Harrogate man jailed for illegal waste operations following huge fire in Bradford that cost £1 million

Stuart Bedford, 62, formerly of Harrogate, was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment for running waste operations in Bradford and Doncaster without the required environmental permit and keeping waste at those sites in a manner likely to cause pollution of the environment or harm to human health.

His wife, Vicky Bedford, 51, of no fixed address, was sentenced to 12-month community order and 15 days rehabilitation activity requirement (RAR) for her involvement at the sites.

Both operations caused unacceptable disruption to local people and risk to the environment.

In November 2020, a fire spread through one of the sites on Spring Mill Street in Bradford where over 600,000 tyres had been stored.

The fire caused serious travel disruption and led to the closure of local schools and businesses.

Over 14,300 school pupils were impacted by the closures and nearly 100 firefighters were required to control the blaze at its peak.

In October 2020, prior to the fire, the operators of the Bradford site were served with an enforcement notice to clear the tyres by Environment Agency officers.

Mr and Mrs Bedford were arrested in Spain after international arrest warrants were issued for them and subsequently returned to the UK.

The Judge HHJ Gibson said: “Stuart Bedford, there is no doubt in my mind that you deliberately breached the law.

"You were experienced in the storage and disposal of tyres.

"You know from an early stage that the number of tyres you stored on the site was vastly more than you would have been legitimately able to store under an exemption issued for that site.

“As far as the fire itself is concerned, you were reckless in the standard meaning of that word.

"You went ahead and stored the tyres anyway regardless of the risk.

"You were being paid to take these tyres and valued the tyres at the Bradford site at £1 million.”

Stuart Bedford was sentenced to serve two prison sentences, of 12 months and 8 months, to be served concurrently – a total of 12 months imprisonment.

Vicky Bedford was sentenced to a 12-month community order and 15 days rehabilitation activity requirement (RAR).