Plant company's £1m confiscation

A landfill site operator who buried millions of tonnes of illegal waste has had more than £1m confiscated.

John Craxford and his company, John Craxford Plant Hire, were ordered to pay the money under the Proceeds of Crime legislation.

The confiscations are the highest ever seized for an environmental conviction in England.

Sentencing was adjourned at Exeter Crown Court until Friday, when Craxford and his company will be fined.

Judge Philip Wassall told Craxford he will not receive a custodial sentence.

The company, which operated a licensed site at Yannon Lane in Kingskerswell, initially appeared before magistrates on charges arising out of an Environment Agency (EA) investigation.

The company pleaded guilty at the earlier hearing to nine offences, including three of unlawful tipping between 2003 and 2007; failure to supply information to the EA on improvements, and waste type and quality; supplying false information; breach of licence conditions; keeping unsuitable waste and failure to obtain information about waste transfer.

Craxford pleaded guilty to being a director of a company instrumental in disposing of controlled waste at landfill in a manner likely to cause pollution or harm to human health; two offences of unlawful tipping and one of keeping unsuitable waste at landfill.

The case was brought by the Environment Agency with the Assets Recovery Agency.