Joseph Kidd, Anthony Melland and Adam Swindells had to pay fines and costs totalling £13,970, at Derby magistrates’ court on 5 December 2024.
Environment Agency and Derbyshire Police Rural Crime are said to have joined forces in the prosecution.
On 9 December 2020, Derbyshire Fire Service attended the farm where shredded waste and tyres were on fire. While tackling the fire, a JBC Fastrac and trailer, driven by Swindells, arrived at the farm containing a further eight tonnes of shredded waste.
Derbyshire Police’s rural crime team and officials from the Environment Agency were then called to the site and started an investigation. They arrested Melland, the landowner, driver Swindells and tractor owner Kidd.
Their mobile phones were seized, enabling the investigation team to gain evidence of the trio’s involvement in previous deposits.
The downloads included Melland’s number saved in contacts as ‘Buxton tip’, and videos of the Fastrac and trailer in a field at the farm.
The trio originally denied the charges but changed their pleas on the day of the scheduled trial.
‘Not victimless’
Brian Jones, lead investigator for the Environment Agency, said: “The Environment Agency takes its responsibility to protect people and the environment seriously. This site posed a significant environmental threat due to the high risk of fire and potentially significant impact to local communities and amenities.”
Andy Shaw, from Derbyshire Police’s Rural Crime team, said: “Swindells, Kidd and Melland could have been in no doubt about their illegal activities and the potentially serious environmental and health related issues that they could have caused.
“Thankfully, members of the public phoned the Fire Service reporting concerns about the large blaze the trio had set – and we were able to attend and swiftly arrest them.
“It is important to remember that this kind of crime is not victimless, and the resulting fines show the seriousness with which the courts take these matters.”
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