Firm director jailed over major waste fires in Stockport and Salford

Barry Kilroe pleaded guilty to ten charges relating to waste storage and management

The director of three waste management firms involved in major fires in Stockport and Salford has been jailed.

Barry Kilroe, of J25 Recyling Limited, Recovered Fuels Shipping Limited, and Asset and Land Group, admitted ten charges relating to waste management.

A waste fire in Bredbury, Stockport, in 2013 burned for 41 days temporarily closing the M60 motorway. Another blaze in Salford in 2014 lasted 19 days.

Kilroe was sentenced to 15 months at Manchester Minshull Crown Court.

The Environment Agency said both fires were caused by mismanagement of the site and this was one if the biggest ever convictions of its kind.

The blaze at a recycling centre in Bredbury, Stockport involved large bales containing recyclable materials and was spread over a 100m by 100m area

The flames and smoke were visible across the Bredbury area in Stockport

Kilroe, of Alderley Edge, admitted a series of environmental offences including storing waste in excess of 10,000 tonnes, storing it for longer than a week and keeping it outside.

He also pleaded guilty to failing to provide an adequate environmental management system and storing waste outside in Stockport and operating the Asset and Land group site in Warrington while not having an Environment Agency permit.

Judge Stuart Driver QC said Kilroe had "deliberately offended, causing harm, which should be met with a prison sentence".

He also told Kilroe he could not be a company director, in any capacity, for six years.

Too much waste

The blaze in Bredbury in August 2013 caused the closure of part of the M60 for three days.

The Environment Agency had visited the site 19 times and recorded 38 breaches of his licence, including improperly storing the waste.

The following year, Recovered Fuels Shipping Limited, was suspended from accepting waste after a fire in Ordsall, Salford.

Fire officers had raised concerns about potential hazards before a warehouse went up in flames.

The blaze in Salford caused smoke in the area

Too much waste had been stored at the site and for longer than the licence allowed.

Kilroe also ran the Asset and Land group based at the docks in Warrington, which was used to store waste before it was shipped abroad.

The court heard Kilroe abandoned the site after officers again found too much waste was being stored.

A senior fire officer surveys the blaze at Recovered Fuels in Ordsall, Salford

Kilroe admitted several offences relating to waste storage at the Recovered Fuels Shipping Ltd site in Salford