A FARMER who flouted tipping laws could be facing jail.

Wayne Bolland, 31, was told by a judge what he had done was serious and had to be met by a "significant penalty."

Recorder Timothy Ryder said if the court seemed to be dealing with the offences in a trivial way the public would would be appalled. The judge went on: "That's why imprisonment is a very real option." Recorder Ryder, who added he was also giving serious consideration to a community punishment order, bailed Bolland until October 14.

The defendant, of Dry Clough Farm, Nelson, Shelfield Lane, Nelson, admitted depositing controlled waste without a waste management licence, keeping controlled waste and disposing of waste.