Richard McKenna admits bringing controlled waste onto site and burning it.
A demolition boss has been hit with a £3,210 bill after starting an illegal fire in Biggin Hill.
Richard McKenna, of Melody Road, was found guilty at Bromley Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (September 23) of burning controlled waste including demolition timbers and materials near to Saltbox Hill.
Police were forced to close Saltbox Hill on December 10 last year, after smoke from the fire McKenna had started mixed with fog on the highway. The London Fire Brigade were called to tackle the flames.
Bromley Council’s public protection team conducted an investigation following the fire.
McKenna pleaded not guilty to unlawful disposal of controlled waste by burning on behalf of himself and his company McKenna Demolition Limited.
He acknowledged demolition timbers were burnt on the land near to Saltbox Hill and that he had occasionally taken waste from his company’s demolition sites for burning.
But Mckenna claimed there was no fire on December 10 when three fire engines had attended his property and implied the use of fire hoses on a pile of ashes had reignited an old fire.
Magistrates did not find sufficient evidence to link the matter to McKenna Demolition Limited but found McKenna guilty as he had by his own admission brought controlled waste onto the site and burnt it.
He was fined £1,100 plus a £110 victim surcharge and ordered to pay £2,000 towards Bromley Council’s costs.
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