Illegal Berwick scrap man blighted lives with 'foul' fires

Matthew Leiper's neighbours said they feared smoke from his fires were harmful

An illegal scrap man operating in a beauty spot blighted his neighbours' lives with "foul" fires, a court heard.

Matthew Leiper, 44, illegally burnt waste and stored old cars at a field in Unthank Square, near Berwick, in 2020, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

Neighbours said "acidic" smoke made them fear for their health and a judge said Leiper impacted the countryside.

He was sentenced to 260 hours unpaid work after being found guilty by jurors of two environmental offences.

Leiper, who ran fairground rides and inflatable attractions, bought a parcel of land in the "attractive countryside area" in 2017, Judge Richard Herrmann said.

In 2020 Leiper started placing "end of life" vehicles, which the judge said were incapable of being restored to road worthiness, on the rural site.

Vehicles ready for scrapping were also strewn across his site

He also began "significantly" altering the site by levelling the land and removing dozens of trees with the eventual aim of building a barn to store his fairground equipment.

The judge said Leiper was "dramatically affecting" the landscape which had a "very significant impact on those who lived near or visited the area".

Environment Agency officers visited the site in March 2020 and found 15 vehicle wrecks which Leiper was ordered to remove.

When they returned a few weeks later, he had got rid of seven but added another four, the court heard.

Between March and July, Leiper regularly burned garden and household waste with the smoke from the fires tormenting nearby residents.

One woman said the smoke was "thick and black with a nasty taste" and caused her to develop a "persistent cough" which made it difficult to sleep.

She also said it made it hard to care for her seriously ill husband and the couple could not enjoy their garden during coronavirus lockdowns.

Unthank Square is a rural hamlet near Berwick

A man said his family felt like they were "drowning in smoke" even with their doors and windows closed, adding it had an "acidic" taste.

He said he was concerned for the health of his family including a young child and they feared the fire spreading to their property.

Another woman said she was unable to go outdoors which was "frustrating" as the smoke had a "foul, pungent, chemical smell".

The judge said the fires were a mixture of green waste from the site and other domestic waste, including plastics, metals, mattresses, furniture and kitchen appliances which residents saw being dropped off by vans.

'Better off in prison'

Leiper said his family had dealt with scrap for "hundreds of years" and he had been in the business since he was 12 years old.

Judge Herrmann said Leiper did not have environmental permits for any of his activities, but when challenged by officers Leiper was "belligerent and stubborn".

The judge said Leiper never accepted he was doing anything wrong and he was "sceptical" about the defendant's claim that he now felt remorse.

"There is no doubt you caused a great deal of upset in the local area and understandably," the judge told him.

Leiper, who lives in a caravan on the field, told the court he had no money with which to pay fines or costs and being sent to prison "would be better than the way I'm living at the moment".

He said he had sold the land for £5,000 and his van for £3,600 but the money had been spent, adding he had also sold off his fairground equipment.

'Caused misery'

The court heard in mitigation that he had had "severe psychiatric problems" at the time and had not realised the impact his fires were having on neighbours.

Judge Herrmann said he was stopping just short of jailing Leiper, adding the scrap man had ultimately cleared the site of the vehicles.

He also said he would not impose any financial penalty due to Leiper's claims of having no money, but he warned him he could be prosecuted if he is later found to have lied about his financial status.

Leiper was found guilty after an eight-day trial of operating a waste site without an environmental permit and burning waste in a way likely to cause pollution to the environmental or harm to human health.

Gary Wallace from the Environment Agency said Leiper caused "misery for the community, clearly impacting on their health and well-being and causing pollution to the local area".

Mr Wallace said: "Leiper has shown a complete disregard for the community and the environment."