Bankrupt John Barney was sent to prison for 60 days for illegally dumping waste at his farm in Oxford.

Council officers who visited New Manor Farm in Marston in April 1995 - after Barney was declared bankrupt and evicted from the farmhouse - found a five-metre high heap of waste, including bricks, paint cans, mattresses, asbestos sheeting, exhaust pipes and steel drums.

Barney was charged under the Environmental Protection Act for keeping waste illegally at the farm in Elsfield Way and was yesterday jailed by Oxford magistrates.

He was sentenced to 120 days, 60 to be served immediately and 60 suspended for 12 months.

Barney ran a skip hire company in the 1980s and early 90s but instead of taking the household and builders' waste to a licensed site, he accumulated it at his then home. Chris Travis, of the Environment Agency, said: "The agency is pleased with this result. Mr Barney ignored the authorities and showed complete disregard for the local environment. He also made a lot of money from this illegal operation."

The agency will now have to decide on the disposal of the heap, which also includes concrete blocks, scrap metal, piping, waste timber, plastics, old rags, sub-soil, tyres and chain-link fencing.

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