The Environment Agency has successfully brought those responsible to account for abandoning nearly 2,000 tonnes of waste at Shaw Road, Dudley in 2016.

On Tuesday 13 August, HHJ Kershaw sentenced Kevin Allan and Brian McIntosh to suspended sentences of imprisonment in addition to unpaid work. Randle Hawkins was ordered to complete unpaid work under the supervision of the Probation Service.

In June, jurors at Wolverhampton Crown Court convicted the directors of Rowanoak Waste Services Limited for their failure to comply with permit conditions and enforcement notices at the site known as Rowanoak. The Environment Agency used various enforcement tools to try and bring the site back into compliance, but those operating the site failed to act on the advice and guidance provided.

The site was then abandoned in 2016 with a significant amount of waste left in situ. Environment Agency officers worked with the new landowners and the waste was removed in March 2018.

Rowanoak Waste Services Limited and director Kevin Allan were found guilty on all counts relating to the illegal waste activities at Shaw Road. The company was fined £25,000 and Kevin Allan, who showed no remorse for his actions during the trial, received 12 months’ imprisonment suspended for 12 months and was ordered to complete 100 hours’ unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay £40,000 towards the prosecution costs and disqualified from acting as a company director for three years. The court took into consideration Mr Allan’s age, 60 years old, and his previous good character.

The court heard that operations at the site led to complaints of smells and dust. Employees of nearby businesses described the smell as ‘stomach churning’ and felt physically ill as a result. The smell was described as rotting vegetables and resembled that of sewage. The dust had an impact on neighbouring businesses, covering customers’ cars and business vehicles. Debris from the waste piles blocked guttering and affected air conditioning at nearby factory units.

Mak Waste Ltd and its director Brian McIntosh, had previously admitted their part in the failure to comply with the conditions of the permit on the site and the continual failure to action requests for compliance made by Environment Agency officers. Mak Waste was fined £18,000 and Mr McIntosh was found to have been allowed the breaches to occur and witnessed the site getting worse and worse, while making empty promises to Environment Officers. HHJ Kershaw took into account Mr McIntosh’s good behaviour since the offences were committed and that he has two children, but passed a sentence of 10 months’ imprisonment suspended for 12 months and ordered Mr McIntosh to complete 150 hours’ unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay £1,200 towards the prosecution costs and disqualified from being a director for five years.

Randle Hawkins was found guilty of deliberately failing to comply with a revocation notice. He was ordered to complete 100 hours’ unpaid work and pay £1,000 towards prosecution costs. He was earlier cleared of four other charges relating to the breach of permit conditions and enforcement notice.

Edward Venables (formerly Boulton), also a director of Mak Waste Ltd, was found not guilty of all three charges against him.

Speaking after the case, the Environment Agency officer in charge of the investigation said:

Waste crime is a serious offence with tough penalties. It can damage the environment, blight local communities and undermine those who operate legally. We aim to disrupt, prevent and investigate illegal waste activity and take enforcement action where we can. In this case, those found guilty, by being in breach of their permit, continued to operate their site illegally and continually ignored the Environment Agency’s efforts to reduce the waste.

The Environment Agency use all enforcement powers available where we believe environmental offences have been committed.

Allan, McIntosh and Hawkins have shown a complete disregard for the local community, subjecting local businesses to months of misery by illegally and inappropriately storing large quantities of waste on the site.

Everyone who handles waste has a duty of care to ensure their waste is handled correctly. Whether you are a business, local authority or householder you must make sure you know where your waste goes so it doesn’t end up in the hands of illegal operators.

The milestones, two on the A616 at Midhopstones in South Yorkshire and four on the A64 near Scampston Hall and East Heslerton in North Yorkshire, are restored thanks to Highways England’s environment designated fund.

Back in the 19th century, the road network was developed for the use of horse and cart and milestones were installed to tell people how far they were from particular places.

Over the years many of these mileposts have been damaged or were removed during the world wars. Widening of the roads in the 20th century for vehicle use also removed many of these features. It is thought around 1,300 still exist on Yorkshire roads.

Highways England project manager Chris Dunn said:

Milestones were the sat navs of their day and they are recognised for their historical significance so it is important that we preserve them for the future.

We were able to restore these six milestones by repainting them to reduce rust so they won’t deteriorate further. We have also cleared the excess vegetation that has grown around them so they can be easily spotted and appreciated.

Highways England’s £300 million environment fund creates environmental opportunities alongside the road network and addresses historical environmental issues. The work was carried out in accordance with the English Heritage guidance.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

More than 321,000 chicken boxes that feature the Home Office #knifefree campaign have been distributed to over 210 outlets in England and Wales.

The insides of the boxes are printed with real life stories of young people who have chosen to pursue positive activities, such as boxing or music, instead of carrying a knife.

The boxes will replace the standard packaging in both independent and branch owned chicken shops, including Morley’s, Chicken Cottage and Dixy Chicken. Many of the participating shops will also have screens showing the #knifefree campaign.

Policing Minister Kit Malthouse said:

These chicken boxes will bring home to thousands of young people the tragic consequences of carrying a knife and challenge the idea that it makes you safer.

The government is doing everything it can to tackle the senseless violence that is traumatising communities and claiming too many young lives, including bolstering the police’s ranks with 20,000 new police officers on our streets.

In addition, new #knifefree street teams will be visiting convenience stores, hair salons and barber shops as well as places of worship and community centres across London, Manchester and Birmingham. The street teams are made up of people who are trained to speak to local communities about the campaign and on the risks of carrying a knife.

The #knifefree chicken boxes are being introduced nationwide following a successful partnership with Morley’s in March this year, during which 20,000 #knifefree chicken boxes were distributed in 15 branches of Morley’s.

Morley’s managing director Shan Selvendran said:

Morley’s are proud to support the #knifefree campaign. We have been saddened by the recent increase in knife crime. We want to promote being knife free by using custom chicken boxes to deliver the message and start conversations amongst all of our customers.

The #knifefree campaign aims to reduce knife crime by changing the attitudes and behaviours of young people aged between 10 – 21, highlighting positive alternatives to carrying a knife and challenging the perception that knife carrying is widespread and makes you safer.

It seeks to empower young people with the belief that there is a way out of knife crime, by using real-life stories of young people who made the decision to stop carrying knives and focus on positive alternative activities, such as basketball or acting.

The #knifefree chicken boxes follow a series of Government announcements to tackle serious violence, including the recruitment of 20,000 new police officers and confirmation that all 43 police forces in England and Wales can use enhanced stop and search powers.

On Monday (12 August) £35 million was confirmed for 18 Violence Reduction Units, which will tackle violent crime on a local level through a multi-agency approach.

The Prime Minister also hosted a roundtable at Downing Street, bringing together the police, probation and prison leaders to discuss how to cut crime and improve the criminal justice system.

He also announced up to £2.5 billion for 10,000 prison places; a review of sentencing for the most dangerous offenders; and a £100 million in prison security.

Defence Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan cut the steel for the UK’s newest warship at a ceremony at BAE Systems’ shipyard in Govan on the River Clyde today.

Marking the official start of build on the second of eight City Class vessels, it also represents another significant milestone for the Type 26 programme, the Royal Navy, UK Defence and shipbuilding in Scotland. All eight Type 26 frigates will be built on the Clyde, with the work sustaining some 1,700 jobs in Scotland and 4,000 jobs across the wider UK maritime supply chain for decades to come.

Defence Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said:

The Royal Navy’s new world beating Type 26 anti-submarine frigates are truly a UK-wide enterprise, supporting thousands of jobs here in Scotland and across the UK. These ships will clearly contribute to UK and allied security, but also make a strong economic contribution to the country. With 64 sub-contracts already placed with UK-based businesses, there will be new export opportunities for them to tender for through the selection of the Type 26 design by Australia and Canada too.

Chief of Materiel Ships, Vice Admiral Chris Gardner said:

Type 26 will form a key part of the Royal Navy’s future balanced Fleet, providing a core component of anti-submarine protection. Today’s steel cut is another significant milestone in the delivery of the Type 26 programme, a programme that is sustaining thousands of UK jobs and future proofing our naval capability for years to come.

The cutting-edge frigates for the Royal Navy will replace the current anti-submarine warfare Type 23 frigates and provide advanced protection to the Continuous at Sea Deterrent and Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers and offer unrivalled anti-submarine warfare capability.

Each Type 26 will be equipped with a range of capabilities including the Sea-Ceptor missile defence system, a 5-inch medium calibre gun, an embarked helicopter, medium range radar, powerful bow and towed array sonars, helicopter-launched torpedoes and a design which makes them extremely difficult for enemy submarines to detect. They will be designed for joint and multinational operations across the full spectrum of warfare, including complex combat operations, counter piracy, humanitarian aid and disaster relief work.

Its flexible design will also allow its weapon systems to be adapted throughout its lifespan to counter future threats. The Type 26 benefits from the latest advances in digital technologies, including 3D and virtual reality, which ensures that the ship’s design is refined earlier in the process.

The first three ships, HMS Glasgow, HMS Cardiff and HMS Belfast, were ordered for £3.7 billion. HMS Edinburgh, Birmingham, Sheffield, Newcastle and London will form the second batch of Type 26 warships.

The first Type 26 warship, HMS Glasgow, will enter service in the mid-2020s. Designed for a service life of at least 25 years, the Type 26 frigates will serve in the future Royal Navy surface fleet into the 2060s. Both Australia and Canada have now chosen the Type 26 design as the baseline for their respective warship programmes.

The Type 26 manufacture Batch 1 contract was signed in June 2017. This will deliver the first three ships to the Royal Navy and includes the necessary modifications to the Govan and Scotstoun shipyards. The procurement of Batch 2 will be subject to a separate approval and contract which is expected to be awarded in the early-2020s.

Experts at Sellafield have opened and repacked a historic plutonium can for the first time.

The work is part of a £1 billion programme to address an identified degradation risk in a small proportion of the canisters, which date from about 50 years ago.

It’s painstaking and highly skilled work which requires operators to deftly manoeuvre the package inside a sealed glovebox.

The material was originally placed in an inner can which was wrapped in a plastic casing and then placed into an ‘overpack’ can – like a Russian doll.

But in a small proportion of the packages, the outer can has shown sign of degradation.

The operators’ task is to take the plastic-coated can out of the ‘overpack’, clean off as much plastic as possible and then reseal it in a modern and more robust outer can.

This is done in a sealed glovebox while the operator wears several layers of protective gloves.

Successful start for Sellafield repackaging mission

James Millington, head of special nuclear materials at Sellafield Ltd, said:

Our teams have practised and practised the techniques using mock-up gloveboxes, so I’m delighted to see that all the preparation has paid off.

Safely getting the first package into the new outer can represents one of the most significant risk reduction milestones we’ve delivered in recent years.

Completion of the first successful repackaging kicks off a 5 year work programme.

In parallel, a new purpose-built repackaging plant is under construction which is scheduled to begin operations in the 2020s.

This will enhance the repackaging process by removing impurities in the plutonium which contribute to the degrading process.