Hunter Group directors sentenced over waste offences at Huddersfield fire site
A huge Huddersfield fire which caused major risks to the environment has been discovered to be caused by a mother and son who have now faced severe legal repercussions.
In 2016 the Environment Agency discovered a site in Huddersfield – located on Queens Mill Road – was infected by huge piles of waste despite the site holding a permit that detailed no waste should be left on the premises.
The location had been succumbed to so much litter, which was comprised of wood, scrap metal and rubble, that waste piles were found to be pushing against a perimeter fence which was broken in places.
Following this, the Environment Agency ordered the waste to be removed and the fences repaired, but return inspections exposed that no improvements had not been made. In a drastic turn of events, the piles caused a fire to start which devastatingly impacted the environment.
Against this backdrop, West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Services attended the scene and stated that as well as a fire starting, the huge piles of waste had caused a large amount of runoff to accumulate behind the premises of a nearby glass factory. This was a huge concern as it was about to overflow into the river or flood the building where the glass company had important compressor machinery. To tackle this, the fire service deployed a pump to move this runoff onto the access road so it would flow into the sewer network, however this meant the road was closed for the entire day on 19th August 2016.
However, the solution was still not completely fixed. On 25th August 2016, Kirklees Council took the decision to bring machinery onto site to dig into the waste pile and move the waste around on the site to help the fire service extinguish the fire.
The fire was still smouldering on the 30th August 2016. It took the local authority until March 2017 to remove all the waste from the site to reduce the risk of ongoing fires. The total amount paid by Kirklees Council for clearance of the site amounted to £1,142,131.
The culprits behind such a disgusting act have been found to be Samuel Hunter, 31, and Jacinta, 59. The pair are known as mother and son and are directors of The Hunter Group, a commercial and leisure company.
As a result of this actions, the pair have been given a 24-month custodial sentence and a 12-month sentence respectively, suspended for two years.
Samuel Hunter must undertake 300 hours of unpaid work – the maximum a court can order – and Jancinta Hunter must complete 80 hours.
Ben Hocking, Yorkshire Environment Manager at the Environment Agency, said: ‘The seriousness of this sentence sends out a message that waste crime will not be tolerated.
‘This case followed action from the Environment Agency with support from our colleagues at West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service and Kirklees Council. Despite repeatedly being warned, waste was still brought onto site causing a risk to the environment and contributing to a fire which affected the surrounding community and businesses, and left authorities with significant clear up costs.’
Images: Environment Agency and Cullan Smith
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