Family firm sentenced over Bolton and Leigh illegal waste sites

SC Chadwicks and Sons Ltd repeatedly broke environmental laws at its Bolton and Leigh sites

A father and two sons who ran two waste sites which caused several fires, bad odour and "misery for residents" have been sentenced.

SC Chadwicks and Sons Ltd repeatedly broke environmental laws at its Bolton and Leigh sites, the Environment Agency (EA) said.

Bolton Council spent £2.7m clearing the site after it was abandoned in 2016.

Michael Chadwick and sons Sean and Gary were all handed suspended jail sentences at Bolton Crown Court.

The trio had "consistently failed" to respond to action notices and warnings, the EA said.

The EA said it received 172 odour complaints over two years and eight fires had been reported between 2006 and 2013 at the site in Oakenbottom Road in Bolton.

It said SC Chadwicks and Sons Ltd, which ceased trading in 2016, also "cost taxpayers money as Bolton Council had to clear the site at considerable expense".

Both the Bolton and Leigh site, in Manchester Road, had remained non-compliant with its permit, putting the areas at high-risk of pollution, the EA said.

Michael Chadwick, 71, of Kenwood Avenue in Leigh, and Sean Chadwick, 48, of Manchester Road in Leigh, were each given a 10-month sentence, suspended for 18 months, and two 14-week sentences, suspended for 18 months.

Gary Chadwick, 51, of Culcheth Hall Drive in Warrington, was given two 14-week sentences, suspended for 18 months.

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