Arrest over 'sickening' waste dump at protected site

A man has been arrested in connection with the "sickening" dumping of waste at a site of special scientific interest in Leicestershire.

In April, about 30,000 tonnes of shredded waste was discovered at Cave's Inn Pits near the village of Shawell, south of Lutterworth.

The Environment Agency (EA) said soil had been used to cover the waste across an area the size of a football pitch.

The EA said on Tuesday that a 24-year-old man from Leeds had been arrested in connection with the waste dumping.

The private land is a former gravel works and protected for the importance of its neutral marsh as well as its scrub, grassland and pool habitats, which support a diverse range of breeding birds, according to government body Natural England.

Ian Jones, EA area director for the West Midlands, previously said: "This is a sickening case of large-scale illegal waste dumping, and we share the public's disgust."

The 24-year-old was also arrested as part of an ongoing investigation into large-scale, illegal dumping of waste at the Bolton House Road waste site in Wigan, alongside three other men.

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