Illegal Saltney scrap merchant posed risk to the public

Sep 17 2009 By Chester Chronicle

A FATHER of five who ran an illegal scrap business from his back yard has been jailed.

Christopher Brian Williams, 57, who was told he had entrenched anti-authoritarian views, used his land to dismantle cars without a permit.

The Environment Agency said his illegal activities including removing hazardous fluids risked the health and safety of his workers and residents living around the site.

The fluids, which included oil, anti-freeze and petrol, posed a serious fire risk.

Williams, of Ewart Street, Saltney, was convicted at Caernarfon Crown Court last month.

On Thursday he was jailed at Mold Crown Court for six months after the court heard little had changed at the site.

Judge Merfyn Hughes QC said: "You have no concern whatsoever for that risk, which can harm not only those working on the site but also others in the nearby area."

The court heard the saga of the yard went back to 2003. The agency had prosecuted him previously, there had been a civil dispute over ownership of part of the site which was former rail land, and a planning dispute when he failed to claim he had an established use.

Costs in the case ran to more than £11,500 but the defendant was on benefits and not making money out of scrap cars. He was considering selling the site.

The prosecution said Williams brought vehicles back to his home, where they were dismantled and stored illegally.

Eryl Lloyd, environmental crime officer with North Wales Police, said: "There was a fire risk from the petrol and other flammables being removed and the longer term risk to health by the fluids seeping into the soil, including petrol, oil, radiator fluid and anti-freeze.

"These are hazardous fluids that should not have been removed in a residential area like this."

CCTV footage of the scrapyard: