A TEAM of five men have admitted their part in a scam which saw them charging landlords up to £1,000 for clearing waste from properties – then illegally dumping it.
The men, who were trading as FD Clearance, are believed to have targeted properties tenants had left in need of clearance, pushing fliers through the letter boxes of empty homes.
Lee Ferrand, 31, of Blundell Avenue, Cleethorpes; Christopher Tuplin, 30, of Wellington Street, Grimsby; and Daniel Hewson, 40, of Peaks Lane, New Waltham, all admitted depositing controlled waste on a piece of land in Pasture Street, Grimsby, without a permit between August 1 and September 30, 2011.
William Robertson, 55, of Fuller Street, Cleethorpes, admitted depositing controlled waste at a site in Gilbey Road, Grimsby, without a permit on November 23, 2011.
Polish man Piotr Kwansniewski, 32, of Hainton Avenue, Grimsby, admitted depositing controlled waste at an abandoned building on part of the same site in Pasture Street, between November 1 and 30, 2011.
The scam came to light when a demolition contractor brought in to clear the site of the former Skoda garage on Pasture Street discovered commercial waste had been dumped there.
North East Lincolnshire Council's Community Pride team were called in to investigate, removing more than ten tonnes of waste, including mattresses, furniture and un-shredded private documents.
During a subsequent two year investigation, it emerged the defendants also used the domestic waste site at Gilbey Road to dispose illegally of commercial waste.
Kwasniewski was involved at an early stage of the incidents and Robertson was involved at a later stage.
Hewson pleaded guilty on the basis that he provided the vehicles and the telephones.
Other more serious charges, originally involving conspiracy allegations, were dropped.
Kwansniewski did not turn up for the main hearing but was brought before the court the next day on a warrant.
He was remanded in custody and also given a 28-day prison sentence for failing to answer his bail the previous day.
He got a concurrent 14 days for a similar earlier bail offence.
The five men will be sentenced at a later date.
ON THE WEB: For more pictures of the waste and NELC comments, visit www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk
