Residents angered by dropping of Murfitt case
Murfitt Industries Ltd is understandably pleased Cambridge Crown Court chose not to proceed further with charges against the company related to a 2009 fire, yet some residents living near the tyre recycler have voiced their dissatisfaction with the court’s decision. Cambridgeshire-based publication Ely Weekly News reports that “residents whose lives were ‘devastated’ when a huge blaze broke out near their homes are furious after a court case collapsed.”
According to the Ely Weekly News article, titled ‘Residents’ anger after collapse of tyre firm blaze case’, people living in Wisbech Road, Littleport say “words cannot describe” the effect the 2009 fire at Murfitt Industries’ tyre recycling plant had on their lives. Yvonne Bartram, who with her husband Ray runs a haulage yard and horse stud farm opposite the facility, told the newspaper she is “truly devastated”, adding: “Words cannot describe the devastation this fire caused to us and our neighbours. I remember standing on my driveway looking up at the thick, black smoke above me and wondering what on earth I was going to do. We were told to evacuate our homes but I had to move 19 horses and 10 dogs and cats first. Everything was covered in a sticky black substance that you just couldn’t remove.”
Grenville Goodson, chairman of the Littleport Society, told the Ely Weekly News that “we simply cannot afford to see this happen again. What happened on August 21, 2009 had a horrendous impact on resident’s lives and I hope this is taken into account when decisions are made.”
Cambridge Crown Court chose not to continue the case against Murfitt Industries because, as Judge Jonathan Haworth told the jury, “there is nothing for you to try.” Prior to Haworth’s arrival at this conclusion, prosecutor Ruby Hamid declared she could offer no evidence to back up the Environment Agency’s allegation that Murfitts kept, treated or disposed of waste in a manner likely to cause pollution.
On August 24, 2009 the Environment Agency first reported investigating a “serious fire” at Murfitt Industries’ site in Littleport. The fire, which began three days earlier, emitted a “plume of smoke” that, when checked by Environment Agency consultants, was found to contain “no detectable levels of toxins.” On August 22 Environment Agency officers returned to the site to check local watercourses and determined the incident “did not have an impact on nearby watercourses.” The fire, which involved tyres and shredded rubber material, burned for a total of seven weeks.
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