Skip operator jailed for breaching environmental legislation

A Somerset man who breached environmental legislation by running an illegal skip business has been given a prison sentence for dumping waste at two sites near Weston-super-Mare.

Ross Henderson, of Milton-based business Handy Skips, ignored advice from the Environment Agency about his legal responsibilities as a skip operator and continued to deposit waste without a permit.

Agency official Chris Nutley said that Mr Henderson deliberately ignored warnings and gained financially by dumping his waste in another firm's skip.

"He also gained an unfair competitive advantage over rival skip companies by running an unlicensed business," he stated.

Mr Henderson is the third skip operator in the Bristol and North Somerset area to be prosecuted by the agency this year.

Despite already being in prison for another offence, Mr Henderson pleaded guilty to two offences under the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2007 at North Somerset magistrates' court.

He will now be detained for an additional two months.

Written by Joseph Hutton