Man imprisoned and forced to compensate landowners after waste crime

Michael Newsome abandoned 117 tonnes of tyres, equivalent to 4,040 tyres, on Lazy Acre Farm in Whittlesey
Michael Newsome abandoned 117 tonnes of tyres, equivalent to 4,040 tyres, on Lazy Acre Farm in Whittlesey

A man has been sentenced to 8 months imprisonment and forced to compensate landowners over £12,000 after dumping tyres on land.

Michael Newsome, from Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire man has been sentenced to prison for operating illegal waste sites.

The 28-year-old was also ordered to carry out 240 hours of unpaid community work, ordered to pay a total of £12,131.90 in compensation to the landowners where he abandoned tyres and a contribution of £1,000 costs.

He traded as Cambridgeshire Rubber Recycling Ltd and even advertised on Facebook as being licensed.

He set up in Peterborough having registered an exemption that allowed him a limited number of tyres on site to be stored under set conditions for safety.

'14,040 tyres'

Gurjit Bdesha, prosecuting for the Environment Agency, told the court that Mr Newsome took on a site at Lazy Acre Farm, Whittlesey and carried on business, failing to even register an exemption.

The landlord became worried at the number of tyres on site with no equipment to process them and asked him to leave.

Mr Bdesha continued: "The landlord was so desperate for Newsome to leave the site and clear the tyres that he was prepared to waive rent arrears of £3,500 if he removed them. The tyres were left there."

At that site, Mr Newsome abandoned 117 tonnes of tyres, equivalent to 14,040 tyres.

'High Risk Fire'

Mr Bdesha told the court that the site was listed as a 'High Risk Fire' site as the tyres were stored within 70 metres of the mainline railway from Birmingham to Stansted Airport.

If there had been a fire due to arson or self-combustion then the impact could have resulted in the closure of the railway and caused significant disruption to the national railway transport network.

He said there had been 2 failed attempts to arrest Newsome, 2 failed attempts to get him to voluntarily attend interview with Environment Agency investigators and since then no communication from him.

After the hearing, Enforcement Team Leader Phil Henderson said: "We require operators have an approved fire prevention plan in place before a permit is issued. The Environment Agency seeks to work with operators to ensure compliance with the relevant environmental regulations.

"However, as in this case, where those operators fail to take this advice we are compelled to take action, particularly in cases where the storage of waste may risk local residents or our transport infrastructure."