UK’s worst tyre dumper pays just £122 for his crimes
When Carl Steele from Lincolnshire was found guilty of causing in excess of a quarter of million pounds worth of environmental damage during a two year tyre dumping stint, you could be forgiven for thinking the justice system would force him to pay his debt to society.
As Tyres & Accessories reported at the time, the 33-year-old was indeed sentenced to 15 months in November. However he has now been released after serving just five months of his sentence. Perhaps the most ironic part of the story is that despite amassing an estimated £2.5 million through illegally dumping tyres in Essex, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Worcestershire and Yorkshire he only has to pay back £122.
And that’s despite pleading guilty to six charges relating to the illegal storage and treatment of waste tyres – after a judge was told the number of tyres he illegally dumped was the most ever collected by an individual, according to the Daily Mail. This is apparently because, the hearing was told, that the sum was the only “available asset” left in a bank account linked to Steele’s company FCM Logistics (Tyres). The fact that he has been given almost six months to pay this back, while large tyre dealerships that have tyre illegally tipped on their forecourts have to pay five-digit figures for disposal, would funny if it wasn’t also true.
During sentencing Judge Sean Morris told Steele: “You have left behind a horrendous mess for other people to deal with. You knew throughout that you were trading illegally but you never stopped. Now you have left a trail of destruction for other people to pick up. I am quite satisfied that your motive was the long term prospect of making big money.”
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