Four men arrested for illegal waste dumping at infamous Wigan site

Four men have been arrested as part of an ongoing investigation into large-scale, illegal dumping of waste at the notorious Bolton House Road waste site in Wigan, the Environment Agency announced today (Tuesday 4 August 2026).

The site has caused misery for local residents with reports of horrid smells - while a week-long fire caused nearby schools to shut last summer.

Site at Bolton House Road in Wigan. Credit: Environment Agency

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.

At Cave's Inn Pits in Leicestershire, waste criminals dumped 30,000 tonnes of shredded waste in layers with soil used to cover it. Alongside the ongoing criminal investigation, the Environment Agency is assessing the waste to ensure there are no further environmental impacts, as well as monitoring local air and water quality.

Site at Cave's Inn Pits in Leicestershire. Credit: Environment Agency/Natural England

In March, the Environment Agency published its 10 Point Plan for tackling waste crime, which sets out how it will act earlier to address illegal activity and deliver more consistent enforcement action.

In 2024/25, the Environment Agency working with partners stopped 743 illegal waste sites operating without permits, led 37 operations resulting in 40 arrests through the Joint Unit for Waste Crime and conducted 21 money laundering investigations.

Any information can be reported to the Environment Agency via its 24-hour incident hotline at 0800 807060 or anonymously via Crimestoppers.