Two men have been ordered to pay over £313,000 as part of a proceeds of crime judgement for their role in an illegal tyre waste site in Daventry.
At Northampton Crown Court last week, Nimesh Patel, 52, and Andrew Eyre, 55, were ordered to pay £313,382.45 during a confiscation hearing.
Patel was ordered to pay £175,013.93 and a £122 surcharge, while Eyre received an order for £138,368.52 and £140 surcharge. Both men were given three months to pay the costs or face three and two years in prison respectively.
The pair were prosecuted for their part in running a waste tyre site, Synergy Tyres (Midland), at Broad March Industrial Estate in Daventry.
In September 2024, Eyre, a director of the company, received an 18-week prison sentence that was suspended for 12 months on condition that he completed 30 days of rehabilitation activities.
Patel, who had been operations manager, was sentenced to 14 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months on condition that he perform 80 hours of unpaid work.
Waste crime can have a serious environmental impact that puts communities at risk and undermines legitimate business…
The Daventry site operated without an environmental permit and tyres were stored in an unsafe manner, which created a significant fire-risk.
The Environment Agency said officers inspected the site multiple times in 2020 and each time found the amount of tyres being stored exceeded the legal limit.
The investigation found that the 40-tonne weekly limit for the storage or treatment of waste tyres was exceeded in 52 out of the 59 weeks analysed.
The investigation came after Eyre was convicted of a similar offence in January 2020. For this offence, Eyre received a suspended 12-month sentence, suspended for 24 months, on condition that he performed 150 hours of unpaid work.
Peter Stark, enforcement leader for the Environment Agency in Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, commented: “The case shows that we’re not just content to prosecute those who run illegal waste sites, we’ll also come after them to get back the profits they made from their illegal activities and to recoup taxpayers’ money spent on pursuing them.
“Waste crime can have a serious environmental impact that puts communities at risk and undermines legitimate business and the investment and economic growth that go with it.”
