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  "path": "/2026/04/27/group-turned-six-sites-across-london-mountains-dumped-waste-28138430/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-27T16:05:05.000Z",
  "site": "https://metro.co.uk",
  "tags": [
    "News",
    "UK",
    "Department for the Environment",
    "Environment",
    "Environment Agency",
    "London",
    "supports HTML5\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tvideo",
    "Influencer dies after Soho crash that left her in a coma",
    "Map shows London Marathon 2026 route and road closures for today",
    "Woman and child die after being pulled from water in London park",
    "London news hub",
    "government",
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    "500ft long, 20ft deep fly-tip",
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    "check our news page",
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  "textContent": "One of the sites targeted by the criminals (Picture: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)\n\nVacant sites across London were turned into oceans of plastic, plywood and black bin liners by a gang of illegal waste dumpers.\n\nPatrick Doherty, Martin Ward, Michael Ward and Simon O’Donnell would unlawfully occupy different spaces before directing convoys of tipper trucks to fill them with rubbish.\n\nAt one site in Colliers Wood, south-west London, they ordered a site worker to pay them £5,000 or they would ‘fill this unit to the brim’.\n\nWhen the money was not forthcoming, they left a pile of waste five feet deep which cost £15,000 to clear.\n\nOn another site in Croydon, the landowner was left with a £300,000 bill after security cameras were smashed and a company representative was threatened to prevent them entering.\n\nThe four men were sentenced today after they were found guilty of conspiracy to illegally dump controlled waste at Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court.\n\nDoherty was given 28 months in prison, while Ward received 18 months.\n\nWard and O’Donnell both received 14 months suspended for two years.\n\nTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tvideo\n\nUp Next\n\nPrevious Page\n\nNext Page\n\nThe gang made considerable effort to hide their identities while carrying out their crimes, hiding their faces and interfering with cameras.\n\nThey also removed or covered the registration plates on their vehicles to cover their tracks.\n\nBut council CCTV and police body-worn footage were enough for the Environmental Agency to gather the evidence needed to convict.\n\nEnvironment Secretary Emma Reynolds told **Metro** : ‘London represents some the best of Britain, but this cynical gang represents the very worst.\n\n##  Latest London news\n\n  * Influencer dies after Soho crash that left her in a coma\n  * Map shows London Marathon 2026 route and road closures for today\n  * Woman and child die after being pulled from water in London park\n\n\n\n_**To get the latest news from the capital, visit Metro's** London news hub._\n\n‘Londoners take pride in their city, and they deserve better than to have their neighbourhoods blighted by shameless waste criminals.\n\n‘Across the city, these men left a trail of destruction, and they have rightly been punished today.’\n\nThe four men would leave vast piles of rubbish for someone else to clean up (Picture: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)\n\nShe continued: ‘My message is simple – break the law by dumping waste and we will come after you.\n\n‘This government is tackling waste crime head on, through our Waste Crime Action Plan, from giving enforcement officers new police-style powers and using new technology, to boosting funds to bring criminals to justice.’\n\nWaste crime costs the UK more than £1 billion every year, with incidents like the 500ft long, 20ft deep fly-tip near Kidlington in Oxfordshire last November drawing national attention.\n\nThe government recently announced the Environment Agency’s budget would be boosted by an additional £45 million each year for the next three years.\n\n******Get in touch with our news team by emailing us atwebnews@metro.co.uk.******\n\n**For more stories like this,** check our news page.\n\nComment now Comments \nAdd Metro as a Preferred Source on Google\nAdd as preferred source\n",
  "title": "Gang turned six sites across London into mountains of dumped waste"
}