Walesby fire: Arrest after blaze at waste storage warehouse

A man has been arrested in connection with illegal storage of waste following a huge warehouse fire that was burning for several weeks.

Police and the Environment Agency jointly raided a flat in Nottingham and arrested the 41-year-old man.

The blaze in Walesby, Nottinghamshire, began burning on 21 September last year, sending a huge plume of thick black smoke into the air.

Fire crews were still dealing with the smouldering waste a month later.

Peter Haslock from the Environment Agency said it was an "extremely serious" case.

"We know the Walesby site did not have a permit for waste activity and we believe the waste was involved in the fire," he said.

The Environment Agency is also questioning the man over the illegal storage of waste at a farm in Leicestershire and an industrial estate in Nottinghamshire.

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In both cases, the Environment Agency said a couple of hundred tonnes of waste was stored there.

The man was also arrested in connection with cannabis production after about 40 plants were found at his flat, which is in the Sneinton area of Nottingham.

Two addresses in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, were also searched by the police but they did not find anyone of interest to the investigation.

A 46-year-old man later attended a police station in Rotherham voluntarily, where he was arrested and is being questioned in relation to the case.