Suspended prison sentence for rogue skip hire operator
The defendant given 14-week prison sentence, suspended for 2 years after fire crews spent over 3 hours tackling blaze at overloaded site in Midlands.
A Midlands skip hire operator has received a suspended prison sentence after admitting mismanagement of a site, which led to a serious fire.
At Leicester Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 29 October 2026, Paul Sellars, 65, of Wheatsheaf Lane, Greetham, near Oakham, was given a 14-week prison sentence suspended for 2 years. He was also ordered to pay £400 towards costs plus a £154 surcharge.
In addition, he was ordered not to carry out any work for 2 years involving waste activities, whether as a volunteer, sole trader, partner, or director.
He also cannot apply for a waste carrier licence or to apply to be registered with the Environment Agency for any waste exemption.
Sellars admitted operating a waste facility outside its permitted boundaries between 25 October 2023 to 21 August 2024. He also pleaded guilty to accepting unpermitted waste and storing it unsafely and accepting waste after his permit had been suspended.
District Judge Nick Watson said the defendant had shown a flagrant disregard for the law by taking waste and not storing it safely.
The court heard that Sellars had operated a skip hire business in Wood Lane, Greetham, under an environmental permit allowing him to accept and transfer household, commercial and industrial waste.
In July 2023, Rutland County Council cancelled a contract over concerns about the volume of waste on site and the safety of operatives and drivers.
The Environment Agency subsequently served a suspension order on 12 February 2024, prohibiting further importation of waste.
The following day, a fire broke out in a waste pile 4 metres tall, believed to have been caused by a discarded lithium-ion battery. It took fire crews more than 3 hours to extinguish.
Despite repeated verbal and written warnings from the Environment Agency, Sellars continued to accept waste and ignored 2 notices to remove excess material from the site.
The Environment Agency began proceedings to revoke his permit, but this became unnecessary after Sellars sold the site in August 2024 to a new operator who has since cleared the site.
Environment Agency photo of waste at site.
Laura Richardson, Environment Manager for Environment Agency in Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, said:
The Environment Agency will pursue any person or company that fails to uphold the law to protect nature and will continue to press for the strongest possible penalties.
Failure to comply with these legal requirements is a serious offence that can damage the environment and harm human health.
If anyone has environmental concerns they should call our 24/7 hotline on 0800 80 70 60 or Crimestoppers anonymously and in confidence on 0800 555 111.
This work comes as the Environment Agency continue to deliver on waste crime through the Government’s Waste Crime Action Plan, and the Environment Agency’s 10 Point Plan. Waste crime: stand with us to end waste crime | Engage Environment Agency