A ST ANNES man was fined £1,650 after pleading guilty to a string of offences relating to asbestos disposal.

David Moxon Helm, of Bowland Place, St Annes, was also ordered by Blackpool Magistrates' Court to pay costs of £994.13 to the Environment Agency, which brought the prosecution.

The court heard how on August 5, 2003 a Fylde Borough Council officer responded to information that an asbestos roof was being dismantled at Windhoek, Staining Old Road, Staining.

The officer saw an open-backed truck at the site containing a large amount of asbestos cement roofing material. The asbestos had been broken up and was not bagged or wrapped.

When the officer spoke to the householder at the site he was shown a written estimate for the removal of an asbestos roof, bearing Helm's name and a quote of £120.

Men working there said they worked for Helm and that they had been told to remove the roof and take it to a depot at the Sycamore Trading Estate.

Neither worker had been given any protective equipment for themselves or wrapping material for the asbestos, the court heard.

When the officer spoke to Helm later that day, he said he was surprised the men had started dismantling the roof as the quote was for collection and disposal - that was why his workers had no protective equipment.

The council contacted the Environment Agency and Helm was told he must complete paperwork necessary for the movement of the asbestos, follow instructions for its safe removal and provide his workers with the right protective equipment.

Later that month the Environment Agency interviewed Helm. He admitted he had failed to complete waste transfer notes properly and had not complete consignment notes at all in relation to special waste. He had also not provided his workers with proper equipment to remove the asbestos.

He pleaded guilty to six charges relating to asbestos disposal.

Fining him, on March 24, magistrates described the offences as 'serious'. They accepted Helm's failure to comply with regulations had been due to carelessness rather than being deliberate, but added that he should have been aware of his obligations as he had been in the waste business for nine years and held a waste carriers registration.