The ruling was made on 12 September 2025, following a hearing at Nottingham Crown Court, and marks the latest stage in a long-running investigation into large-scale waste crime at Fen Lane in Lincolnshire.
£112,000 secured by the EA
The court heard that the five men played varying roles in the running of the site, which saw lorry-loads of shredded waste burnt and buried close to homes during 2019 and 2020.
Convictions were held against:
- Waste broker and dealer Robert Malone, who was fined £1,165 and ordered to pay back £45,948
- Daniel Lippitt, an operator who deposited waste at the site, who received a confiscation order of £10,000
- Lorry drivers Luke Woodward and Sonial Surpal, who were ordered to pay £1,111.61 and £16,511.55 respectively
- Site operative Nathan Jones, who was ordered to pay £1,180
The orders come after Fletcher Plant Limited, a transport company that delivered loads to the site, was fined £80,000 and hit with a confiscation order of £37,587.13 for failing to comply with its waste duty of care.
In total, the EA has now secured £112,338.29 in proceeds of crime confiscations in connection with the Long Bennington case.
Peter Stark, Environment Agency Enforcement Team Leader, said: “Waste crime blights communities, and it’s only right that those who seek to profit from it should have their ill-gotten gains confiscated.
“This is a cautionary tale for anyone tempted to try to operate outside the law.
“We have doggedly pursued all the offenders who contributed to the illegal waste site at Long Bennington, and we are satisfied with the outcome of today’s hearing.”
Operation Lord
The confiscations form part of the EA’s ongoing investigation, codenamed Operation Lord.
The operation revealed that shredded waste was being regularly deposited and burned on a site “the size of a football pitch” during 2019 and 2020.
In April 2020, officers from the EA and Lincolnshire Police raided the site, seizing an excavator and lorry that were in the process of dumping further waste. Two arrests were made.
In 2024, 12 people were sentenced for their roles in the activity. Seven received immediate custodial sentences, including site operators Paul, Judith and Joshua Canner, who were described in court as central figures in the operation.
Four others received suspended sentences, while one was fined.
A further two landowners, Marc Greenfield and James Baggaley, were sentenced in December 2024 after being found guilty of knowingly permitting the operation of the illegal site.
Both received suspended prison terms and were ordered to remove the waste from their land – a clean-up expected to cost £2.5 million.
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