A father and son have been given suspended prison sentences after pleading guilty to operating an illegal waste site in Northamptonshire.
Stephen Lack, 72, owner of the Monkton Sidings site in Corby, allowed his haulier son Andrew to run it as a waste site without an environmental permit.
Waste was disposed of in a manner likely to cause pollution.
Investigations by the Environment Agency, including drone footage, revealed that skips of waste were being processed on site unlawfully.
In addition to the site’s lack of environmental permit, waste was stored on bare ground, risking contaminants polluting the soil and groundwater.
Stephen Lack has three previous convictions for similar offences at his Monkton Sidings site and he went to prison in 2021 for operating the waste site illegally.
During his imprisonment, Andrew – who holds a licence for one lorry operating as ABL Skips - took over operations, but Stephen retained ownership of the site and allowed his son to continue the business. After his release, he resumed his involvement on-site.
Stephen was sentenced to 34 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for 12 months. He was ordered to pay £2,400 towards the prosecution costs and has two years to clear the waste from the site.
Andrew received a six-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months on the condition he performs 250 hours of unpaid work.
Paul Salter, senior environmental crime officer for the Environment Agency, said: “These cases are a shocking example of two individuals who continued to be driven by profit blatantly ignoring their responsibilities.”