THREE men found guilty of dumping more than 26,000 tonnes of waste in Lichfield and at other sites across the country have been sentenced.
It came after environmental health officers from Lichfield District Council visited the former GKN site at Crossfield Road Industrial Estate following a tip-off.
They found the site had been broken into and the buildings were in the process of being filled with lorry loads of rubbish, but those responsible fled.
Intelligence then linked the gang to similar incidents across the country, with an Environment Agency investigation launched after the council’s discovery in Lichfield.
It found that genuine waste facilities had been offered the chance to dispose of baled rubbish at a reduced price by the gang who then broke into or leased locations under false pretences to dump the rubbish.
The three men in their 50s were sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court last month:
- Marcus Hughes was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment and disqualified from acting as a company director for ten years. Hughes is already in prison and this will be added to his sentence.
- Robert McDonagh was sentenced to 21 months imprisonment, suspended for two years, and disqualified from acting as a company director for ten years. He was ordered to pay a total of £40,000 to four victims, given a 30 day rehabilitation order and three-month curfew order.
- Richard Hopkinson was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment suspended for two years. He was ordered to pay £25,000 to one victim, given a 30 day rehabilitation order and 180 hour community order.
Lichfield District Council’s cabinet member Cllr Alex Farrell said:
“I’m delighted the gang members behind this have been found guilty.
“We will continue to pursue fly-tippers, and work with other councils, the Environment Agency, and the police to see them brought to justice.”
Not enough. They should be working in a chain gang doing hard labour and have lifetime driving bans.
Let’s hope the ones at Watery Lane, when caught, get similar sentences!
I’d be extremely surprised if the Watery Lane mob are caught. They’re almost certainly organised criminals, not some bloke dumping a sofa for a tenner.
Took long enough and only by chance they got caught, sentences are too light and it’s ok saying the fines are big till they turn around and say they cannot pay, they’ll end up paying £10/month.
Jail is needed and not suspended if they have assets then these should be sold to fully repay all costs associated with the dumping.
good work from LDC, the Environment Agency, and the CPS but it is shameful that the law doesn’t allow for harsher punishment. If these criminals had been caught with a car boot full of cocaine and a submachine gun, they’d have got 30 years. But there is more money in waste crime, less risk and lighter sentences for this crime against all of us.
I know Dave Robertson MP worked on this as a Councillor and is now working even harder as the MP for Lichfield.
I rarely see such unity but we are appear to agree on this – the Watery Lane criminals should get hefty custodial sentences.
Need to get a tougher sentence , more like in USA like having a tough community sentence by actually picking litter rather than a warn cell with three meals a day and no bills to pay .
I have seen this in Oklahoma and, it works to some extent that the alternative is worse.
Uk , too soft !
I don’t understand how such people are only disqualified from acting as a company director for ten years. They’re not businessmen. They’re criminals. The ban should be for life.
I totally agree with Patrick. Prison isn’t a deterrent. Hard labour and demeaning menial work would be much more effective and send a very clear message to all that crimes like this are not acceptable. Wider society would also benefit from the free labour and reduced prison costs. Trouble is we have a succession of weak governments delivering weak justice. We need real change at the top.