Company director banned for running illegal waste wood site

Patrick Cassidy and Red Jon Limited must each pay £14,000 in costs

A company director and his firm "consistently operated illegally" by keeping too much waste on its site.

Red Jon Limited, which was run by Patrick Cassidy, of Bloxwich, West Midlands, was estimated to have stored 1,790 tonnes of waste wood on a site in Pyrton, near Watlington in Oxfordshire.

By law, it was allowed to keep only 500 tonnes of waste there.

Cassidy, 68, has been banned from running companies indefinitely and must pay £14,000 in costs.

Cassidy and Red Jon "consistently operated illegally", the Environment Agency said

At Oxford Magistrates' Court, he was fined £860 and the company £15,000. It must also pay £14,000 in costs. Both Cassidy and Red Jon previously admitted operating a regulated facility in breach of environmental regulations.

Julia Leigh, senior environmental crime officer for the Environment Agency in Oxfordshire, said: "I visited the site on numerous occasions, explaining which activities were and weren't allowed, but Red Jon were not able to make sufficient changes to comply with the law and reduce the risk to the environment and the local community.

"Waste crime can undermine legitimate businesses."

She added: "The Environment Agency works closely with businesses to help them comply with the law. In cases like this, where individuals consistently operate illegally, we have no hesitation in prosecuting them, as we want to make sure waste crime doesn't pay."