Sunderland man's 'shut down' waste site went up in flames wreaking havoc on local community

Clifford Shee, 58, from Bright Street in Roker, appeared at Newcastle Crown Court for sentencing today (Thursday 26 January) after previously pleading guilty to a series of waste and fly-tipping offences in a case brought by the Environment Agency.

The court heard that waste kept illegally on his site – Shee Recycling at Durham Road in Birtley – caught fire in February 2022, five months after the Environment Agency secured a court order to shut it down due to fire risk.

Shee was also sentenced after accepting responsibility for of fly-tipped waste in Fencehouses, Sunderland, in a linked investigation carried out in partnership with Sunderland City Council.

He was sentenced to 30 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 18 months and was also ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and undergo 20 days rehabilitation activity work with the Probation Service.

For the fly tipping offences, he was fined £5,000, and was also ordered to pay almost £12,000 in prosecution costs.

Andrew Turner, Environment Manager for the Environment Agency in the North East, said: “Our officers worked tirelessly with our partners at the fire service to close Shee’s site after he consistently ignored official instructions to take action, disregarded our repeated warnings that a fire would break out and continued to have a blatant disregard for the law.

“The safety of the public and protection of the environment is our priority and the fire had a major impact on the community, infrastructure and air and water quality.

“Criminal behaviour like this undermines legitimate businesses that work hard to make a living within the regulations and hopefully this sentence will send out a message to others who flout the law they can expect action to be taken against them.”

The blaze saw the East Coast rail line closed, local schools shut down, residents told to stay indoors, and local businesses disrupted as Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service sent more than 250 firefighters and 10 appliances to tackle it.

SEE ALSO: Four arrests as drugs, £10,000 cash and weapons are seized in raids across Sunderland and South Tyneside

Paul Russell, Area Manager at Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (TWFRS), added: “We had worked together with the Environment Agency to support the enforcement action against this premises prior to the fire at the site. We always seek to work together with businesses but will take and support action when we believe public safety is at risk.

“Numerous fire safety risks were identified at that time and this incident could have been avoided if quicker action had been taken by the site owner to make the premises safe.

“The incident was declared a major incident by TWFRS and the response by our firefighters during the fire itself was incredible. They worked tirelessly to protect their communities and helped contain the fire, so it didn’t spread to nearby properties or the rail line.

“But fires of this magnitude do inflict damage on the environment and so we welcome this conviction and remain committed to continuing to work with our partners at the Environment Agency to keep our communities safe.”