Doncaster siblings jailed after tyre fire
Two siblings from Doncaster who ran an illegal waste tyre business which was later destroyed in an arson attack were sentenced to nine months in prison at Sheffield Crown Court on 23 December 2011. Jane Hopkins (45) and David Squire (31) both received the sentence. Between them Jane Hopkins and David Squire had pleaded guilty to six charges related to the illegal storage of tyres.
Tyretrade Ltd held an environmental permit since September 2008, but, according to the Environment Agency (EA) had never operated within its terms, as there was always more than the agreed number of tyres on their Whitlea Grove site. The company came to the attention of the EA on 13 January 2009 when Environment Agency officers visited the site and told Hopkins and Squire that action would be taken to revoke their permit on the 30th of that month if steps were not taken to reduce the amount of tyres. Three days later Hopkins, Squire, and Tyretrade Ltd were convicted at Doncaster Magistrates Court, for previous offences related to the depositing, keeping and treating of tyres. They both received conditional discharges of two years. The company was fined a total of £24,000. The company then went into voluntary liquidation.