28/09/2005 - A multi-agency
crackdown on environmental crime today in
West, east and South Yorkshire and North East
Derbyshire landed at least four people in
the cells for allegedly committing waste offences
and around 150 vehicles were checked as part
of stop and search operations.
Today the Environment Agency joined forces
with local authorities and the police around
the county to target people who abuse our
environment. Several stop and search operations
were carried out to catch people who illegally
transport waste, known fly-tipping hotspots
were kept under surveillance and illegal waste
sites raided.
Two men and a woman were arrested for allegedly
illegally storing waste after raids at three
separate scrap car dismantlers in Sheffield.
The woman was released pending further enquiries.
The two men were reported for waste offences.
Another man was arrested in Castleford today
during a mobile stop and search operation
conducted by police, Wakefield Council and
Environment Agency officers in the Wakefield
district. He will be reported to Customs and
Excise for alleged offences relating to the
use of red diesel, a fuel which is illegal
to use on roads.
In the same operation in the Wakefield district
more than 40 vehicles were stopped, and around
a quarter of cases will result in further
action.
At Thornbury roundabout on the border of
Leeds and Bradford around 100 vehicles suspected
of waste offences were stopped in a joint
operation by police, the Environment Agency
and officers from Leeds and Bradford councils.
One man was arrested on an outstanding warrant
for unrelated offences and another allegedly
transporting waste illegally was arrested
for failing to stop when asked by the police.
Around five case files will be prepared for
prosecution for transporting waste without
the right documentation.
On Humberside, Environment Agency officers
responded to reports made on Tuesday night
of tyres being burnt in the Withernsea area
by visiting more than 20 local garages and
car dismantlers to find out where they send
their tyres.
Last week nearly 2,000 tyres were illegally
dumped in Burstwick Drain, near Heddon just
outside of Hull. It cost the Environment Agency
nearly £3,500 to clear up the tyres,
which could also have affected the area’s
flood defences.
On Manchester Road in Huddersfield around
70 vehicles were stopped and 15 served notices
to produce paperwork to prove they were transporting
waste legally. Ten officers from the Environment
Agency and Kirklees Council carried out the
operation with support from West Yorkshire
Police, Customs and Excise and VOSA, the Vehicle
Safety Partnership. One vehicle was also confiscated
by the police.
In Doncaster a mountain of 850 tyres was
created by the council to highlight the number
of dumped tyres collected in the district
each month. Community First officers have
been out in force in the area all week handing
out on the spot fines and fixed penalty notices
for litter and other anti-social offences.
A joint stop and search operation between
Barnsley Council and the Environment Agency
resulted in 11 vehicles being stopped, four
of the drivers were already registered as
waste carriers and two were interviewed for
allegedly transporting waste without the correct
paperwork.
Area environment manager for the Environment
Agency Gerard Morris said: "We’re delighted
at the results of our crackdown today, which
will hopefully reinforce the message that
abuse of our environment will not be tolerated.
"The number of people reported for environmental
offences today is staggering, bearing in mind
it’s just one day’s work.
"More than 100 officers were involved
in the activity, but routine enforcement work
goes on every day of the week targeting people
who transport, keep or dump waste illegally.
"Today just reinforces our commitment
and that of our local authority colleagues
to bring to book anyone who abuses our environment."
