Long Bennington illegal waste site family ordered to repay nearly £70,000

A family involved in an illegal waste operation in Long Bennington has been ordered to repay nearly £70,000, in the latest court action over a case that caused major disruption in a Lincolnshire village. The confiscation orders were made at Nottingham Crown Court on Monday after earlier jail sentences linked to the Fen Lane site, near Grantham. The case centred on thousands of tonnes of waste being brought to the area, then burnt and buried during night-time activity that prompted repeated concern from local residents. For people in Lincolnshire, the case is a stark reminder of how waste crime can hit rural communities hard.

What might at first appear to be a remote environmental offence can quickly become a very local problem, with smoke, fire risk, heavy vehicle movements and the long shadow of a costly clean-up. The Environment Agency and police raided the site in April 2020 after complaints from those living nearby and several call-outs to the fire service. According to the case details, an estimated 11,000 tonnes of waste was dumped there over seven months. The clean-up operation later cost £1.2m.

Joshua Canner, 31, was ordered to pay £55,723. His father Paul Canner, 55, was ordered to pay £8,294, while his mother Judith Canner, 56, was ordered to pay £3,120. The three, from Bilstone in Leicestershire, had already been sentenced in 2024 for their roles in the illegal site. Paul Canner was jailed for 26 months after pleading guilty to operating an illegal waste site.

Judith Canner was jailed for 16 months after pleading guilty to knowingly causing the deposit of waste there. Joshua Canner was also jailed for 16 months after pleading guilty to the same offence. When sentencing last year, Judge Steven Coupland described Paul Canner as the "prime mover" behind the operation, saying he had sought out rubbish to be dumped illegally. The court also heard his role was made more serious because he held a waste disposal licence and therefore knew the rules.

Judith Canner was said to have organised false paperwork and dealt with the financial side of the operation. The Environment Agency said the outcome showed it would pursue those responsible not only through criminal courts but also by seeking back profits made from illegal activity. The Long Bennington case has stood out across Lincolnshire because of its scale and the burden left behind. Beyond the criminal proceedings, the figures involved underline the wider cost of environmental offending, both to public agencies and to communities left dealing with the aftermath.

Six other defendants were also sentenced in 2024 for their involvement with the site, underlining how extensive the operation had become before enforcement action brought it to a halt.

This story was adapted by The Lincoln Post from original reporting by www.bbc.com.