Nigel Isherwood and his company, Isherwood Skip and Container Hire Ltd, were found guilty at Liverpool Crown Court of depositing large quantities of soil and demolition waste, totalling 2503m3, outside of their permitted area.

In addition, on two occasions, the company at the direction of Nigel Isherwood, illegally burnt large volumes of waste on site in order to dispose of it at zero cost to himself. The business saved over £18,000 in disposal costs as a result of this illegal activity.

Any savings the business made were reversed when the court also fined the company £20,000 plus £18,000 in costs.

The company based at Ince Moss, near Wigan, will also have to remove the illegally deposited waste by 14 July 2011.

The prosecution was brought by the Environment Agency and Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council, on whose land Isherwood dumped the waste.

Paul Shelton, investigating officer from the Environment Agency, said: “Sentencing like this gives a clear message that waste crime doesn’t pay.

“This was a deliberate attempt to avoid disposal costs, creating an unfair competitive advantage over legitimate local businesses.”

Wigan Council’s head of Safer, Cleaner, Greener Neighbourhoods, Sally Wolstencroft said: “We are pleased that the court has recognised that what took place at the Cemetery Road site was irresponsible and completely unacceptable.

“The actions of this company inflicted a blight on the local community who were justifiably angry about the eyesore that had been created right on their doorsteps.

“This was about making money at the expense of the local community and the environment and we believe yesterday’s verdict sends a clear message that environmental crime of this type simply won’t be tolerated and people cannot use our borough as an illegal dumping ground for their waste.”

Alison Brown

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