A county Armagh farmer has been convicted and ordered to pay back thousands of pounds for tampering with public water mains
William Morton, of Ballyards Road in Armagh pleaded guilty to two offences under the Water and Sewerage Services (NI) Order 2006.
The offences related to connecting to a public water main without consent and tampering with a water meter.
farmer in Northern Ireland has been convicted and fined for illegally connecting to a public water mains at a recent sitting of Newry Court.
William Morton, from 125 Ballyards Road in Co. Armagh, pleaded guilty to two offences under the Water and Sewerage Services (NI) Order 2006 on Friday, April 21.
The offences related to connecting to a public water main without consent and tampering with a water meter.
He was fined £800 on each offence with an offender’s levy fee of £15 and £37 in court costs. In addition, the court imposed a compensation order of £12,834.19, as well as legal costs of £900.
Northern Ireland Water (NI Water) workers attended a farm owned by Morton on May 27, 2016 and found an illegal connection used to supply unmeasured mains water to the property.
NI Water underlined that it is an offence to connect to the water or sewerage network without its consent.
A spokesperson for the company said: “NI Water takes any interference with its network and meter tampering very seriously and seeks to bring the perpetrators to court when identified. NI Water will also seek to back bill perpetrators for up to six years’ water charges.”
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