At Wolverhampton Crown Court on 8 October 2025, Thomas Reilly, of Derby, was fined £19,248, ordered to pay £17,000 in costs and a £120 victim surcharge after pleading guilty to four offences brough by the EA.
Reilly, who traded as Tom Reilly Groundworks, operated without the necessary environmental permits.
A spokesperson for the Environment Agency (EA) commented: “Operating waste facilities without proper permits is not just about regulatory compliance – it’s about protecting public health and preventing environmental damage.
“Those who choose to operate outside the law gain an unfair commercial advantage over legitimate businesses.”
180 tonnes dumped in Nottingham
In the hearing, Reilly admitted to operating an unpermitted waste site at Top Farm near Nottingham between 2016 and 2021.
An EA investigation, which included drone surveys, revealed the site contained a range of waste materials, including black bin bags, bricks, concrete, wooden fence panels, shed panels and green waste.
The agency reported that the site “appeared to be operating as a landfill” without the essential environmental protection measures such as impermeable lining, leachate and gas extraction systems.
While the court accepted that Reilly was not responsible for all of the waste deposited at the site, he admitted leaving his digger on the land for extended periods which facilitated the dumping of around 180 tonnes of inert soil.
Second site in Southwell
Reilly also admitted to running an illegal operation on land of Oxton Road in Southwell between 2020 and 2021, where he imported and disposed of around eight lorry loads of waste soils.
The court heard that EA officers had spotted Reilly’s lorry leaving the site, prompting an inspection.
The visit uncovered six deep pits dug into the ground and a stable block filled with white goods, including fridges, along with bags containing books and magazines.
Reilly claimed the waste had been used for “finishing and levelling works” to fill holes dug on the land by others, but he was unable to produce the necessary environmental permits or exemptions for the activity.
Two further incidents in 2023
In a separate incident, Reilly unlawfully deposited 160 tonnes of waste soil on land at Winking Hill in Ratcliffe-on-Soar, between April and July 2023.
The landowner discovered the waste in April 2023 and began monitoring the site. When approached in July, Reilly admitted responsibility for the dumping.
Later that year, in September 2023, EA officers witnessed Reilly reversing his lorry into open fields at Flawforth Lane, Nottinghamshire, and emptying a load of waste soil.
Checks confirmed there was no permit or exemption in place to authorise such activity.
In mitigation, Reilly provided documents showing that he had also made legitimate waste deposits at regulated facilities during the period of offending.
However, the court noted the repeated nature of his illegal operations over a seven-year period and the environmental risks posed by unregulated tipping.
The EA spokesperson continued: “This successful prosecution sends a clear message that we will not tolerate illegal waste operations that put our environment and communities at risk.”
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