Director tagged after pollution prosecution
A DIRECTOR of a bed manufacturer has been electronically tagged and his company fined £10,000 after being prosecuted for a second time in 18 months.
Fazal Subkhan of Sovereign Sleep & Style, Batley Carr, ignored warnings not to burn waste wood from his business in the boiler at the shop.
He was found guilty at Huddersfield Magistrates’ Court of breaking the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Clean Air Act 1993.
Mr Subkhan was sentenced to a community order, including an electronically tagged curfew from 11pm to 9am daily for 12 weeks, and 100 hours unpaid work in the community. He was also told to pay £1,571.54 costs and a victim surcharge of £60. His company, Sovereign Sleep & Style, was fined £10,000, plus £1,571.54 costs and £120 victim surcharge.
The court action followed a previous prosecution in February 2014 when he was fined £17,000 for using material on his mattresses that was flammable.
But within weeks of that court appearance, Kirkless Council received complaints from residents near his Dewsbury factory about dark smoke from the round brick chimney at Sovereign Sleep & Style which was stopping them opening their windows.
Despite visits, written warnings and meetings, the smoke persisted and the council launched a prosecution.
Cllr Steve Hall, cabinet member for planning, highways and open at Kirklees Council, said: “Our environmental health officers will where possible work with businesses and individuals to try and resolve problems before taking legal action.
“However, in cases like this where an individual refuses to comply with the law despite having been warned on more than one occasion, then we are left with no option but to prosecute.”
