Charities hoodwinked by conman

A cowboy contractor masqueraded as an environmental worker in order to dump thousands of tonnes of waste at sites including a Black Country golf club.

John Valler, pictured, who targeted charities leaving his victims with a £500,000 clean-up bill, walked free from court yesterday.

The 59-year-old selected charities and voluntary organisations including Warley Woods Community Trust claiming to have free topsoil available for landscaping.

He would then dump tonnes of rubble, concrete, plastic and bricks on the land.

At one point, 60 lorry loads of waste were being dumped per day onto Warley Woods Golf Course which is run by the trust and based in 100 acres of parkland.

Mr Mehta Sailesh, prosecuting at Bristol Crown Court, said the dumping caused substantial damage to the club and would cost an estimated £150,000 to remedy.

He said the total amount dumped in the scam was 30,000 tonnes or 1,500 lorry loads worth £70,000 in profit but costing his victims £500,000 to rectify.

Mr Sailesh said: "The victims have been unable to afford to remove the waste due to Mr Valler targeting non-profit organisations who would fail to exist if they paid out this amount."

Father-of-two Valler, from Ash in Surrey, was eventually caught dumping waste at a swan sanctuary last year. He received a nine-month suspended sentence yesterday and was fined £12,000 having pleaded guilty to depositing waste without a licence.

Mr Sailesh said: "This was a sophisticated operation. The charities were carefully chosen and Mr Valler would show them false identification. He went by the name of Patrick Kelly. He would give out business cards and have formal documentation. But as soon as he was given verbal permission by the charities lorry-loads of waste would start arriving at the grounds.

"The waste would include plastic, concrete metal and even bricks. At one site waste was piled a metre high around trees."

Other charities hit included Woodhouse Park Trust scout camp and Avon riding school for the disabled, both in Bristol.

Sentencing Valler, Judge Simon Darwall-Smith said: "You targeted vulnerable charities who would struggle to remedy the damage you've caused. But you have also had an impact on the public and the environment with these actions."