Two landowners sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court for running illegal waste site in Long Bennington

Two men have been sentenced for operating an illegal waste site, following an investigation by the Environment Agency.

Marc Greenfield, 46, has been sentenced to 19 months in prison and James Baggaley, 39, has been sentenced for 20 months - both suspended for 18 months - after appearing in Nottingham Crown Court yesterday (Monday, December 16).

This follows the operation of an illegal waste site on Fen Lane, Long Bennington.

Greenfield and Baggaley are the latest of 11 people to be sentenced in the case, including three family members who controlled the site.

When sentencing the two landowners in court, his Honour Judge Coupland found the two men had lied to residents and tried to conceal the activity, while Greenfield lied to investigators.

The judge also found that the highest level of harm had been caused with the site changing from a grassed area to a ‘smoking wasteland’, which put nearby residents at harm from toxic fumes.

The EA’s investigation, named Operation Lord, saw officers spend months gathering evidence on the site.

Information revealed lorry-loads of shredded waste were regularly accepted onto the site, equal to the size of a football pitch.

Waste was also burned daily and buried. This was intensified during the first Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020, so any action taken was brought to a halt.

Alongside Lincolnshire Police, EA conducted a raid on the site in April 2020 where two arrests were made, and they seized an excavator and a lorry, which were actively depositing more waste at the site when officers arrived.

Leigh Edlin, EA area director for Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire, said: “This was a serious illegal waste site which was highly organised and involved multiple offenders.

“Those involved sought to profit from Covid restrictions at the cost of the environment and by inflicting misery on the local community.

“The site and its operators had a major impact on legitimate businesses and our regulatory work.

“Our enforcement teams will continue to tackle serious illegal waste crime by working with partners such as Lincolnshire Police, fire services and councils, as we did in this case to hold those responsible to account.”

The investigation led to 12 people and one company being charged, of which 10 pleaded guilty.

Following an eight-week trial at Nottingham Crown Court that concluded on June 28, the three remaining defendants were found guilty.

Nine defendants were sentenced on October 18, including three family members, who were father Paul Canner, 53, mother Judith Canner, 55, both of Main Road, Bilstone, Nuneaton and son Joshua Canner, 29, of Laburnum Avenue, Newbold Verdon, who all ran the illegal waste site.

Paul was sentenced to 26 months in prison, while Judith and Joshua were each sentenced to 16 months.

Sentences given to the other defendants on October 18 were:

Sonial Surpal, 52, of Round House Road, Coventry, pleaded guilty to depositing waste at the site between October 1, 2019 and May 1, 2020. He was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court to 13 months’ immediate imprisonment.

Luke Woodward, 37, of Willow Road, Nuneaton, pleaded guilty to depositing waste at the site between October 1, 2019 and May 1, 2020. He was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court to 11 months’ immediate imprisonment.

Marcus Chapman, 39, of Egmanton Drive, Mansfield, pleaded guilty to disposing of the waste at the site between October 1, 2019 and May 1, 2020. He was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court to 12 months’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months. He has been ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work.

Peter Wainwright, 32, of Dexter Lane, Hurley, Atherstone, Warwickshire pleaded guilty to disposing of waste at the site between October 1, 2019 and May 1, 2020. He was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court to 16 months’ immediate imprisonment.

Nathan Jones, 43, of Carnation Road, Shirebrook, Mansfield, pleaded guilty to disposing of waste at the site between October 1, 2019 and May 1, 2020. He was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court to 16 months’ immediate imprisonment.

Daniel Lippitt, 55, of Lubbersthorpe Road, Leicester, pleaded guilty to depositing waste at the site between October 1, 2019 and May 1, 2020. He was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court to 9 months’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months. He has been ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work.