Exeter man jailed for illegally storing thousands of tonnes of waste

An Exeter man has been sentenced for storing thousands of tonnes of construction waste illegally at a site in Newton Abbot, Devon.

Philip Liley, 47, was found guilty of illegally managing waste without the necessary environmental permits, putting the local community and environment at risk.

Liley, who was trading under the name Sweeper Hire and Hoses Ltd at the time, was sentenced to 15 months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 300 hours of unpaid work.

The case followed a pollution incident in March 2023, when the Environment Agency (EA) discovered a discharge from Liley’s site into the nearby River Bovey.

Chris Lawson, an Environment Agency officer, said:

“Environmental permits are in place to protect the public and the environment. Illegal waste activity such as this undermines legitimate businesses that work hard to operate within the regulations, as well as putting the local environment at risk and impacting on the local community.

I hope today’s verdict sends a clear message to illegal waste operators that we are committed to tackling the blight of waste crime and will use all powers available to us to catch offenders.”

The Court heard that in March 2023, following a report of a pollution into a tributary of the River Bovey, Environmental Agency officers found a pipe discharging a grey/brown liquid into the watercourse. The source of the discharge was found to be Liley’s site that he leased at Newton Abbot, which was churned up and with heavy plant machinery operating on it, causing the runoff to enter the river.

From the waste transfer notes provided, a minimum of 2,960 tonnes in total had been imported to the site between 18 May 2022 and 3 February 2023.

Liley resigned as director of the business on 1 March 2023 and refused attempts by the Environmental Agency to be interviewed to explain his actions and the legitimacy of his waste business.