Four arrested over 'atrocious' illegal waste dump

Four men have been arrested in connection with "atrocious" illegal large-scale dumping of waste at a site in Greater Manchester.

Residents near the Bolton House Road site in Wigan have had to endure bad smells, while a week-long fire caused nearby schools to close last summer.

Two men, a 41-year-old and a 35-year-old from Wigan, a 24-year-old from Leeds and a 59-year-old from Liverpool, were arrested for environmental, fraud and money laundering offences, the Environment Agency said.

The 24-year-old man from Leeds was also arrested over waste dumping at the Cave's Inn Pits Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) near Shawell, Leicestershire.

A 58-year-old man from the Birmingham area was previously arrested in May in connection with illegal waste dumping at the site.

The government has announced it will directly fund the clean-up of the Bolton Road House site, whose entrance has been blocked with concrete blocks by the local authority to prevent any more additional waste being dumped illegally.

Wigan Council is looking to recruit a specialist contractor for the clear-up of the site.

Officers from Greater Manchester, Lancashire, and West Yorkshire Police, working in support of the EA, whose National Environmental Crime Unit is leading the investigation, secured the arrests of the four men.

Sue Longstone, director of operations for the north, said: "The illegal dumping at Bolton House Road and Cave's Inn Pits are atrocious attacks on our communities, and we share the public's utter disgust at these horrendous crimes.

"Our teams have been working relentlessly on these investigations, and our arrests are a vital step in collecting new evidence and progressing it further."

Following the arrests, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: "I have stood on Bolton House Road and seen what local people have had to live with.

"It is shocking – an ocean of rubbish piled up next to a primary school, and families unable to escape the smell in their own homes.

"This is not fly-tipping. This is organised crime, and it is local communities that are paying the price.

"For too long, this issue has been ignored. But not on my watch.

"Today's action by the EA and the police is just the start of our plans. The days of making easy money from waste are over."

Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle said tackling waste crime was one of her top priorities, and the government was giving regulators and enforcement agencies the powers and resources they need to break up criminal operations and hold those responsible to account.

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