Birtley waste plant owner given suspended jail sentence over fire

The fire at the former Shee Recycling in Durham Road, Birtley, was declared a major incident

The "reckless" owner of a waste recycling centre which was destroyed in a huge fire has avoided prison.

Shee Recycling in Birtley, Gateshead, went up in flames on 7 February causing disruption to the nearby East Coast Mainline railway, homes and schools.

Clifford Shee, 58, from Roker, Sunderland, had previously admitted a series of waste and fly-tipping offences.

He was given a 30-week suspended sentence at Newcastle Crown Court.

Assistant Judge Advocate General Edward Legard told Shee he was "reckless" and had "effectively lost control of the site".

The Environment Agency, which brought the prosecution, said the businessman ignored repeated warnings about the fire risk and had a blatant disregard for the law.

Clifford Shee was given a suspended jail sentence

The fire at the Durham Road site took about 60 firefighters more than two-and-a-half days - 61 hours - to extinguish.

The court heard waste kept on the site illegally had caught fire despite the Environment Agency shutting it down five months previously because of the "serious risk" of a blaze.

Large oil drums containing hazardous waste, cutting equipment, batteries and fuel canisters were stored there.

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service officers visited the site on "numerous occasions" to urge the operators to reduce volumes of waste and introduce fire breaks between various piles.

A court order was in place prohibiting anyone from entering or depositing more waste on the site.

Fire crews took 61 hours to put out the blaze

Shee was handed a 30-week jail sentence, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to undertake 200 hours of community service.

He was also fined £5,000 and ordered to pay court costs.

The court heard he had two previous convictions from 2016 and 2019 for environmental offences committed at the same site.

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