Thurso Man Fined Over Illegal Waste Dumping at Weydale

12th February 2026

A Thurso man has been hit with a £12,327 civil penalty after environmental officers uncovered a large‑scale illegal waste dumping operation on land near the town.

James Beresford, of Thurso, was found to have repeatedly deposited controlled waste on a site at Weydale between March 2020 and May 2021, during the height of the Covid‑19 lockdowns.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) said the activity was carried out without a waste management licence, in clear breach of environmental regulations.

SEPA officers launched an investigation after members of the public reported vehicles arriving at the site loaded with rubbish and leaving empty. When officers inspected the land, they discovered a wide range of dumped materials, including:

household black bags

furniture and white goods

plasterboard and insulation

carpets, doors and tyres

asbestos sheeting

garden waste

Documents found within the waste indicated that several households had paid Beresford to collect and dispose of their rubbish, despite him not being a registered waste carrier.

Following the investigation, SEPA issued a Variable Monetary Penalty (VMP) totalling £12,327.08, describing the case as a serious and deliberate breach of environmental law.

A SEPA spokesperson said the penalty reflected both the environmental harm caused and the commercial nature of the operation, adding that illegal dumping "undermines legitimate businesses and damages local communities."

 

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