STORY
An illegal waste site in West Yorkshire has been cleared after court action brought by the Environment Agency.
Andrew Leadbeater, 57, pleaded guilty in April to two charges relating to waste offences at a site in Wyke Lane, Wyke, Bradford. West Yorkshire Magistrates’ Court ordered him to clear the land of rubbish by 17 June.
Complaints about fly-tipping and burning at the site were first made to the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council in 2023. During a visit by the council in June that year, Leadbeater said some of the waste had been fly-tipped on his land and admitted burning material at the site. He said he would stop burning and arrange for the land to be cleared.
In June 2024, Leadbeater contacted the council to complain that fly-tipping had again taken place on his land. Council officers visited and found a significant amount of waste before referring the case to the Environment Agency.
Environment Agency officers later spoke to Leadbeater, who said he knew about the waste but did not know who had deposited it. He said he had tried to secure the site and agreed to remove the waste urgently.
Follow-up visits in November 2024 and March 2025 found the waste had not been removed. The Environment Agency then issued a notice requiring Leadbeater to clear all waste from the land by 22 September 2025, but he failed to comply. He also failed to attend an interview with the Environment Agency in October 2025.
Leadbeater was charged with operating a waste site without an environmental permit and failing to comply with an Environment Agency notice to clear the waste. The rubbish included fire-damaged trailers and mixed household waste.
He was given two months to clear the site, along with a 12-month conditional discharge and £6,067.50 in costs.
Ben Hocking, Area Environment Manager for the Environment Agency in Yorkshire, said illegal waste operations had a negative impact on residents’ lives and welcomed the full clearance of the site. He said the case showed the agency was taking action against waste crime and urged anyone with information about unlawful waste activity to report it.
The Environment Agency said it is stepping up action on waste crime through a new 10 Point Plan, which aims to strengthen prevention, improve detection and deliver more consistent enforcement.