Builder punished for dumping asbestos

A builder and roofer has been ordered to do 180 hours of community service after being found guilty of dumping asbestos sheeting in someone else's skip, posing a health and safety risk to children at a local school.

Lincoln magistrates' court heard how a man was seen in the early hours of a Saturday morning putting sheets of asbestos into a skip outside a house in Rasen Lane.

When confronted, Mark Alexander Taylor said he had received permission from a man called Steve to do so, but his registration plate number was recorded and passed on to the Environment Agency.

The organisation traced the van to Mr Taylor who told the court he was in the area but did not put any asbestos in the skip.

District Judge Richard Blake, said the defendant's actions put the health and safety of people in the area at risk.

"This case was particularly serious as it involved asbestos being thrown into a skip next to a busy pavement in a residential area by a school route," he stated.

Meanwhile, a new report has claimed visitors, MPs and others are at risk from asbestos exposure in the Houses of Parliament.