A STORE owner has been fined for two waste offences after a complaint he had been burning rubbish in the shop's yard.

After environmental officers visited the Nisa store in Crescent Road in July 2018, owner Mohammed Patel, 36, was asked to provide notices proving he was disposing of waste correctly.

He was unable to do so and given a £300 fine, which he appealed. His appeal was rejected, he said he disposed of the rubbish in a domestic waste bin and provided officers with waste transfer notices relating to one of his other businesses.

Patel appeared at Bolton Magistrates' Court yesterday morning and the court heard how a cheque he had written for £300 had never been received by the council.

On February 1 this year a council officer on patrol found a bag of rubbish near a public litter bin which contained letters linking it to Patel's shop.

Helen Dugdale, defending, told magistrates how Patel had been preoccupied with his father's ill health and was likely to have to fly to India to donate part of his liver. Because of this the issues of waste compliance had not been at the forefront of his mind said Miss Dugdale.

Patel, of Crescent Road, pleaded guilty to the two offences and was fined £250 for each transgression. He was ordered to pay a total of £1,155, including costs and a surcharge.