A company and an individual have been charged in connection with a large-scale fly-tipping incident that made national news and blocked off homes and businesses.
More than 27 tonnes of waste – measuring over 20 metres long and two metres high – was found to be illegally abandoned on Watery Lane in Lichfield in January.
Yesterday, Lichfield District Council confirmed that a company based near Stafford has been charged with depositing the waste and obstructing the highway.
The individual, from Uttoxeter, faces multiple charges including depositing waste, endangering road users, dangerous driving, breaching HGV drivers’ hours regulations, and obstructing the highway. If found guilty, he could face up to seven years in prison.
As part of the investigation, Lichfield District Council’s environmental health officers raided a site in Staffordshire on 21 March and seized a lorry believed to have been used in the incident. The council has retained the vehicle and will apply to the court for its forfeiture if the defendants are convicted.
Both the man and the company are scheduled to appear at Cannock Magistrates’ Court at 10am on Tuesday, 1 July.
Council Leader Councillor Doug Pullen, said: “This was an appalling act of environmental crime. Local people woke up to find their only route to and from their homes completely blocked, and the cost to the taxpayer of removing and disposing of the waste was nearly £10,000.
“Thanks to the swift action of our environmental health officers, suspects were quickly identified, leading to these charges. We take a zero-tolerance approach to fly-tipping, because that’s what our communities rightly expect.
“This case is about more than prosecution. It’s about protecting our environment, supporting law-abiding businesses, safeguarding local people—and sending a strong message that illegal dumping will not be tolerated.”
- Read the Daily Focus story about Willshee’s Waste & Recycling, based in Burton upon Trent, leading the clean up efforts in what it described as its largest ever one of that type here.
