Trio sentenced after ‘multi-million pound illegal waste operation’

According to a statement from Natural Resources Wales (NRW), the trio benefited nearly £5 million in avoided legitimate costs from two sites in Resolven and Skewen in South Wales.

The statement explained that Dennis Connor of The Barn, Pantlasau, Morriston, Howard Rees of Rheola House, Resolven, and Eurid Leyshon, of Pentwyn Farm, Skewen, were also given 280 hours of unpaid work, and ordered to pay back over £353,000 within three months.

Mr Connor’s company, DBC Site Services 2005 Ltd, was also ordered to pay a further £75,411 after a case at Swansea Crown court last month, NRW said.

Martyn Evans, head of operations for South West Wales, Natural Resources Wales, said: “We hope the outcome of this case will send out a positive message to those who seek to profit by breaking the law, that Natural Resources Wales will not tolerate harming local communities or damaging the environment.

“The impact of these activities went beyond the boundaries of the defendants’ land and affected the wider area.

“Disposing of waste illegally undermines businesses that invest in the required measures and so it is essential that we take action in such cases to protect people and the environment, as well as safeguarding the marketplace for legitimate operators.”

Investigation

According to NRW, the sentencing is the result of a “complex” four-year investigation.

It began in spring 2016, when NRW received information that large lorries were importing suspected controlled waste to the Old Rheola Works site in Resolven.

The site was adjacent to the Grade II listed estate at Rheola House, owned by Mr Rees.

NRW says it put the site under surveillance and observed large vehicles depositing waste on the site. One of the vehicles was registered to DBC Site Services, which is solely owned by Mr Connor.

The Welsh regulator added that large excavators could be seen burying the material in deep trenches, and then flattening the ground so that it soon became hidden.

Waste included mixed household waste from the Swansea and Carmarthen areas, finely shredded plastics, shredded vehicle parts, and hazardous clinical wate.

NRW confirmed that there were no environmental permits or waste exemptions in place at the site.

Subsequently, NRW officers and South Wales Police, conducted searches at Mr Rees’s residence, and arrested him.

A simultaneous search was carried out at the office of DBC Site Services (2005) Limited in Clydach, and the private residence of Mr Connor, who was also arrested.

Court

Mr Connor pleaded guilty to knowingly allowing the disposal of controlled waste at the site, and was sentenced to 20 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, plus 100 hours community service.

Mr Rees also pleaded guilty to disposing of waste in a manner “likely to cause pollution of the environment or harm to human health”, and operating a waste facility without an environmental permit, at Rheola.

He was sentenced to 16 months imprisonment suspended for 18 months, and given a community order to complete 100 hours of unpaid work.

Mr Leyshon pleaded guilty to two counts of operating a waste operation without a permit at Pentwyn Farm, Skewen. He was sentenced to 16-month imprisonment, suspended for 18 months two offences, and given a community order to complete 80 hours of unpaid work.