had no idea it was on his land. Inquiries confirmed he did not have an environmental permit or an exemption to have scrap metal on his land.

He later admitted when interviewed under caution that he did not have any legal authority to have the metal on his land. He told officers he rented the site in question to a third party.

But there was no formal documentation of this, and when asked about it, he gave no comment and refused to say who rented the land.

Cutter was also ordered to pay £906.84 costs.