Grantham man sentenced for storing asbestos near school

A man has been given a suspended prison sentence after he removed asbestos without a permit and illegally stored it near a Lincolnshire school.

Lee Charles, from Grantham, lied to his customers about having a licence to remove asbestos before dumping it in containers at a Welbourn storage site.

The asbestos was discovered when the containers were opened after Charles failed to pay the storage firm's rent.

He was handed a 12-month suspended jail sentence at Lincoln Crown Court.

Charles had told staff at the storage site that it was just his tools in the containers, according to the Environment Agency (EA).

The containers were located just 650ft (200m) from a school and close to a Girl Guides centre, the EA said.

Lincoln Crown Court heard that the waste in the containers came from work carried out in Doncaster, Melton Mowbray, Nottinghamshire, Stockport, Stourbridge and Wellingborough.

The EA said that once the asbestos was discovered, Charles abandoned the storage containers and moved to an unpermitted waste site in Little Hale, near Sleaford, where he continued to store asbestos unsafely, posing a risk to public health.

Paul Salter, waste crime officer for the EA in Lincolnshire, said Charles' firm, Lincs Demolition Ltd, saved about £50,000 in costs by avoiding the laws on handling asbestos correctly.

"Lee Charles' crimes were not just illegal, but dangerous," he said.

"In spite of repeated warnings and advice from the Environment Agency, Lincs Demolition, under Charles' direction, put both the environment and public health at risk.

"Asbestos, when inhaled, causes serious health problems, the careless storage of which presents a significant hazard, with a risk to life."

Charles, 39, of North Street, Grantham, pleaded guilty to two counts of operating a waste operation without a permit and two counts of keeping or disposing of controlled waste in a manner likely to cause pollution or harm.

He is due back in court in June for a proceeds of crime hearing, including compensation for the owners of the Welbourn storage site for the costs of the clean-up.

Follow BBC East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].