A housing developer has been handed a fine of almost £7,000 after leaving an "unsightly mess" at a construction site in East Tilbury.

Tom Ingleton, director of Ingleton Luxury Homes Ltd, was fined £3,400 personally and an additional £3,492 as director of his house building company for not complying with a legal order issued by Thurrock Council more than a year ago.

Ingleton, who has planning permission to build 18 homes on the site, pleaded guilty to not complying with a legal order to tidy the site at Basildon Magistrates Court on July 9.

Cllr Lee Watson: ‘Residents should not have to put up with the mess left by irresponsible developers’Lee Watson: ‘Residents should not have to put up with the mess left by irresponsible developers’ (Image: Thurrock Council)

Lee Watson, Thurrock councillor responsible for good growth, said: "I hope this case serves as a warning to developers who think they can create a mess, disregard warnings and notices from the council, and behave as they please.

"Instead of building the homes he had permission to, this developer created an unsightly, and potentially hazardous, mess he clearly had no intention of clearing.

"Now he is facing the consequences of his actions. He has to pay out nearly £7,000 in fines and will be forced to clear his site as required by the notice we issued him last April.

"Residents should not have to put up with the mess left by irresponsible developers."