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The Environment Agency has successfully prosecuted a man for obstructing officers in the course of their duty at a site near Alfreton in Derbyshire.
At Southern Derbyshire Magistrates Court in Derby on 13 September 2024, Darren Lee Fretwell of Golden Valley Caravan Park, Coach Road, Alfreton was fined £2,239. He was also ordered to pay costs of £11,272.
The case against the driver of a lorry which had failed to stop for officers was withdrawn.
Fretwell, who is the landowner of Golden Valley Equestrian Centre and Golden Valley Caravan and Camping Park, admitted 2 charges of obstruction.
The court was told that in August 2023 Environment Agency officers received information that waste was being tipped on land at Golden Valley Equestrian Centre, in Golden Valley near Alfreton.
On 11 August 2023, an unmarked 8-wheel tipper lorry that had deposited waste on site failed to stop when instructed by an Environment Agency officer.
Fretwell had told the driver not to stop and to drive past the officer.
During the same visit, Fretwell also refused to permit excavators which were present at Golden Valley Equestrian Centre to scrape back top layers of soil to examine what had been deposited beneath.
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