On 24 November 2022 at a sentencing hearing at Worcester Crown Court, Zackery and Jessie Biddle were given lengthy prison sentences after pleading guilty to multiple charges of fly tipping.
Zackery Biddle was sentenced to a 54-week custodial sentence, receiving a one-tenth discount for a “last minute” guilty plea. Jessie Biddle pleaded guilty to multiple charges of fly tipping and received a custodial sentence of 44 weeks, receiving a full third discount after pleading guilty at his first hearing.
The 12 and 10 month imprisonments are the most severe custodial sentences ever given for fly tipping offences committed in Herefordshire, Herefordshire Council says.
Declynd Mellings was considered to have played a lesser role in the fly tipping operation and was given a 12-month community order and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.
Zackery Biddle also pleaded guilty to treating and disposing of controlled waste in a manner likely to cause pollution of the Environment or harm to human health, namely by burning waste collected and allowing other hazardous chemicals to leak into the environment.
The court heard how in May 2020, officers discovered that Zackery Biddle and Declynd Mellings used a false profile name to advertise waste collections on local Facebook groups, offering to be the cheapest around at a time when household recycling centres were closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Their irresponsible and selfish actions have cost the council thousands of pounds of taxpayer’s money to clear the fly tipping.
Officers from Herefordshire Council’s Community Protection team visited Openfields caravan site in May 2020 and found enormous amounts of fly tipping spanning across the site, which triggered a “long and robust” investigation.
Officers searched the waste and found evidence which led them back to a customer who had paid money into a bank account to take away a large amount of house refurbishment waste. They were then able to trace the bank account to Declynd Mellings, who was found to be working with Zackery Biddle.
The courts further heard how between the years of 2020 and 2022, Jessie Biddle operated his own waste collection service on Facebook and collected controlled waste and disposed of it at Openfields caravan site in a manner likely to cause pollution of the environment and harm to human health.
Officers were able to identify Jessie Biddle by a mobile phone number given to a customer and found that he had collected commercial waste from a shop in Leominster for the payment of £100 and had failed to provide the necessary waste transfer notes.
The sentences given out by the court on this occasion are welcomed as they recognise the damage that these individuals have caused.
CCTV footage showed the waste being driven out of Leominster by Jessie Biddle who admitted to fly tipping the waste at Openfields.
Herefordshire Council has also applied a Criminal Behaviour Order to Zackery Biddle, Jessie Biddle and Declynd Mellings, which includes conditions to prevent them from collecting, carrying, treating and disposing of any controlled waste and will be applicable for three years.
Commentating on the sentences, Head of Public Protection at Herefordshire Council, Marc Willimont, said: “Herefordshire council will not tolerate fly tipping. The community protection team have therefore worked tirelessly to bring these offenders to court after they went on a 2-year fly tipping spree using false Facebook accounts to avoid being caught.
“Their irresponsible and selfish actions have cost the council thousands of pounds of taxpayer’s money to clear the fly tipping. That said, the sentences given out by the court on this occasion are welcomed as they recognise the damage that these individuals have caused to the environment and the unnecessary costs to the council to clear”.
