A gang who made £500,000 charging locals to use a secret illegal dump is jailed after exposing residents to toxic fumes

A gang who made £500,000 charging locals to use a secret illegal dump where residents were exposed to toxic fumes has been jailed.

Truckloads of shredded waste were ‘regularly’ taken to the site in Long Bennington, Lincolnshire, where it was burned and buried daily.

It is estimated that 11,000 tonnes were deposited at the football pitch-sized site over a seven-month period, netting the group around £500,000.

Officials believe the clean-up operation will cost as much as £1.2 million.

Environment Agency officials spent months gathering information about the site, eventually carrying out a raid alongside Lincolnshire Police in April 2020.

A gang has been convicted of illegally dumping tonnes of waste in a Lincolnshire field, exposing locals to toxic fumes

It is estimated that 11,000 tonnes were dumped at the football pitch-sized site over a seven-month period, netting the group around £500,000.

At the time of the raid, an excavator and a truck were actively dumping more waste at the site, leading to two arrests.

A total of twelve people and one company were charged with knowingly causing the operation of the illegal waste dump or knowingly causing the dumping of waste.

Ten pleaded guilty and the remaining three defendants were found guilty after an eight-week trial at Nottingham Crown Court.

During the sentencing on October 18, the gang was sentenced to a collective prison term of eleven years.

Judge Coupland said the offense caused harm at the ‘highest level’ – and condemned the defendants for endangering local people through toxic fumes.

He believed the offenses were ‘deliberately concealed’ through the use of forged paperwork and said their repeated nature, in addition to the financial gain obtained, were aggravating factors.

Leigh Edlin, area director for Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, said: “This was a serious illegal waste dump that was well organised, involving multiple offenders.

‘Those involved sought to take advantage of Covid restrictions at the expense of the environment and by causing misery to the local community.

‘The site and its operators had a major impact on legitimate businesses and our regulatory work.

“Our enforcement teams will continue to tackle serious illegal waste crime by working with partners such as Lincolnshire Police, fire services and councils, as we have done in this case to hold those responsible to account.”

The Canner family trio, consisting of father Paul, 53, mother Judith, 55, and son Joshua, 29, who ran the illegal waste dump, were sentenced to 26 months, 16 months and 16 months respectively.

Sonia Surpal, 52, and Luke Woodward, 37, who pleaded guilty to depositing waste at the site, were sentenced to 13 and 11 months in prison.

Peter Wainwright, 32, and Nathan Jones, 43, were both sentenced to 16 months in prison for dumping the waste at the site.

Marcus Chapman, 39, and Daniel Lippitt, 55, were sentenced to 12 months and 9 months in prison, both suspended for 18 months.

Landowners James Baggaley, 38, and Marc Greenfield, 46, who both ‘knowingly permitted the operation of the illegal waste dump’, will be sentenced on December 16.

Robert Malone, 41, and Fletcher Plant Limited, who were found guilty of failing to comply with the waste care duty, will both be sentenced at a later date.