Prison sentence for storing waste illegally
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Company bosses appear in court after illegally storing and dumping dangerous chemical waste
By Roger Brown
A LANCASHIRE HAULIER was among company bosses who received sentences at Preston Crown Court, ranging from time in prison to unpaid community work, for illegally storing tonnes of dangerous chemical waste.
Bolton-based Christian Briely, 43, who runs waste disposal firm TWMS, in Merseyside, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for eight waste offences.
His wife, Deborah Briely, 47, was given nine months in prison, suspended for 12 months, with 120 hours of unpaid work, for three waste offences.
Christopher Hill, 50, from Hartlepool, who runs Orion UK in Preston, was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, with 120 hours unpaid work for four waste offences.
Roger Martin Bamber, 50, who runs R&S Bamber Haulage, based at the Twin Lakes Industrial Park in Leyland, was sentenced to 120 hours unpaid work for eight waste offences. R&S Bamber Haulage has an O-licence for five vehicles and five trailers.
In a prosecution brought by the Environment Agency (EA) on 10 April, the court was told that officers who carried out raids across Lancashire found six illegal waste sites across the county being operated by the defendants.
The raids followed the discovery in 2009 of hazardous chemical waste illegally dumped in roadside laybys in Yorkshire, Lancashire and Shropshire, sparking a nationwide investigation by the EA.
The discovery of the abandoned waste initiated the investigation into how the bosses had mishandled waste, but did not form part of the final case.
Waste found included acids from a wheel stripping company, glass medicine bottles, shredded oil filters, waste inks, and waste products from large-scale photo-processing companies.
The court was told the waste originated from businesses that had paid a commercial rate for the disposal and believed it was being disposed of responsibly.
During sentencing, Judge Badley said all four defendants were “persistent in the pursuit of profit, increasingly bold and acted outside the regulations clearly for financial motives”.
Louis Hunt, senior investigations manager at the EA, says: “This nation wide investigation has been complex and involved working with the public and authorities across the UK to bring those responsible to justice.
“We were able to use forensic techniques to identify the abandoned waste and trace those who had managed waste that had been illegally dumped.
“If we had not acted quickly then this gang would have continued to dispose of this toxic and hazardous waste across England in a highly dangerous manner, posing a significant risk to the public and the environment.” Mat Crocker, EA head of waste, says: “This sentence sends out the message that waste crime is a serious offence. Offenders can and will be sent to jail.
“Waste crime puts the environment and human health at risk and undermines legitimate businesses.”