Jail for pair after 4 week blaze at Scout Hill tip

Forge Plant Limited’s tip at Scout Hill caught fire and burned for weeks – costing the fire service more than £800,000.

A further £400,000 was spent on moving some of the waste.

At Leeds Crown Court this week, the 70-year-old from Greenside Road, Mirfield, was sent to prison for two years after admitting breaching environmental rules at the tip in Ravenswharfe Road and two other sites.

His son, Neil Hinchcliffe, 49, of West Vale, Dewsbury, was jailed for 16 months after admitting two offences of operating without a permit and failing to provide transfer notes.

Judge James Spencer QC said the pair had shown ‘prolonged and cynical disregard for regulations’.

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