County Durham man sentenced over illegal waste activity

A man has been sentenced for operating an illegal waste site and burning waste there, following investigations by the Environment Agency.

Lawrence Crossling, 41, of Salters Lane, Shotton Colliery, was sentenced at Durham Crown Court on Thursday, March 28 after previously pleading guilty to operating an illegal waste site and burning waste.

He was fined £800 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £80. He was also fined £50 for breaching a suspected prison sentence from a previous, unrelated offence. He was given one year to pay the fines or risk 28 days imprisonment.

The court heard that in May 2022 Durham County Council officials saw fire burning at a compound at Salters Lane; including plastics, furniture, wood, metal and a boxing bag, with evidence of previous fires.

In January 2023 officers from the council, Environment Agency and Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service jointly attended the site.

The ground was covered in waste, most of which was reduced to ash. A fire was burning. Piles of waste included demolition and construction waste, metal waste including a fridge-freezer, washing machines, a shopping trolley and bathtub.

In May 2023 Environment Agency officers issued letters instructing the clearing the site of all waste by June 9, 2023 and a request to attend for an interview.

On June 14, the officers met Crossling at the compound. He was told he could not carry out waste activities there. The site was still covered in waste.

Crossling was interviewed the following month and admitted having hardcore delivered to address flooding issues. He said he and his sons collected scrap, which was deposited and burned on the land. He also said he allowed others to deposit scrap at the compound.

He had no paperwork for any of the transactions.

Gary Wallace, Area Environment manager for the Environment Agency in the North East, said: “Our officers witnessed Crossling’s land carpeted with waste with evidence of multiple fires, showing a complete disregard for the law.

“Waste crime has a terrible impact on the community and environment as well as undermining legitimate businesses.

“We worked hard with our partners to ensure Crossling was brought before the court for his actions and hopefully this prosecution sends out a message to others that we will not tolerate waste crime in our communities.”