Man sentenced after illegal waste site fire costs £2m

Following an Environment Agency (EA) investigation, Oliver “Luke” Kirkbride appeared in Preston Crown Court on 15 August 2025, where he pleaded guilty to a series of waste crime offences.

He was handed a 16-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and disqualified from being a company director for five years.

Incident caused ‘weeks of harm’

The case centred on operations at the Lune Industrial Estate, where the EA found that thousands of tonnes of combustible waste were being stored in breach of permit conditions.

Despite a suspension notice issued in February 2022 due to significant fire risks, waste imports continued at the site until April of that year, and then under another company until October 2022.

Large stockpiles of waste were held in excess of the 500-tonne, seven-day limit permitted at the site.

The Agency revoked the site’s permit in November 2022.

However, in December 2023, a major fire broke out at the abandoned site, causing severe disruption to nearby businesses and leaving firefighting and clean-up costs of more than £2 million.

A spokesperson from the EA said: “The defendant repeatedly and deliberately ignored environmental law and defied enforcement action by continuing to breach the law with no consideration for the environment or the community of Lancaster.

“His actions led to a major fire that ultimately caused weeks of harm and disruption to local residents and businesses.

“The costs of which to resolve and clear were borne by emergency services and multi-agency partners including Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service and Lancaster City Council.”

Waste crime charges

Between September 2021 and October 2022, Kirkbride was found to have deliberately breached permit conditions, operated unpermitted sites and ignored enforcement action.

Kirkbride admitted four counts of depositing controlled waste without an environmental permit under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, and three counts of breaching conditions under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.

The EA spokesperson added: “Waste criminals cause distress to our communities and can destroy the environment. This case demonstrates that we will continue to pursue and take robust action against anyone operating outside the law.”