The site did not have the required environmental permits in place to carry out these activities and was undercutting legitimate businesses. The two defendants, David Peters, 42, and Tracey Noble, 33, have six months to pay the debts or face a prison term.
Prosecution of the defendants comes as part of ‘Operation Blade', which saw the Environment Agency work closely with Lancashire Police to tackle illegal waste activity across the county.
Commenting on the outcome, Liz O'Neil, area manager for the EA, said: “This case sends out a clear message that waste crime is a serious crime. We have the legal powers through the Proceeds of Crime Act to seize property and assets where it is proved that these environmental criminals benefited from their actions.
Harm
A site visit to the scrap yard at Ridge Farm in Lancaster found hundreds of vehicles being held on site in various states of disrepair and that the site was not set up to handle the hazardous wastes and liquids which come from vehicles.
There was no sealed draining system and vehicle parts were not stored on a suitably impermeable surface and, as such, the site could potentially cause significant harm to the environment.
In total, the pair were handed a £275,000 confiscation order, a £10,500 fine and ordered to pay £12,500 prosecution costs and £17,500 defence costs.
Ms O'Neill added: “We have dedicated environmental crime teams within the Environment Agency and have worked closely with Lancashire Police to bring these criminals to justice. This enables us to fulfil our role to protect and improve the environment and ensure that illegal waste sites do not have an unfair and detrimental impact on legitimate business and local communities.”
Sgt Fraser Earnshaw of Lancashire Police said: “This is a very satisfying result for a multi-agency operation that involved the Environment Agency, the police and our financial investigators and support units, along with other partners such as Health and Safety and the local council.
“This result goes to prove that partner agencies will work together to relentlessly pursue those who are involved in organised crime so that we can bring them before the courts and obtain justice.”
Powers
The Environment Agency has the power to seize assets under the proceeds of crime legislation, and worked closely with the police and the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure the legislation was used to “maximum effect”.
Robert Smith, Crown Advocate for the Crown Prosecution Service in Lancashire said: “This was a deliberate attempt by David Peters and Tracey Noble to operate a scrap metal business illegally so that they could make as much money as possible in a short space of time without having to keep to the regulations that apply to the waste management industry.
“As well as prosecuting them for this illegal operation, by charging them under the Proceeds of Crime Act, we are ensuring that they can't keep hold of the money they amassed in this way.”
Northern Commercials Limited was unavailable for comment.
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