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A man who ran an illegal waste tip on a family farm has been ordered to pay the courts more than £225,000 in three months - or be sent to prison.

Heddwyn Williams used the fact permission had been granted to build a track on the land as a “cover” for his illegal cash-in-hand business which saw more than 18,000 tonnes of soil and demolition waste dumped on Llwynadam Farm near Pontarddulais.

Williams, aged 59, of Goppa Road, Pontarddulais, had previously pleaded guilty to the illegal depositing of waste and been given handed a 12 month prison sentence suspended for two years when he appeared in the dock of Swansea Crown Court for a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing.

The court heard Williams earned an estimated £433,500 from charging people and companies to dump their waste on the land, which borders the Loughor Estuary.

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In December 2013 Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and South Wales Police had visited the farm following Williams’s conviction for running an illegal waste tip at Bolgoed Road in Pontarddulais earlier that same year.

The officers found fresh tyre tracks leading to two areas of extensive tipping of builders demolition waste consisting of bricks, soil, concrete blocks, tree cuttings, concrete fence posts, rubber matting, felt, plywood, glass window panes, glazed floor and wall tiles, roof tiles, timber, empty paint tins, cement, pink plaster, and items of furniture.

Older areas of deposited materials were also discovered with evidence that some of the material had been burnt.

Extensive discharge of leachate into a drainage ditch that fed directly into the nearby Lougher river was also found.

NRW later used a drone to fly over the site and map the extent of dumping, and estimated some 18,319 tonnes of waste had been deposited on the land.

Judge Keith Thomas said he was satisfied the defendant had “no intention” of constructing the track he had been given permission for, and used it “simply as a cover” to explain to people the comings and goings of lorries and vans at the Waungron farm.

He added: “I have no doubt a large number of payments were cash-in-hand, all parties understanding this was not a legitimate business.”

The judge said he was satisfied the Williams had benefited from the enterpise in the sum of £433,500, and that the available amount of money and assets he had amounted to £226,326.29 - he issued a confiscation order in that amount.

Williams was given three months to pay up, with a two-and-a-half year prison sentence if he fails to do so.

Speaking after the sentencing Martyn Evans, NRW’s head of operations in South West Wales, said waste sites had rules which they had to follow to ensure they did not pose a risk to the environment and local people.

He said: “We gave Mr Williams every opportunity to comply with the conditions in his permits but he did not do this.

“We will continue to clamp down on the illegal waste trade to protect our natural resources and our communities, and to ensure a level playing field for legitimate businesses.”