A farmer who has been described as a "persistent waste criminal" has been given another 22 weeks sentence for waste crimes.
John Bruce, aged 46, has already been sentenced to 26 months imprisonment for dumping approximately 26,000 tonnes of waste at Ridgeway Park Farm, Throckmorton Airfield, Worcestershire.
He was also found to be burying and burning hazardous waste at the site.
However, Mr Bruce has now returned to court and pleaded guilty to carrying out illegal waste activities at the farm without an environmental permit.
He has been handed a 22 week custodial sentence to run concurrently to his existing sentence.
'Blatant disregard'
The case concerned illegal waste operations at Ridgeway Park Farm in January and February 2016, where Mr Bruce had accepted over 60 tonnes of redundant kitchen and bathroom materials onto his site.
When Environment Agency officers visited the farm, they saw that in addition to these materials, flat pack furniture and packaging materials were being burnt on site.
In mitigation, the Judge noted that Mr Bruce had pleaded guilty and therefore avoided the need for a full trial.
An Environment Agency officer in charge of the investigation said that the farmer had shown a "blatant disregard" for the environment and the local community by operating a large scale illegal waste site at his farm.
"His actions undermine legitimate businesses and dangers the wider local economy. The additional custodial sentence signals the severity of the crimes committed and demonstrates support from the judicial system in the fight against waste crime," the officer said.
