Three men arrested and bailed after waste dumped on charity-owned land

15 Jan 2025 News

By Chalabala, Adobe

Three men have been arrested and bailed in connection with waste allegedly dumped on charity-owned land. 

Last month, the Charity Commission sent an alert on behalf of the Environment Agency (EA) about criminals targeting charities that own land across the south east of England.

The commission said criminals were “approaching charities with offers of low-cost landscaping or resurfacing, sometimes in exchange for storing soil on their land”.

“This material is typically processed waste, leaving charities with hefty removal costs and substantial landfill taxes,” it warned.

“Sites have been targeted in Berkshire, Surrey, and Hampshire and thousands of tonnes of processed waste has been tipped. Other areas may be vulnerable.”

The EA told Civil Society that it has been working with “the charity sector and others to help prevent waste crime”. 

“Three men have been arrested and bailed in connection with waste allegedly dumped on private land, some of which is owned by charities, in Berkshire, Hampshire and Surrey,” a spokesperson said. 

South East Regional Organised Unit assisted the EA by making one arrest, “a 77-year-old man from Surrey who was subsequently bailed until March 2025”, it told Civil Society.  

Meanwhile, Surrey Police arrested the other two men on the EA’s behalf.

“A 39-year-old man and a 62-year-old man from Billingshurst, West Sussex, were arrested in Cranleigh on 19 June 2024,” a Surrey Police spokesperson told Civil Society. 

“Both men were arrested on suspicion of offences relating to the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and remain on bail pending further enquiries.”

The EA does not have powers of arrest for waste crime offences and needs a police officer to apprehend someone on its behalf. 

For more news, interviews, opinion and analysis about charities and the voluntary sector, sign up to receive the free Civil Society daily news bulletin here.

 

More on