William Morton, 125 Ballyards Road, Armagh, pleaded guilty at Newry Court last week.

He was fined £800 (€942) on each offence with an offender’s levy fee of £15 (€18) and £37 (€43) in court costs. The court also imposed a compensation order of over £12,834 (€15,108) and legal costs of £900 (€1,059).

In May 2016, NI Water found an illegal connection being used to supply unmeasured mains water to the property. According to NI Water, it is an offence to connect to the water or sewerage network without its consent.

“This is not a ‘victimless crime’. This reckless action has the potential to contaminate water supplies or lead to pollution incidents,” a statement 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,” it added.

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