A property developer fed up with neighbours dumping their own rubbish in a skip he had hired while renovating a house has ended up in court over the matter.

Matteo Focarelli, 42, was working on a property on Poppleton Road in York when the incident happened.

The businessman ended up being charged with four offences under the Environmental Protection Act relating to the disposal of waste.

He was accused of failing to prevent the escape of waste under his control, handling, transferring or controlling waste without taking reasonable measures,

Matteo Focarelli was taken to court by City of York Council after disposing of waste other people had put in a skip he had hired

and depositing cushions, roofing insulation and a wooden unit on land without an environmental permit.

Mr Focarelli, of St Paul’s Terrace, Holgate, appeared before York Magistrates Court on Friday, but his solicitor explained that the matter had been ‘resolved’.

It was agreed that the property developer would attend City of York Council offices, where he would receive a caution and pay fixed penalty notices and prosecution costs.

His solicitor added: “This is a resolution and we don’t need to trouble the courts. The council will then withdraw the case. He was renovating a property, and the neighbours kept depositing waste in his skip. He moved it onto his own land, and put some of it into the local collection. It was not his own waste, but it was too large for the bins.

"He has learned an expensive lesson. Moving the waste onto his own property is covered by regulations, as it is classed as waste transfer and he didn’t have a transfer notice.

"A vehicle was illegally parked, which also prevented collection of the skip.”

Yorkshire property developer learns 'expensive lesson' after disposing of waste neighbours had put in his skip