THE director of a skip hire business has been disqualified from acting as a company director for five years after a court found he "flagrantly disregarded the law" by not storing waste properly at a Cotswolds quarry.

Nicholas Scarsbrook, the director of Stow Skips Limited, was also ordered to pay £35,000 compensation after piles of waste including asbestos, loose tyres and hazardous liquid was discovered outside a permitted area.

He must also carry out 250 hours of unpaid work while Stow Skips Ltd was fined £20,000.

Mr Scarsbrook admitted one charge of failing to store waste in accordance with the environmental permit held for Westington Quarry, Chipping Campden, and two charges of operating a waste operation without the necessary permit.

One of the charges related to another facility at Fosse Way, Lower Slaughter.

The charges were brought against Stow Skips Ltd, based in Salford Priors, as well as against Mr Scarsbrook in his capacity as director.

Gloucester Crown Court heard Stow Skips Ltd was granted an environmental permit to operate a household, commercial and industrial waste management facility at its site at Westington Quarry in Chipping Campden.

However, the landowner took back possession of the site and evicted the skip hire company after becoming concerned about conditions at the quarry.

Large piles of wood and inert waste was found on the ground outside the main building, along with piles of asbestos, baled waste and loose tyres and 13 intermediate bulk containers containing hazardous liquid being stored outside the permitted area.

Environment Agency officers also found 18 skips full of mixed waste, some including metal containers with a fuel odour, soils and insulation materials, at an old builders yard, which was being operated without the necessary environmental permit.

His Honour Judge Michael Cullum found the offences were committed deliberately and Scarsbrook had flagrantly disregarded the law.

The court heard Scarsbrook was dyslexic and left school with minimal qualifications.

He branched out from being a ground worker and started the skip hire company, with a throughput waste operation running from the site at Westington Quarry.

The judge heard the failure of the company had caused considerable loss to the defendant who had a four week old baby.

The offences took place on or before November 2013.

Environment Agency environment manger Dave Throup: “Waste crime is a serious offence with tough penalties as it can damage the environment, blight local communities and undermine those who operate legally.

"This case sends out a clear message that we will not hesitate to prosecute individuals when they do not abide by the law.”

The case was heard on Friday, July 8.

Mr Scarsbrook was unavailable for comment.

He is the son of Jenny Scarsbrook, who is developing the Tall Trees site for the long-awaited doctor's surgery in Stow.

Outline permission was given for the surgery to be built in July last year but as yet work has not started on the site.

Further permission was given for Mrs Scarsbrook to make a change to the parking layout at the site last month.