His illegal waste site made an estimated £233,000, but operator Mark Fuller has been allowed to pay back just £1 of that figure.

Fuller, who ran the illegal waste site in North Runcton, near King's Lynn told Norwich Crown Court he has no assets so they would not be able to claw back any of the cash.

He was jailed for 15 months in March 2016 for running the site for more than a year from Manor Farm, in Common Lane, without planning permission and without an environmental permit to deposit, store, dispose and treat waste.

Fuller, who had pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to comply with an enforcement notice and one count of operating a regulated waste facility without there being an environmental permit in force, was back in Norwich Crown Court for a confiscation hearing.

Nicholas Ostrowski, appearing on behalf of Norfolk County Council and the Environment Agency, said detailed investigations by consultants had been carried out to see if there was any waste or items of value on the North Runcton site which could be confiscated to raise cash, but found there was nothing of any worth.

He said: 'The view is that there is nothing of much value at all at the site.'

He said the estimated benefit to Fuller of operating the illegal waste site was put at £233,445 but as there were no assets the order was made at £1.

He said because of the financial situation there would be no application for costs.

Judge Anthony Bate agreed the order and said that Fuller should serve seven days in jail in default.

Hugh Vass appeared for Fuller at the brief hearing.

At his sentencing hearing, the court heard that in September 2010, Norfolk County Council served an enforcement notice on Fuller requiring him to stop taking waste onto the land and processing the waste. The waste included construction and wood waste.

The enforcement notice was appealed by Fuller in August 2011, but the Planning Inspector upheld the notice.

Fuller then lodged an unsuccessful application for permission to appeal, which delayed matters further.

In November 2012, Environment Agency and council officers inspected the site and found a large stockpile of wood and tonnes of waste soil and construction and demolition waste.