Company boss fined after abandoning dumping ground which gave neighbours pests

Jonathan Wells, aged 39, abandoned a site full of waste in Bromfield, Ludlow - the former home of his company LMS Skips Limited.

Between October 2016 and November 2017, officers visited the site and found large amounts of domestic and commercial waste was being stored on the ground, outside of buildings and not in containers - in breach of permit conditions.

Several reports were issued to LMS Skips Limited notifying them of permit breaches.

Initially, the defendant, who was the sole director of the company, was on site but on October 2, 2017, there was no one there. Officers attempted to contact Wells without success.

Unbeknown to the Environment Agency, Wells had abandoned the site the previous month. It subsequently became a fly tipping hotspot. Neighbouring units suffered with pest issues due to the volumes of waste.

The site was sold following liquidation of LMS Skips and cleared in 2018 at a cost of £45,000.

Wells, of Cleobury Meadow, Cleobury Mortimer, pleaded guilty at Worcester Magistrates’ Court to two charges of breaching conditions of an environmental waste permit, including abandoning the site operated by LMS Skips Limited in Bromfield, Ludlow.

He was fined a total of £1,272 (£636 for each charge), ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £127 and a contribution to prosecution costs of £500.

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: “We take waste crime very seriously and are committed to prosecuting when an offence has been committed.

"We are determined to make life hard for criminals. We support legitimate business and we are proactively supporting them by disrupting and stopping the criminal element.

“We urge all those seeking to become involved in the waste industry to ensure they have the appropriate permits and authorisations.

"If you have any suspicions that waste crime is taking place please contact the Environment Agency on 0800 80 70 60 or Crimestoppers on 0800-555-111.”