An Abingdon property company has been ordered to pay £3,200 for illegally handling and disposing of waste.

At Didcot Magistrates' Court, Leda Properties, of Marcham Road, admitted failing to comply with its duty of care in the disposal of waste materials at the Culham Science Centre.

The company was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £1,200 in costs.

Michael Curran, who had a business at Culham, also admitted one charge of illegally disposing of waste.

He was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £300 costs.

The court heard that the Environment Agency began investigating the site in December 2004 after receiving information about possible waste offences being committed on an area of land alongside the northern boundary of the business park.

Environment officers visited the site in March last year and found a large heap of waste materials in the centre of the site including paper, packaging, wooden pallets and old computers.

A quantity of the material was from a company that went into liquidation on the nearby industrial estate. It had occupied a unit until mid-February.

Leda Properties was left in control of the waste when the company was put into liquidation. The company bought some of the building contents from the liquidator and instructed Curran to clear the premises, the agency said.

But Leda failed to check the method of disposal or Curran's status as an authorised person to accept, transport or control the waste, or the ultimate destination of the waste materials.

Curran had previously been a registered waste carrier, but his registration had lapsed at the time of the offences.

He failed to ensure that the waste under his control was transferred by a properly registered carrier to a site licensed to accept it.

He removed the waste and illegally dumped it on the strip of land near the science centre.

After the hearing, Environment Agency officer Steve Cave said: "It is vitally important that companies ensure that the waste they are in charge of, no matter how that situation may have arisen, is properly handled by a registered waste carrier and is legally disposed.

"In November last year, similar duty of care responsibilities were introduced for domestic waste, meaning householders need to make sure their waste is being properly disposed of at a licensed waste site.

"Any breaches allow waste to enter the hands of illegal and often unscrupulous waste operators, who are highly likely to dispose of the material illegally."