Environmental Enforcement Officers at Westmorland and Furness Council have successfully prosecuted an unlicensed scrap metal collector, after gaining evidence of months of illegal activity.
Lee Robinson, of Carlisle, Cumbria was witnessed collecting scrap metal from a business premises on Cowper Road, Gilwilly Industrial Estate on 3 January 2023.
He later submitted a guilty plea and was fined by Magistrates in Carlisle on 4 July 2023.
Although Robinson, a scrap metal collector in North Cumbria known to Council officers, had repeatedly requested scrap metal collection licenses in Eden over the past few years, he never submitted a completed application form. Instead, officers were subjected to verbal confrontations when trying to assist him, and in one instance, Robinson even challenged officers to ‘try and catch him’.
Council officers utilised police-provided CCTV footage as evidence of illegal activities. Robinson's social media posts also inadvertently revealed the location of his illicit scrap metal collection site.
Collaborating with the North West Waste Team at the Environment Agency, the Council’s Environmental Enforcement Officers gained access to transaction records: revealing the substantial volume of scrap metal Robinson had traded over the past six months, along with the significant profits he had accrued from his unlicensed and unregulated activities.
This key information was provided to the Magistrates to illustrate how lucrative scrap metal collecting was for Robinson, whilst unlicensed and unregulated.
The Magistrates found Robinson guilty of collecting scrap metal without having a licence. He was ordered to pay a total of £1,725.
Cllr Dyan Jones, Cabinet Member for Customer and Waste Services at Westmorland and Furness Council, said:
“We are pleased with this result following a long investigation into an unlicensed scrap metal collector regularly coming to this area, knowingly taking scrap metal without a license.
"The persistence of the Westmorland and Furness team and the challenges they faced gathering evidence for a successful prosecution is by no means a small achievement in this case.
“This case demonstrates how agencies work collaboratively, communicating and sharing knowledge to investigate all possible avenues in order that waste offenders, such as this, will be successfully prosecuted.
“Businesses and households must ensure that their scrap metal, like all other waste, is collected and disposed of by licensed operators only. Checking collectors’ license status will discourage unlicensed individuals who purposely choose to disregard the law and deny earnings from responsible, licensed dealers.”