Farmer sentenced after thousands of tonnes of waste buried on land

A farmer who turned a Yorkshire beauty spot into a vast illegal dumping ground for thousands of tonnes of waste has been handed a suspended prison sentence and ordered to clean it up.

Hayden Fortune, 50, of Pyethornes Farm, Wigglesworth, near Skipton, was sentenced at York Magistrates’ Court on 26 March after admitting operating an illegal waste site following an Environment Agency investigation.

The dumping was first reported in May 2024. When officers visited the rural site, they found a foul-smelling landscape strewn with shredded plastic, metals, electrical items and aerosols.

Further visits uncovered excavators in operation and clear evidence that waste was being buried across the land.

Despite formal warnings and a statutory notice requiring all material to be removed, the illegal activity continued for more than a year.

As part of a wider crackdown on waste crime, the Environment Agency escalated enforcement in February 2026 by securing a court restriction order in a bid to halt the dumping.

Magistrates ruled the offending was both deliberate and significant. Fortune was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years.

He was also fined £2,500 for breaching an unrelated suspended sentence.

In addition, he must complete 20 days of rehabilitation activity, pay £10,000 in costs and a £187 victim surcharge.

The court ordered him to clear all waste from the site within two years. If he fails to comply, he will be brought back before magistrates.

Ben Hocking, Area Environment Manager at the Environment Agency, said: “Fortune’s deliberate offending showed a total disregard for the law, the environment, and the community where he lives.

“He repeatedly ignored warnings and notices issued by our officers, who have worked incredibly hard to take quick and decisive action against him.

“I hope this sends out the message to others that we are cracking down on waste crime and we will take action against those who breach the law.”

The breach of Fortune’s suspended sentence relates to a separate Trading Standards case. In April 2023, he was given a 12-week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, for animal welfare offences and received a lifetime ban on keeping animals.

However, magistrates ruled it would be inappropriate to activate that sentence, citing the potential impact on his dependants.

He now has two years to clear the waste — or face returning to court.