The case centred on Hook Cliff Farm, Gonerby Moor, near Grantham, where the court heard that large quantities of waste were being deposited, stored and burned without the necessary environmental permits.
Waste found on site included hazardous motor vehicle waste alongside mixed household, commercial and construction and demolition material.
Investigators estimated that around 27,000 tonnes of construction and demolition waste had been imported to the farm.
Officers also discovered evidence of widespread waste burning, including a burn site where mixed waste had been set alight.
During inspections, EA staff observed some of the farm’s cattle living amongst the waste, with a feeder machine being used in close proximity to the dumped material.
The court was told that by operating the site without a permit, the principal offender had avoided permit fees, taxes and infrastructure costs totalling more than £500,000.
EA investigation into waste crime
The investigation intensified on 13 April 2022, when EA officers, supported by Lincolnshire Police, executed a court warrant and carried out an unannounced inspection of the farm.
During the visit, several vehicles arriving on site loaded with waste were intercepted. Officers seized closed circuit television footage from the site to assess the scale and duration of the activity.
Further evidence was gathered through drone flights, which captured images of an active waste operation, including skip lorries, a grabber machine and waste being fed into fires over a number of hours.
The investigation also identified a number of companies that had regularly deposited waste at the site without carrying out appropriate duty of care checks.
Sentencing and prosecution
In the court hearing, Anthony Critchley, of Hook Cliff Farm, Gonerby Moor, admitted running a waste site without the required environmental permits and disposing of waste in a manner likely to cause environmental pollution by burning it.
He was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to clear all unpermitted waste from the site, including bonfire residue, by 14 August 2026.
His case was adjourned until September 2026 for a hearing to consider confiscation under the Proceeds of Crime Act and the recovery of prosecution costs.
In sentencing, Recorder Hardy KC said: “Over a period of years, you operated a waste disposal business on your farm which was unregulated and offended environmental laws. That’s our environment, everyone’s environment.”
Convictions were also brought against Kaspars Runkauskis and Darren Prisetley, who were given a 10-month prison sentence and a conditional discharge for two years respectively.
Laffeys of Broad Fen Lane, Nottinghamshire was fined £3,000 and ordered to pay £1,500 in costs after admitting it had made regular deposits of unpermitted construction and demolition waste at the site without complying with its duty of care.
The company accepted that it had not had the correct procedures in place.
Enforcement undertakings accepted
In addition to the prosecutions, the EA accepted Enforcement Undertakings from three companies that had deposited waste at the site without adequate due diligence.
Enforcement Undertakings are an alternative sanction to prosecution for certain environmental offences.
Bowring Transport, Earthborn Transport and Construction and Environmental Services agreed to donate a total of £98,000 between them which will be directed to environmental charities as a result of the undertakings.
Peter Stark, Enforcement Team Leader for the Environment Agency in the Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire Area, said: “Illegal waste crime scars our communities and is something we’re committed to tackling together with local councils and the police.
“Together we’re pulling every lever available to us to disrupt those who profit from the harm illegal waste sites cause.”
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