Two men operating a Skegness waste site have been jailed and a third was sentenced after the Environment Agency (EA) found they were storing materials illegally.
Thomas and Jamie Todd were both sentenced to eight months of immediate custody and were disqualified from acting as a director of a business for five years. A Proceeds of Crime Act Enquiry is set to be carried out for both men.
Bryan Walker was given a 12-month community order with ten Rehabilitation Activity Requirement Days. He was also disqualified from acting as a director of a business for five years and ordered to pay £60 as a victim surcharge.
A fourth man, Michael Todd will appear in court on 25 May to be sentenced on two counts relating to the site.
Between June 2015 and April 2017, Thomas Todd, Jamie Todd and Bryan Walker managed businesses operating from the former Bowman’s Site, in Lincolnshire near the A52.
The three men appeared at Leeds Crown Court on 19 May 2023 for sentencing, having pleaded guilty at earlier hearings. Both Jamie and Thomas Todd had a previous suspended prison sentence for very similar environmental offences which the judge considered when sentencing.
Speaking at the case, Judge Batiste said that fire safeguards at the site had been “non-existent”.
The site’s environmental permit allowed for the processing of mixed waste to extract recyclable materials. The EA began to conduct inspections at the site and found failings, including the brothers’ failure to have a fire prevention plan in place. The EA says this was especially important as the site was surrounded by arable land and the nearest residential premises were only 10 metres away.
Inspections also found that waste was being stacked too high and close together, creating a fire risk. The waste had also become a health risk following an influx of mice and a problem with flies. As a result, the EA suspended the site’s permit between December 2015 and February 2016 to stop new materials from being brought in.
Further visits by officers between March and May 2016 found that there were no firebreaks between the waste and the company’s permit was suspended again in July 2016.
In July 2016, a new company Eco Green Logistics Limited registered an exemption to start waste work on another section of the Bowman’s site with Bryan Walker as the registered director. He also allowed too much waste into his section of the site leading to waste being stored unsafely and presenting a fire risk, the EA says.
The Environmental permit for the site was revoked fully in March 2017 and the businesses were ordered to clear the site. The site was later searched under warrant where evidence was found to show waste moving on and off the site despite the restrictions put in place by the EA.
Speaking at the case, Judge Batiste said that fire safeguards at the site had been “non-existent” and that the defendants had “flagrantly breached environmental law”. He added that if any part of the site had caught fire “it is highly unlikely it could have been contained”.
He said the actions of the Todd brothers had been “…so serious that only immediate custody can be justified”.
