Sweeper Hire and Hoses boss Philip Liley gets suspended sentence
Source: gov.uk (2025-07-08)

Exeter man tried to hide tons of illegal waste kept on leased land by pushing it into the trees and spreading it across the ground.

- Philip Liley attempted to disguise the 15,000 tonnes of waste stored illegally at the site
- Environment Agency investigations began when the nearby River Bovey was polluted
- Liley, then trading as Sweeper Hire and Hoses Limited, had no environmental permits and ignored all attempts to make his business operate legally.
Philip Liley, of Sidmouth Road, Exeter, was director of the then Sweeper Hire and Hoses Limited business based at Higher Brocks Plantation, Heathfield, Newton Abbot, Devon. He pleaded guilty at Exeter Crown Court on Thursday 3 July.

Liley was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment, suspended for 2 years – and 300 hours of unpaid work.

Chris Lawson of the Environment Agency, said:

Environmental permits are in place to protect the public and the environment.

Illegal waste activity such as this undermines legitimate businesses that work hard to operate within the regulations, as well as putting the local environment at risk and impacting on the local community.

I hope today’s verdict sends a clear message to illegal waste operators that we are committed to tackling the blight of waste crime and will use all powers available to us to catch offenders.

Leaking pipe leads to Liley’s site

In March 2023, following a report of a pollution into a tributary of the River Bovey, Environment Agency officers found a pipe discharging a grey/brown liquid into the watercourse.

The source of the discharge was found to be Liley’s site that he leased at Newton Abbot. The ground at the site was churned up and with heavy plant machinery operating on it, causing the runoff to enter the river.

The Environment Agency was informed by a sub-contractor working on the site that approximately 15,000 tonnes of inert waste had been imported onto the premises. Groundworks at the site were stopped immediately to limit harm to the local environment.

Trees used to hide waste

Investigations revealed the site was being leased by a company called Sweeper Hire and Hoses Limited. There were no environmental permits or exemptions covering the waste activities ongoing at the site. Neither were there any outstanding planning permission applications.

During an Environment Agency site inspection, a substantial amount of waste material was present onsite. It appeared that it was being hidden by being pushed and deposited into the trees both at the sides of the premises and in the middle. Work also appeared to be ongoing to level the waste across the site.

The same day, the Environment Agency served a notice requiring the company to produce waste transfer notes for waste imported to the site over the previous 2 years. Liley had originally leased the land for 5 years from September 2021, trading as Sweepers and Hoses Limited.

Liley refuses to explain himself

However, due to issues with the various waste issues at the premises, Liley had been given notice to leave the site by the landowner he leased it from.

From the waste transfer notes provided, a minimum of 2,960 tonnes in total had been imported to the site between 18 May 2022 and 3 February 2023.

Liley resigned as director of the business on 1 March 2023 and refused all attempts by the Environment Agency to be interviewed to explain his actions and the legitimacy of his waste business.

Illegal waste activity can be reported in confidence to the Environment Agency on its 24-hour incident line on xx-xxxx-xxxx or to Crimestoppers anonymously on xx-xxxx-xxxx.

Background

Sweeper Hire and Hoses and Philip Liley were charged with the following offences:

Between 29 September 2021 and 1 March 2023 you, Sweeper Hire and Hoses Limited, on land at Higher Brocks Plantation, Heathfield, Newton Abbot, Devon, did operate a regulated facility, except under and to the extent authorised by an environmental permit, namely a waste depositing operation for which no environmental permit was in force. Contrary to Regulations 12(1)(a) and 38(1)(a) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.

Between 29 September 2021 and 1 March 2023 you, Phillip Liley on land at Higher Brocks Plantation, Heathfield, Newton Abbot, Devon as Director of Sweeper Higher and Hoses Limited, did by consent or connivance, operate a regulated facility, except under and to the extent authorised by an environmental permit, namely a waste depositing operation for which no environmental permit was in force. Contrary to Regulations 12(1)(a), 38(1)(a) and 41(1)(a) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016

Between 2 March 2023 and 15 September 2023 you, Phillip Liley on land at Higher Brocks Plantation, Heathfield, Newton Abbot, Devon, did operate a regulated facility, except under and to the extent authorised by an environmental permit, namely a waste depositing operation for which no environmental permit was in force. Contrary to Regulations 12(1)(a) and 38(1)(a) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.