Greater Manchester, Merseyside & Cheshire Illegal Waste Sites

Officers from Greater Manchester, Lancashire and West Yorkshire Police, working in support of the Environment Agency, secured the arrest of the suspects for environmental, fraud and money laundering offences. The suspects are:

• A 41-year-old male from Wigan
• A 35-year-old male from Wigan
• A 24-year-old male from Leeds
• A 59-year-old male from Liverpool

One of the suspects – the 24-year-old male from Leeds – was also arrested in connection with waste dumping at the Cave’s Inn Pits Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) near Shawell in Leicestershire.

The Environment Agency’s investigation is being led by its National Environmental Crime Unit, which is seeking to find those responsible for the offending and hold them to account.

Sue Longstone, Director of Operations for the North at the Environment Agency, said:

The illegal dumping at Bolton House Road and Cave’s Inn Pits are atrocious attacks on our communities, and we share the public’s utter disgust at these horrendous crimes.

Our teams have been working relentlessly on these investigations, and our arrests are a vital step in collecting new evidence and progressing it further.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said:

I have stood on Bolton House Road and seen what local people have had to live with. It is shocking – an ocean of rubbish piled up next to a primary school, and families unable to escape the smell in their own homes.

This is not fly tipping. This is organised crime, and it is local communities that are paying the price.

For too long, this issue has been ignored. But not on my watch. Today’s action by the Environment Agency and the police is just the start of our plans. The days of making easy money from waste are over.

Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle said:

The appalling dumping of waste at Bolton House Road and Cave’s Inn Pits represents a blatant disregard for local communities and the environment.

Tackling waste crime is one of my top priorities, and these arrests mark an important step in delivering justice for residents in Wigan and Shawell.

This government is taking a zero-tolerance approach to waste crime. Through our Waste Crime Action Plan, we are giving regulators and enforcement agencies the powers and resources they need to break up criminal operations and ensure those responsible are held fully accountable for the damage they have caused.

I want to be clear to waste criminals: we are coming for you.

In May, a 58-year-old male from the Birmingham area was also arrested for illegal dumping of waste at the Bolton House Road site.

These arrests support the delivery of the government’s Waste Crime Action Plan, which sets out a zero-tolerance approach to waste crime, including tougher enforcement measures and new powers to equip regulators with the tools to stop waste crime in its tracks.

As part of its commitment to restore pride in local communities, the government has announced it will directly fund the clean-up of the Bolton House Road site in Wigan. Working with the council, a process is now underway to recruit a specialist contractor to manage the clean-up operation.

Robust action has been already taken to ensure no additional waste is dumped illegally at this site. This includes depositing concrete blocks at the entrance of the site by the local authority. Wigan Council are currently looking to recruit a specialist contractor after being given assurances the funds required to do clear up the site will be provided.

See the full article in the links section.

Bolton House Road Newsletter – July 2026

Following our previous newsletter sent last month, we wanted to provide you with the latest updates on activity around the Bolton House Road illegal waste site.

First of all, we wanted to thank those who attended the residents meeting at Abram Community Centre earlier this month, and we hope that it helped to explain the continuing work that the multi-agency group is undertaking to safely remove the waste.

As some of you may be aware, Sky News has recently published an article focusing on Bolton House Road and other illegal waste sites around the country. We want to use this newsletter to reassure residents that following partnership advice and collective site assessments, the multi-agency group is of the view that the illegal waste site remains a low risk to the public.

Multi-agency work:

As stated in previous newsletters, the council has been working with the Environment Agency (EA), the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), as well as other partners such as United Utilities (UU), Greater Manchester Police (GMP), and Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMRS) to manage this illegal site, protect residents, and minimise the impact on the public and the environment.

As part of the multi-agency work to prepare for safe waste removal, independent qualified organisations have visited the site over the past year to sample the waste, water, and odour.

The EA has conducted regular monitoring at and around the site and has not detected any significant odours during their inspections that would trigger further action. Likewise, water sampling around the site did not identify any contamination linked to the site that requires further investigation.

As the Bolton House Road site is an industrial estate established on a former colliery, geological mapping of the site indicates the presence of thick clay deposits and coal layers beneath the ground. The top clay layer is of very low permeability and usually resistant to any infiltration of water or pollutants from the ground surface, so we do not expect significant pollution from the waste deposits to have entered groundwater.

Meanwhile, the fire and rescue service and the Council have worked together to help to manage any potential fire risks at the site during the warmer weather. Part of this work has involved GMFRS flying drones over the site to look for any ‘hotspots’ in the waste and probes have been inserted into the waste at various points to remotely monitor temperature levels.

Water tanks have been put in place around the site to enable the fire and rescue service to act quickly and prevent the spread of any fire, with contracts also in place to bring diggers to the site and urgently move waste in case of a fire. Security is now on site 24/7, giving the multi-agency group an extra pair of eyes with support to spot any emerging fire risks.

The Environment Agency continues to work alongside the local authority and other partners to assess any potential environmental impacts and ensure the site is managed appropriately. The UKHSA works with partner agencies and will provide independent, expert public health advice regarding any potential health risks.

Waste removal:

As mentioned in our previous newsletter, the council has had confirmation that central government will provide the funds necessary to remove the waste as quickly as possible.

Following this, we’ll ask specialist contractors to submit bids in coming weeks, with hours of operation, site access, wildlife impacts, controlling odour and air quality, disposal routes, and the future of the site post-clearance all being considered.

Leaning on the expertise and support of the multi-agency group, Wigan Council is leading the procurement process and will appoint a contractor that can show it can remove the waste as safely and efficiently as possible. The waste will continue to be sampled as it is being removed and the impact on the community will be paramount to the waste removal process.

Following the appointment and any preparations needed on the site, we are hoping that waste removal will start in the autumn.

Ongoing monitoring and criminal investigation:

Closure orders remain in place at Bolton House Road and the neighbouring Old Cricket Ground to prevent access.

The site will continue to be monitored for illegal activity, safety issues, vermin and environmental impacts — including during the clearance work.

The Environment Agency continues to lead a complex investigation into who is responsible for the illegal waste dumping at Bolton House Road.

A 58-year-old man from the Birmingham area who was arrested in connection with illegal dumping at sites across England, including Bolton House Road, has been released under investigation and is due to return to a police station at a later date. He was arrested on suspicion of environmental, fraud, and money laundering offences.

Further information:

While the multi-agency group’s view is that the illegal waste site remains a low risk to the public, we recognise that the presence of the site and its management have resulted in disruption to day-to-day life and continues to affect the wellbeing of residents, particularly due to the impact of odours and smoke, as well as uncertainty in relation to timeframes for works and remediation.

This is why we want to increase our support for residents, particularly in terms of health and wellbeing. We are working to provide more practical and personalised support to help residents manage the ongoing impact. This will include access to wellbeing advice, links to health and community services, and opportunities for respite through local leisure and community activities.

Much of this support will come through Angela, our single point of contact who many of you may have met. Angela can be contacted at Angela.Addis@wigan.gov.uk for wellbeing support, advice or information about the illegal waste site, and to complete odour monitoring logs.

The EA continues to gather evidence and members of the public who have information about the waste deposited on the site are encouraged to report any information on its incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60.  

Alternatively, if you want to report a crime or illegal activity anonymously you can ring Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. You can report suspicious activity to the police via 101 or the live chat function online. Immediate danger can be reported to the police by calling 999.

Contact NHS 111 or your GP if you have concerns about your individual circumstances and require health advice.

We will keep you updated via our newsletter, and you can access further information on our Frequently Asked Questions page on the council’s website. You can also contact Angela for any further questions you may have.

How to report breaches of the closure and restriction order:

If you see anyone breaching the closure order at the Bolton House Road waste site, please contact the police via 101 or the live chat online.

On the live chat function, we suggest saying something similar to the below:

“I am a resident of Bolton House Road, Bickershaw, Wigan, WN2 4AB. There is an illegal waste site which is covered by a closure order enforced by GMP. There is someone currently on the site. I have been told to alert you as soon as I witness activity of this nature as this is an illegal offence. [We suggest you put in here more detail of what you have seen] ”.

You may say something similar to the above when reporting to the Environment Agency. If you see someone breaching the restriction order at the neighbouring Old Cricket Ground, you may say something similar to the below:

“I’d like to report illegal waste activity at the Old Cricket Ground, next to the site at Bolton House Road in Bickershaw, Wigan. This is an illegal waste site being dealt with by the Environment Agency, and local officers have asked me to report incidents to this hotline. I have the National Grid Reference: SD6286401587”.

Please note that calls to the EA will be picked up by the call handler who will record your information and pass it to the Duty Officer, who will decide what action the local team will take. You can say "the local team are already aware of this information” if the call handler asks questions that do not seem relevant to the situation.

Bolton House Road Illegal Waste Site Clearance Consultation:

The Council is preparing plans to clear the illegal waste site at Bolton House Road and would like to hear your views on how the works should be carried out. Your feedback will help inform decisions on topics such as working hours, traffic management, vehicle routes, and how residents are kept updated throughout the project. Responses will be reviewed and used to help shape the requirements for the successful contractor, ensuring local concerns and preferences are considered wherever possible.

To complete the survey, please scan the QR code below or visit the website provided. Thank you for taking the time to share your views.