Fly-tipper gets record jail time

A Hertfordshire man who illegally dumped 85 tonnes of waste was given a record-breaking sentence for fly tipping.

Harvey Gibson received a 32-month jail term for "illegally depositing and disposing of controlled waste in contravention of a Waste Management Licence" and of managing a company while he was disqualified.

The Environment Agency (EA) brought the case against the "professional polluter" who dumped the waste in a field west of Reading.

He was also ordered to pay £20,000 in costs at Reading Crown Court.

Between 2004 and 2006 Mr Gibson dumped waste in Buckinghamshire and Berkshire, the court heard.

He buried or burned waste including batteries, solvents and plastic in a pit used to supply a public water supply and was caught after an undercover EA investigation.

According to Get Reading Jenny Thomas, an EA technical specialist, said: "Once a contaminant has entered the groundwater, the consequences for the communities’ water supplies and local river flora and fauna can be extremely serious."

The EA also said that prior to the sentencing on Friday, the longest jail term handed down for a similar offence was 22 months in prison.