A MAN will appear in court, accused of selling £9,000 of scrap metal without a licence.

Jerry Phillips, 54, of Fortune Steps, Southend, is accused of delivering scrap after providing false details, dealing scrap metal without a licence and failing to keep scrap metal records, between January 1 and May 31 this year.

Phillips was arrested as part of an operation to crack down on the illegal scrap metal dealing, spearheaded by Sgt Paul Costin, from Billericay police station.

Officers have been visiting scrapyards and scouring paperwork to draw up a list of people who have recently sold them scrap.

These names are then checked against council records to find out if the sellers had the correct carrier licences.

Anyone without the licence, which became mandatory at the end of the last year, is investigated by the police, interviewed and could be fined up to £5,000.

Phillips has been summonsed to appear at Southend Magistrates’ Court on June 20.