MORE than £250,000 has been spent on policing Castle Cement's effect on the environment in the last two years -- believed to be more than any other site in the North West.

Since April 1998 the Environment Agency has spent the sum on investigating complaints about the plant, and the current cost is running at around £65,000 a year.

The figures were revealed during the prosecution of Castle Cement in a case at Lancaster Crown Court over emissions which led to odours and haze. The company pleaded guilty to three counts and was fined £45,000 with costs of almost £75,000. The court heard that the agency, which has headquarters in Warrington, investigated every complaint alleging breaches of the condition. Although some officers live within the Ribble Valley anyway and were able to investigate some complaints quickly, officers also have to make visits to the site from the agency's Preston offices.

The Agency's cost of preparing this week's case -- which was originally going to be a two-week trial before Castle changed its plea -- were estimated at almost £100,000 although the court ordered payment of around half that figure to cover the Agency's costs plus legal fees. A cost of £124 an hour was put on the work of agency officers in investigating and preparing the case.

The court heard that 400 to 500 complaints were received each year by the Agency from local residents. Between April 1998 and May 2000 1,105 complaints had been received.

Castle was fined after the court heard that it allowed persistent haze and odours to affect the area around its Ribblesdale Works.