Waste Illegally Dumped at Former Cambridgeshire Pub Site 2026

Key Points

• Seven men sentenced at Winchester Crown Court for illegal waste dumping at two unpermitted sites
• Approximately 200 tonnes of waste dumped at Kingsclere Lime Quarry, Hampshire, on July 31, 2019
• At least 550 tonnes of waste dumped and buried behind former Plough pub in Farcet, Cambridgeshire
• Dashcam footage from Peter Elliott’s lorry provided crucial prosecution evidence
• Michael Tucker operated earth-moving machinery to dig holes for waste burial at Plough site
• Mohammed Waqar Bashir directed vehicles and organised waste dumping operations
• Steven Rozario’s waste broker company failed basic duty of care requirements with deficient documentation
• Environment Agency described operation as “serious, organised and brazen criminal operation”
• Sentences include Community Orders ranging from 10 to 200 hours unpaid work, plus fines and costs

Cambridge (Cambridge Tribune) August 01, 2026 – Seven men have been sentenced at Winchester Crown Court following an Environment Agency prosecution into a large-scale illegal waste dumping operation which saw hundreds of tonnes of controlled waste unlawfully deposited at two sites with no environmental permits, as reported by Hits Radio. The court heard that on the morning of July 31, 2019, a convoy of lorries dumped approximately 200 tonnes of shredded household and commercial waste at Kingsclere Lime Quarry, near Tadley, Hampshire, where the quarry owners had given no permission for waste deposition, according to reporting from Hits Radio.

How much waste was dumped at the two illegal sites?

The illegal operation involved two separate locations across different counties, with significant quantities of controlled waste deposited at each site without proper environmental permits or authorisation.

At Kingsclere Lime Quarry in Hampshire, approximately 200 tonnes of shredded household and commercial waste was dumped by a convoy of lorries on July 31, 2019, as reported by Hits Radio. The quarry owners near Tadley had not granted permission to any party to deposit waste at the site.

At least 550 tonnes of waste was also dumped and buried at a site behind the former Plough pub in Farcet, just south of Peterborough in Cambridgeshire, according to court proceedings reported by Hits Radio. This location saw the use of diggers to excavate holes in the ground, into which the waste was deposited and subsequently buried.

What did the dashcam footage reveal about the waste crimes?

The prosecution benefited significantly from dashcam footage recorded from Peter Elliott’s lorry, which captured the unlawful waste activities at both sites and provided key evidence in the prosecution, as reported by Hits Radio.

Michael Tucker was identified on the footage operating earth-moving machinery to dig holes and assist in the movement of waste at the Plough site, according to court evidence reported by Hits Radio. Mohammed Waqar Bashir, Mr Tucker’s employee, was seen directing vehicles and organising the waste dumping at the Plough location, as captured in the dashcam recordings.

Laurentiu Boaca was identified as the driver of a distinctive lorry captured arriving at Kingsclere Lime Quarry with a lorry full of waste, according to evidence presented in court and reported by Hits Radio. He claimed in interview that his lorry’s tipping mechanism had jammed, preventing him from depositing the load, but he was convicted of attempting to deposit waste at the site.

The investigation highlighted the importance of partnership working in the fight against waste crime, with officers from Hampshire Police and the Environment Agency responding swiftly to reports of illegal dumping at Kingsclere Lime Quarry, where crucial evidence in the form of dashcam footage was seized from a lorry, which led the investigation team to the offending that had taken place in the preceding days at the site in Cambridgeshire, as reported by Hits Radio. Without this evidence, nobody would have known about the hundreds of tonnes of waste that had been buried at the Farcet location.

Who were the seven men convicted of waste offences?

All seven defendants were convicted of various offences relating to the illegal dumping of controlled waste, with each playing distinct roles in the waste management chain, as reported by Hits Radio.

Barry Wilkes served as sole director of haulage company Wembley Group Ltd, which was used to transport waste from producer sites. David Hannah worked as transport manager for Wembley Group Limited. Peter Elliott was a driver for Wembley Group whose dashcam footage became central to the prosecution case.

Laurentiu Boaca worked as a lorry driver and director of Oituz Logistics. Michael Tucker was sole director of Blue Rock Group Limited and was in charge of operations at the Plough site in Farcet. Mohammed Waqar Bashir was employed by Mr Tucker at the Plough location.

Steven Rozario served as sole director of Active Management Facilities Limited, a registered waste broker who arranged for waste from at least three producer sites to be transported using Barry Wilkes’s company, Wembley Group Ltd, as haulier, according to court proceedings reported by Hits Radio.

What failures in waste documentation were identified by the court?

The court heard that Steven Rozario’s company failed to meet basic duty of care requirements in its role as waste broker, according to evidence presented at Winchester Crown Court and reported by Hits Radio.

Waste transfer documentation was seriously deficient, with notes lacking proper destination details, confirmation of receiving site permits, and evidence that waste had reached its lawful end destination, as reported by Hits Radio. These documentation failures represented breaches of fundamental legal requirements for waste brokers under UK environmental regulations.

The deficient paperwork meant there was no proper audit trail showing where the waste was supposed to go, whether the receiving sites had appropriate permits to accept such waste, or confirmation that the waste actually reached legitimate disposal facilities.

What did the Environment Agency say about the criminal operation?

Colin Chiverton, Area Environment Manager at the Environment Agency, provided strong condemnation of the illegal waste operation during the prosecution. As reported by Hits Radio, Mr Chiverton said:

“This was a serious, organised and brazen criminal operation that saw hundreds of tonnes of controlled waste dumped and buried at sites completely unfit and unpermitted to receive it. The damage caused to those sites, and the risk posed to the surrounding environment and communities, is entirely unacceptable”.

Mr Chiverton continued:

“Our immediate intervention at this site also stopped the offending in its tracks, preventing what could have been a much more serious situation with lasting environmental impacts at a chalk quarry,”

as reported by Hits Radio.

He added:

“All seven defendants had clear legal responsibilities as lorry operators, site managers, waste haulier, transport manager and waste broker and all seven chose to ignore them. We will pursue those involved in waste crime at every level of the chain, from drivers to brokers,” according to Hits Radio.

What sentences were handed down at Winchester Crown Court?

At sentencing, the judge identified Barry Wilkes as the most responsible defendant, and he was given a Community Order for 12 months with a requirement to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay costs of £10,000, as reported by Hits Radio.

David Hannah, transport manager for Wembley Group Limited, was given a Community Order for 12 months with a requirement to complete ten hours rehabilitation activity and ordered to pay a financial penalty of £300, according to court sentencing reported by Hits Radio.

Wembley Group driver Peter Elliott was given a Community Order for 12 months with a requirement to complete 80 hours of unpaid work, as reported by Hits Radio.

Lorry driver and director of Oituz Logistics, Laurentiu Boaca, was given a Community Order for 12 months with a requirement to complete 80 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £400 costs, according to sentencing details reported by Hits Radio.

Michael Tucker, sole director of Blue Rock Group Limited and in charge of operations at the Plough site, was given a community order for 12 months with a requirement to complete 120 hours of unpaid work, as reported by Hits Radio.

His employee Mohammed Waqar Bashir was given a Community Order for 12 months with a requirement to complete 80 hours of unpaid work and pay £400 costs, according to court proceedings reported by Hits Radio.

Steven Rozario, sole director of Active Management Facilities Limited, a registered waste broker, was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £10,000 costs, as reported by Hits Radio.

Background of the illegal waste dumping development

The illegal waste dumping case represents one of several high-profile prosecutions by the Environment Agency targeting organised waste crime operations across England. The operation involved a coordinated chain of actors from waste producers through brokers, hauliers, transport managers, drivers, and site operators, demonstrating how illegal waste operations can penetrate multiple levels of the legitimate waste management infrastructure.

The use of dashcam footage as prosecution evidence marks an increasingly important trend in environmental enforcement, where digital evidence from within criminal operations themselves provides the most compelling proof of wrongdoing. The fact that Peter Elliott’s own dashcam captured activities that led to his conviction illustrates the risks faced by participants in illegal waste operations in an era of ubiquitous recording technology.

The two sites involved – Kingsclere Lime Quarry in Hampshire and the former Plough pub site in Farcet, Cambridgeshire – were both operating without environmental permits to receive controlled waste. The burial of waste at the Farcet location using excavated holes compounds the environmental damage by making detection more difficult and potentially creating long-term contamination risks for soil and groundwater.

The Environment Agency’s characterisation of the operation as “serious, organised and brazen” reflects the agency’s prioritisation of waste crime enforcement, particularly where multiple actors coordinate to deposit large quantities of waste at unpermitted sites. The swift intervention by Hampshire Police and Environment Agency officers at Kingsclere Lime Quarry, which led to the discovery of the Cambridgeshire site, demonstrates the value of rapid response to illegal dumping reports.

Prediction: How this development can affect waste management operators and local communities

The sentencing of these seven men is likely to have several significant effects on the waste management sector and local communities across England. For legitimate waste management operators, the case reinforces the critical importance of maintaining proper environmental permits, complete waste transfer documentation, and adherence to duty of care requirements throughout the waste chain.

For local communities near former industrial or commercial sites, such as disused pubs, quarries, or agricultural land, the case may encourage increased vigilance and reporting of suspicious waste activities. The publicity surrounding the dashcam evidence and subsequent convictions demonstrates that enforcement agencies can and will pursue complex waste crime cases to successful prosecution.

For companies operating in the haulage and waste sectors, the case serves as a stark warning that dashcam footage and other digital evidence can be seized and used in prosecutions, even when that footage originates from within the offending operation itself. This may lead to increased internal compliance monitoring within companies to ensure that drivers and operators are not participating in illegal activities, whether knowingly or unknowingly.

The Environment Agency is likely to cite this case in future enforcement communications as evidence of their commitment to pursuing organised waste crime at every level of the chain. Colin Chiverton’s statement that “we will pursue those involved in waste crime at every level of the chain, from drivers to brokers” sets an enforcement tone that suggests the agency will continue to prioritise such cases for investigation and prosecution, regardless of the defendant’s position in the waste management hierarchy.

For the Farcet area specifically, the remediation of the site where at least 550 tonnes of waste was buried will likely require significant resources, time, and specialised environmental remediation expertise. The buried nature of the waste means that excavation and proper disposal at permitted facilities will be necessary, potentially affecting the future use and value of the land behind the former Plough pub.

The case also highlights the importance of partnership working between different enforcement agencies, with the collaboration between Hampshire Police and the Environment Agency proving crucial in securing convictions. This model of inter-agency cooperation may be replicated in other regions facing similar waste crime challenges.