Waste criminal told to pay £2.1m for operating illegal site: A convicted waste crime lawbreaker has been charged to pay over £2.1 million for conducting an illegal waste site at Ridgeway Park Farm in Worcestershire.

It comes after a confiscation case served by the Environment Agency at Worcester Crown Court, where Judge Nicholas Cole charged John Bruce, 48 years of age from Pershore, to pay the fine.

Mr Bruce had been given a 26 month custodial sentence in May for running the illegal waste spot between 2011 & 2014 and has been allowed 3 months to pay the fine or see seven years in jail.

He was originally prosecuted for 6 offences where waste totalling about 25,000 cubic metres was either dumped, burned or buried at the farm.

The court noted the defendant had developed his business & invested in several properties, land and cars as well as also owned a huge selection of expensive items of heavy plant hire which he hired, bought & resold.

Judge Cole governed a trust placed by the defendant was a sham & that money retained in a bank account controlled by the trust, including a property, constructed part of his criminal benefit.

He also found Bruce had used a bank account conducted by a proxy company to conceal his continuing unlawful activity and used it as he would his personal business accounts.

A representative for the Environment Agency stated: “This is one of the biggest orders the Environment Agency has gained.

“The case shows that we’re not just content to prosecute those who run illegal waste sites, we’ll also come after them to get back the profits they made from their illegal activities and to recoup taxpayers’ money spent on pursuing them.

“Waste crime can have a serious environmental impact which puts communities at risk and undermines legitimate business and the investment and economic growth that go with it. We support legitimate businesses and we are proactively supporting them by disrupting and stopping the criminal element backed up by the threat of tough enforcement as in this case.”

Waste criminal told to pay £2.1m for operating illegal site