Police make move that will force wife of crime boss 'Hotdog' to 'live in tent'
Police have finally moved in to shut an illegal scrapyard site that has been subject to complaints of anti-social behaviour, fires and criminal activity for many years.
Officers today attended the address in Meadow Street, Great Harwood, Lancashire, after Judge Guy Mathieson granted a full closure order, shutting down the site for three months and forcing the residents off the land. The judge rejected an appeal from Mary Smith, the wife of Tommy "Hotdog" Smith, who is currently in jail.
The 48-year-old had argued that the closure would force her and her children to live in a tent. She claimed she has not had any sort of business since her husband was jailed and has had to sign on for benefits.
But as reported by Lancs Live, police moved in to secure the site today, with a spokesman saying: "Our officers are at an address in Meadow Street, Great Harwood, to assist partners in facilitating a closure order issued under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. We will issue a further update in due course."
Previous enforcement orders at the site have failed to stop the unlawful activity including illegal waste collection and fires. On Friday, the court order confirmed that anyone who enters the site for three months starting from July 4 risks arrest, imprisonment and or a fine.
The order said: "The owner/occupier will therefore have to find alternative accommodation." The order allows more than 100 officials from the police, council, RSPCA and Environment Agency to move in for a large scale operation to secure the site and prevent occupants from accessing it.
Mrs Smith argued, without providing evidence, that the order would make her homeless, but the judge decided to go ahead with it. Judge Mathieson said: "This closure order has been hanging over you for six months or more. In the event we make a full closure order, what thought processes and what plans have you put in place?"
Mrs Smith replied: "Me and my daughter Indiana have bought a tent, a two-man tent. That is all." The judge asked: "You have a £1.4 million turnover and you are going to live in a tent?"
She replied: "I don't know what you are talking about. I don't own any business. Sir, I think you have got it wrong. My husband has been in jail for the past seven years, I haven't had any business for at least six years. At the moment sir, I have had to sign on benefits." However, she did not provide any paperwork to the court to support her claim.
Her husband was originally imprisoned for five years for possession of an illegal sawn-off shotgun in November 2018. In August 2019 he was jailed again for a further six and a half years for his role in a £1million stolen goods operation. His wife was jailed for 15 months and five other members of what was described as "an organised crime gang" were also sentenced at Preston Crown Court.
The convictions followed a long and complex series of police investigations named Hewton, Runback and Redmill, carried out between 2016 and 2018. In April 2020 Mrs Smith was declared bankrupt following a petition from Hyndburn Council.
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BBC News
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Daily Mail
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