23-Jun-2006 - A Surrey man's
cynical attempt to deceive a wildlife charity
by organising the dumping of at least 400 lorry
loads of illegal waste at its River Thames site
costing an estimated £150,000 to clean up,
received a six month suspended prison sentence
on 16 June.
John Valler of Ashridge Caravan
Park, Ash, Surrey, pleaded guilty at an earlier
hearing to illegally dumping waste at the charity
run Shepperton Swan Sanctuary, Felix Lane, Shepperton
between 21 June and 7 July 2005. The court ordered
Mr Valler to serve an additional 150 hours community
service and pay £3,000 towards the Environment
Agency's costs.
Mr Valler's six month prison
sentence was suspended on condition that he should
not break the law for 12 months.
His accomplice Stanley Ballard,
of Bruce Avenue, Shepperton, Middlesex, who acted
as the foreman for the illegal operation, also
pleaded guilty to his involvement and received
an 80 hour community service order.
The waste included construction
and demolition waste, sub-soils, bricks, concrete
and plastic.
Guildford Crown Court heard
how Mr Valler used an elaborate deception of false
names, identities and companies designed to dupe
unsuspecting victims while evading investigators.
He also used a business services company without
authority in Tiverton, Devon, to act as a front
for his fictitious company.
Mr Valler first approached the
sanctuary in June 2005 offering free landscaping
assistance including good quality soil to create
grassy sloping banks down to the waterside to
allow visitors to get closer to the swans and
other waterbirds at the sanctuary. Mr Valler made
this approach after he had seen an item about
the charity's work on ITV's London Tonight news
programme. He gave his false name as Pat Kelly
and produced a business card for his company J.T
Gleesons, 'environmental groundworks' specialists.
The swan sanctuary had just
relocated to the Shepperton site by the River
Thames in December 2004. The nine-acre former
gravel pit included a four-and-a-half acre lake,
and a treatment centre for sick and injured swans
and other wildlife, but it had become overgrown
and was in need of landscaping.
On 20 June, Mr Valler returned
to the sanctuary and spoke with its manager, Dorothy
Beeson, repeating his offer for landscaping soils.
He said he had seen her on television and his
company wanted to help out, knowing how the charity
had struggled with its recent relocation. Mr Valler
was then shown around the site and said his company
could provide the topsoil and carry out the landscaping
work free of charge.
Work began the following day
on 21 June, when a digging machine arrived at
the site. Lorry loads of soil started rolling
in and at the early stages Ms Beeson was pleased
with the progress. After a couple of days, Mr
Ballard, acting as the foreman for the work, told
her that it would be necessary to bring in some
subsoil to stabilise the land.
By 5 July staff at the site
grew concerned that areas where the soil had been
dumped "looked like Beechy Head" and
complained to Mr Valler and ordered his foreman
to close the gates. But Mr Ballard refused, and
allowed a further 16 twenty-ton lorry loads of
waste soils onto the site.
That day, the Environment Agency
received a tip-off that Mr Valler was involved
in illegally dumping waste at the Swan Sanctuary
and was charging £40 a load. Environment
Agency officers contacted the sanctuary and agreed
to come down to the site the following day when
the man who they thought was Pat Kelly would be
there.
When Environment Agency officers,
accompanied by the police, arrived at the site
they approached a man in a pink shirt who gave
his name as John Valler. He admitted that he was
"running the job," and said he had been
working at the sanctuary for 10 days tidying up
the place for the owners.
After Mr Valler was arrested,
he claimed he was merely the digger driver and
denied that he had organised the illegal dumping.
He claimed that he was working for another man
called O'Brian, who people called Pat, and that
he had done some work for Pat Kelly, but he denied
using that name himself.
However, he was later positively
identified at a police ID parade as the man who
had approached the sanctuary claiming to be Pat
Kelly, who had offered the charity the free landscaping
work.
Martin Sawyer, investigating
officer for the Environment Agency said: "The
sanctuary relies on charitable donations for its
very existence and there is little doubt that
it was selected as a particularly vulnerable target.
This venture was intended to make money dishonestly
for both Mr Valler and Mr Ballard with a total
disregard for the environment and for the well
being of those running the sanctuary.
“Had it not been for an anonymous
phone call it is likely that both Mr Valler and
Mr Ballard would have escaped the net. When he
was arrested on site Mr Valler tried to downplay
is role in the ploy by claiming he was merely
the digger driver and it was necessary to hold
an identification parade to disprove his story.
He even tried to maintain this falsehood at the
Crown Court.”
Prosecuting team lead for the
Environment Agency, Angus Innes, added: "It
was outstanding work by Mr Sawyer and our investigators
using new powers granted by legislation which
came into force in 2005 that led to the conviction
of Mr Valler.
"Mr Valler attempted to
set up a phantom identity which unfortunately
has been typical of a number of major illegal
waste cases that have targeted playing field and
charity sites in London over recent years."
The case was brought under section
33 of the Environmental Protection Act 11000.
Members of the public should report fly-tipping
or any incidents of environmental crime to the
Environment Agency by calling freephone 0800 80
70 60.
(Chris Mitchell)
