Two owners of a family-run Porthmadog skip hire business have had court debts of around £25,000 wiped out after magistrates heard they had paid off the majority of the amount outstanding.

But a third member of the Gaffey family is waiting to hear if he could be jailed for non-payment of compensation, with Caernarfon magistrates agreeing to adjourn his case to allow efforts to sell a property to continue.

Siblings Patricia and Michael Gaffey were ordered to pay almost £200,000 to cover costs of clearing the site of their former business, Porthmadog Skip Hire, at Penamser industrial estate.

Since then, 66-year-old Patricia Gaffey, of Fron in Caernarfon, and 62-year-old Michael Gaffey, of Maes Gerddi in Porthmadog, have paid significant amounts of the compensation they were ordered to pay, with Patricia Gaffey still owing just under £15,000 and Michael Gaffey still having a sum of almost £10,000 outstanding.

Defence solicitor Michael Strain said the two had sold property shares and vehicles and had sold a share in the business yard at auction, although that had been at a price lower than expected.

Magistrates agreed to write off the remaining debts of both after hearing about their efforts to raise the money to pay the clean-up costs.

Meanwhile, their brother Joseph Gaffey is still facing a bill of just under £45,000 of the £92,102 he was initially ordered to pay.

Under the original court order, the three were ordered to repay the clean-up costs of around £350,000 after Natural Resources Wales found the site was blighted with large amounts of waste which the organisation said was considered a risk.

That order saw the three siblings facing potential prison sentences if they failed to pay the compensation amounts.

While 57-year-old Joseph Gaffey, of Garth Terrace in Porthmadog, had paid more than half of the total amount he was ordered to, the remaining amount was due to be paid from the sale of his former home which is co-owned with his estranged wife.

Mr Strain said the property is currently on the market but has yet to be sold.

He urged magistrates to adjourn the case until the house is sold after reducing the asking price of the property.

Magistrates agreed an adjournment of three months, but ordered Joseph Gaffey to set a realistic asking price for the property.