A Hilton man has been ordered to remove hundreds of tonnes of illegally dumped waste or he could face up to two years in prison.

Giovanni Persico, 57, burned more than 300 tonnes of bales and waste containing plastics and other shredded material at Blakelow Farm, in Sutton Lane, in the village, in November 2017.

The fire lasted 11 days and resulted in the partial closure of the A50 as well as complaints about air pollution from as far as five miles away.

It came just two weeks after Persico provided the High Court a legally binding promise to stop having fires on the land.

The fire on the site in Hilton

South Derbyshire District Council launched an investigation into the fire in a bid to help protect nearby residents and the wider community.

This has now resulted in Persico appearing before the High Court again for breaching his undertaking, said a council spokesman.

The High Court also granted the district council's application to ban banger racing activity on the land, as well as prevent the illegal burning of waste, or harassment of residents who supported the injunction application.

Persico was found to be in contempt of court for breaching the conditions of an injunction not to hold banger racing events or race practice on more than 14 days a year.

Banger racing is a tarmac or dirt track racing type of motorsport event, popular across the country.

The application also includes a ban on carrying out development on the land without council permission.

The fire burned for more than 11 days
The fire burned for more than 11 days

Sentencing has been postponed for three months to allow Persico the opportunity of legally disposing of the remaining bales of waste on the site.

Councillor Andy MacPherson, chairman of the environment and development services committee at the district council, said after the case: "The impact of the fire on this land has had a huge effect on the surrounding community and the environment.

"We will not hesitate to take enforcement action where appropriate, especially when the quality of life of local residents is impacted by the actions of anyone who chooses to deliberately flout the law.

"It should be noted that we wouldn't have been able to have taken these steps in this case without the support of the local community and the evidence they provided. We would like to thank them for their assistance."