Two men arrested after being 'caught red handed' dumping tonnes of waste from HGV at former Birch Field Traveller site Stapleford Tawney

TWO men have been arrested after allegedly being 'caught red handed' dumping tonnes of processed waste from a giant lorry onto a former traveller site by the M25.

Thousands of tonnes of largely shredded waste and plastic are suspected to have been dumped on the green belt land by the motorway over the past year with little action until police made the arrests and seized the articulated lorry on Friday.

An Essex Police spokesperson said: 'At around 3:30pm on Friday, 6 February, we responded to a call from a concerned member of the public who reported a large quantity of waste being dumped from the rear of an articulated lorry on land off Epping Lane at Stapleford Tawney.

'An excavator and bulldozer were also seen moving waste on the site.

'Upon arrival, officers observed two men attempting to make off. Both were swiftly detained and identified as the driver of the HGV and the operator of the excavator. 'They were arrested at the scene and taken to custody.'

The force said it had since been working closely with the Environment Agency (EA), which has taken primacy for the investigation. 

Both men were interviewed on behalf of the EA and bailed until February 26 with strict conditions, including them not transporting waste or driving or being carried in any waste‑related vehicles.

In a video shared on Whatsapp, the seized Irish-registered lorry was seen being towed on the A13 in Essex on Monday after being seized by police.

One suspect is aged 25, from County Down, Northern Ireland, while the other is 55 and from Surrey.

The pair were arrested on suspicion of depositing without an environmental permit controlled or extractive waste in or on land.

The force spokesperson added: 'Despite one of the suspects due to leave the country on Monday, officers acted swiftly and decisively to safeguard the site, secure evidence, and ensure the correct agency is leading the investigation.

'We thank the member of the public who reported this.'

The force is appealing to anyone with any information, CCTV, dash cam or other footage in relation to the incident to come forward.

The site is one of a growing list of illegal dumps that have sprung up in largely rural areas on agricultural or green belt land in recent years in a crime spree being dubbed the 'new narcotics'.

Organised criminals identify out of the way land where they allow the dumping of thousands of tonnes of waste, which is sometimes buried, in return for cash payments which are much less than the combined official disposal costs and landfill charges at just over £126 per tonne.

The waste is usually shredded by commercial machinery so it is easier to bury.

Among the sites are the notorious 21,000-tonne, 500ft-long fly tip that appeared in a field near Kidlington in Oxfordshire, which sparked national outrage with an expected £10million clean-up bill.

But, other 'super sites' yet to be cleared up are a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

There have been repeated claims of inaction by the EA in connection with a number of the sites as the under-resourced agency seeks to tackle hundreds of waste site investigations across the country.

Although police acted swiftly on Friday in Essex, residents and local parish councillors have been complaining about the illegal tip for around a year with limited ction from the EA, according to posts on Facebook.

A waste insider said the lorry seized by Essex Police should carry about 24 tonnes, which would cost around £4,500 to dispose of properly, but could take up to 60 tonnes if it was overloaded.

When the Mail visited the site, the lorry load was visible at the entrance to the site and a large hole had been dug nearby close to a bulldozer which remained on site.

But, viewed from the M25 it appeared that similar waste had been flattened and spread across most of the whole site, which has a chequered history.

Irish traveller Patrick Culligan paid £77,000 cash for the land known as Birch Field and bought it from a farmer in 2003, before a 16-pitch caravan site was developed without planning permission.

According to a source close to the community, Mr Culligan had close ties to the families at the infamous Dale Farm site about 20 miles away at Crays Hill, near Basildon, which was partially demolished by the local council in 2011.

There were a series of planning appeals, which the travellers lost in 2006, before trashing and desterting the camp after Epping Forest Council secured an injunction against any further occupation.

It was later bulldozed and bunded up to prevent re-entry by bailiffs acting for the council.

The site was left a waste ground before it was reoccupied by 73 travellers in 2013.

But they left again after being threatened with jail for being in breach of the injunction.

The site had remained empty again until the unauthorised dumping began.

It remains registered to Mr Culligan, according to Land Registry records.

There is no suggestion he is aware of or involved in the dumping.

As Mr Culligan gave his address as Birch Field when registering the land there was no way of contacting him.

The EA has been contacted for comment.