- Court imposes fines, costs and confiscation order on director and his company for nearly £100,000
- Judge tells defendant he ran business in ‘arrogant and bullish’ manner
- Environment Agency officer verbally abused during site inspection.
At Lincoln Crown Court on Wednesday 7 May 2025, Matthew Berry, 46, of Ivy House Farm, Blyborough, near Gainsborough, received a suspended sentence of 36 weeks. This is on condition that he stays out of trouble and abides by a curfew between 9pm and 5am for a 3 month period. He was also ordered to pay £5,000 in costs and a surcharge of £154.
Berry’s company, SBR Foxhills Limited, was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £29,626.35 and a £190 surcharge.
The defendant and company also have a confiscation order imposed of £45,000, representing the recovery of the proceeds from the crime. Berry was warned that he faces up to 12 months in prison if that sum remains unpaid after 3 months.
In sentencing Berry, Her Honour Judge Sjolin Knight told him that he had taken an “arrogant and bullish approach.” It was also “remarkable” that he claimed not to have established his environmental obligations.
She noted that he had run his business in such a way that he, “violated strict environmental laws that are there to protect the environment for everyone.”
The court was told that in the spring of 2021, Berry, the sole director of SBR Foxhills Limited, became interested in a site at Thorpe Farm.
With a view to the company purchasing the site, he took over the control in April and began a clearance operation. The site had no environmental permit or other authorisation to store or treat waste.
There was a lot of waste already on the site. He agreed to move baled waste that had been stacked in a building. He also agreed to remove waste vehicles to a breakers’ site and brought heavy plant to the site for that purpose.
However, rather than clearing and improving the site, he dumped the baled waste on a concrete pad. This was porous, cracked, had no sealed drainage and had an unsealed manhole cover that led to a void. He then abandoned the site leaving the baled waste exposed to the elements which inevitably caused it to degrade.
Environment Agency officers visited the site and Berry told them that he intended to clear the area. They gave him advice and attempted to work with him. He agreed to provide the requisite waste transfer notes that would prove lawful removal.
By November 2021, it was clear that the site had not been abandoned. Officers continued to try to work with him but their attempts were rejected.
On one occasion, Berry verbally berated a senior officer telling him that he hoped he got cancer and died. Not content with his verbal abuse, he followed up his unpleasant words a few minutes later with a similarly offensive email.
Both Berry and his company entered not guilty pleas at a hearing at Lincoln Crown Court in June 2022. However, shortly before their trial was due to start, in November 2023, they changed their pleas to guilty. They were finally sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court on 7 May 2025.
As part of its investigations, the Environment Agency used drones for routine inspections to safely capture evidence of the waste activities. This use of technology is an on-going feature of the agency’s work.
Yvonne Daly, an environment manager for the Environment Agency in Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, said:
Rogue contractors and operators in the waste sector should take note we will not tolerate illegal waste activities in Lincolnshire.
We will take enforcement action to protect the environment, people and legitimate businesses.
And we will not tolerate abuse or bad behaviour to our officers – everyone should be treated with respect.
We would also like to thank the fantastic support from Lincolnshire Police and East Lindsey District Council throughout this case.
Anyone with suspicions of waste crime can call our incident hotline, 0800 807060, or Crimestoppers, on 0800 555111.
The Charges
Charge 1: operating a non-exempt waste operation without a permit, contrary to Regulations 12 and 38(1)(a) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.
Particulars of offence
SBR Foxhills Limited, between the 8 April 2021 and 26 February 2022 operated without an environmental permit a regulated facility, namely a waste operation for the treatment and storage of waste at Thorpe Farm, Skendleby.
Charge 2: operating a non-exempt waste operation without a permit, contrary to Regulations 12 and 38(1)(a) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.
Particulars of offence
Matthew Berry, between the 8 April 2021 and 26 February 2022, by consent, connivance or neglect, allowed the company SBR Foxhills Limited to operate without an environmental permit a regulated facility, namely a waste operation for the treatment and storage of waste at Thorpe Farm, Skendleby.
