John Roberts, 69, was ordered by the Judge to remove tens of thousands of tyres from Sherbourne Farm in Nash, near Ludlow, and was also given a 120 victim surcharge.
Environment Agency officers launched an investigation and visited the farm owned by Mr Roberts after receiving information from Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service in February 2011.
There, the officers found in the region of 12,000 to 14,000 waste tyres stored in the open around the site. In addition, they discovered an incinerator in use and a number of vehicles and vehicle parts being stored on the farm.
According to the Agency, Mr Roberts was served with a notice on May 23 2011 to remove the tyres within an agreed timescale, but he failed to comply.
He was also served a notice to install fire breaks by 30 June 2011, to reduce the risk of fire on the site whilst the tyres were in the process of being removed, but Mr Roberts also failed to comply with this notice.
‘This prosecution demonstrates that we take waste crime very seriously and will not hesitate to prosecute if necessary, to protect the environment and local communities’
Environment Agency
As a result, the Agency brought three charges against Mr Roberts involving the operation of waste activities at Sherbourne Farm without an environmental permit under Regulation 38(1) (a) and Regulation 12(1) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010.
Speaking after the case, an Environment Agency officer in charge of the investigation said: By not holding an environmental permit, Mr Roberts has gained financially over other legal tyre operators and avoided legitimate costs of disposal.
Illegal waste sites have the potential to cause serious pollution incidents or harm human health. This prosecution demonstrates that we take waste crime very seriously and will not hesitate to prosecute if necessary, to protect the environment and local communities.
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