A MODERN-day Albert Steptoe ordered to pay £5,000 in fines due to the amount of rubbish found strewn around his home.

Gerald Balmbra, 69, of Rugley Road, Alnwick, bought clapped-out motors, dismantled them at the site at his Northumberland home, and sold on the parts, raking in more than £26,000 in under a year.

Balmbra, compared to TV rag-and-bone man Albert Steptoe, was found guilty at Newcastle Crown Court of charges of keeping controlled waste in a manner likely to pollute the environment.

Despite his healthy income, Balmbra, was fined a total of 2,500 and ordered to pay a further 2,500 in costs to the Environment Agency, which brought the prosecution.

After the case, an environmental crime officer with the agency, said: "This is another example of a person who thought he was above the law when it came to waste management and waste disposal. He's been brought to trial, we are delighted he has been rightly found guilty and punished accordingly.

"We hope the message will get through to others who do the same. They should be aware that officers are out there looking for them and they'll be tracked down and brought to justice."

The court heard police and Environment Agency officers raided his site on September 15 last year, finding batteries, tyres and car parts strewn around and oil leaking into the ground.

When Balmbra, who was not at the site, was telephoned and asked to return to speak to officers, he did so in a truck with two vehicles on the back and a sign on the side reading: "Wanted: Scrap cars, free disposal."

The jury was told Balmbra bought in used cars, took them apart and sold on parts to a scrapyard, but had no Environment Agency licence to do this. His yard had no environmental protection measures.