BOSSES at the region's biggest racecourse have apologised after being fined £12,000 for dumping and burning waste.
High Gosforth Park Limited, operator of Newcastle Racecourse, pleaded guilty at Gosforth Magistrates' Court to three charges under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
It admitted one count of unlawful burning of waste and two further charges of dumping waste.
The company was fined a total of £12,000 and ordered to pay £500 costs.
Among waste found near the fire were a blue plastic sack of wood shavings, a compact water heater that contained polyurethane foam cladding, PVC coated wires and rigid plastic, wood, glass, plastic, metals and a 45 gallon oil drum.
The land did not have a waste management licence or exemption for requiring one.
The convictions follow a similar case heard in the same court in April last year, when the company was ordered to pay £10,478.50 after pleading guilty to two charges relating to the burning of waste on their land.
David Williamson, general manager of the High Gosforth Park estate, said: "This was an unfortunate and very expensive oversight.
"We have apologised for what was a genuine error and are still committed to our environmental policy."
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