Barrister leads toxic waste case

A BARRISTER at Exchange Chambers has successfully prosecuted four bosses of a waste firm for illegally storing controlled waste – much of it dangerous chemical waste – at six sites in Lancashire.

Acting on behalf of the Environment Agency, Slack led a successful prosecution which saw company boss Christian Garry Briely, 43, from Bolton sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment for eight offences and his wife Deborah Lynne Briely, 47, received an nine-month prison sentence suspended for 12 months for three offences. She was also ordered to do 120 hours’ unpaid work.

Christopher Hill, 50, from Hartlepool was sentenced to 8 months imprisonment suspended for 12 months with 120 hours unpaid work for four offences, while 50 year-old Roger Martin Bamber from Lancashire was sentenced to 120 hours unpaid work for eight offences.

The prosecution follows an investigation which began when hazardous chemical waste was found dumped at roadside laybys across Yorkshire, Lancashire and Shropshire.

This sparked an Environment Agency investigation known as Operation Pandora which led to the discovery of the six illegal sites, where substances such as acids, pharmaceutical vials and crushed tablets were being stored. One container was discovered marked ‘Very water reactive – explosive on contact with water’ which was being stored under a leaking roof.

A further 11 containers were marked as containing ‘carcinogenic contents’. They were being stored close to the River Ribble Estuary which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

During sentencing of the main defendant, Her Honour Judge Badley described how he was “persistent in the pursuit of profit, increasingly bold and [how he] acted outside the regulations clearly for financial motives”.

Louis Hunt, senior investigations manager from the Environment Agency National Environmental Crime Team, said: “We were able to use forensic techniques to identify the abandoned waste and trace those who had managed waste that had been illegally dumped.

“If we had not acted quickly then this gang would have continued to dispose of this toxic and hazardous waste across England in a highly dangerous manner, posing a significant risk to the public and the environment.”