Leeds man among four arrested over 'atrocious' illegal waste dumping

Four men have been arrested over “atrocious” illegal large-scale dumping of waste at a site in Wigan, the Environment Agency said.

Residents near the Bolton House Road site have had to endure bad smells, while a week-long fire caused nearby schools to close last summer, officials said.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham pledged organised waste crime would not be ignored on his watch, as he said that families had had to live with an ocean of rubbish and were unable to escape the smells from the tip in their own homes.

The Government has announced it will directly fund the clean-up of the Bolton Road House site, whose entrance has been blocked with concrete blocks by the local authority to prevent any more additional waste being dumped illegally.

Wigan Council is looking to recruit a specialist contractor for the clear-up of the site.

Officers from Greater Manchester, Lancashire, and West Yorkshire Police, working in support of the Environment Agency, whose National Environmental Crime Unit is leading the investigation, secured the arrests of the four men.

Two men, a 41-year-old and a 35-year-old, from Wigan, a 24-year-old from Leeds and a 59-year-old from Liverpool, were arrested for environmental, fraud and money laundering offences.

The 24-year-old man from Leeds was also arrested over waste dumping at the Cave’s Inn Pits Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) near Shawell, Leicestershire, the Environment Agency said.

A 58-year-old man from the Birmingham area was previously arrested in May in connection with illegal waste dumping at the site.

Sue Longstone, director of operations for the north at the Environment Agency, said: “The illegal dumping at Bolton House Road and Cave’s Inn Pits are atrocious attacks on our communities, and we share the public’s utter disgust at these horrendous crimes.

“Our teams have been working relentlessly on these investigations, and our arrests are a vital step in collecting new evidence and progressing it further.”

Following the arrests, Mr Burnham said: “I have stood on Bolton House Road and seen what local people have had to live with.

“It is shocking – an ocean of rubbish piled up next to a primary school, and families unable to escape the smell in their own homes.

“This is not fly-tipping. This is organised crime, and it is local communities that are paying the price.

“For too long, this issue has been ignored. But not on my watch.

“Today’s action by the Environment Agency and the police is just the start of our plans. The days of making easy money from waste are over.”

Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle said: “The appalling dumping of waste at Bolton House Road and Cave’s Inn Pits represents a blatant disregard for local communities and the environment.”

She said tackling waste crime was one of her top priorities, and the Government was giving regulators and enforcement agencies the powers and resources they need to break up criminal operations and hold those responsible to account.