Man jailed for failing to start community forest

Tuesday 29th November 2016 12:36 EST
 
 

An 'entrepreneur, a traveller and bon vivant' from Birmingham has been jailed for fraud after allegedly taking £98,000 to start a community forest to beautify the former Orgreave colliery site at Waverley in south Yorkshire, but not planting any tree.

Pritesh Ladwa, 29, of Yardley, Birmingham, was handed the grant to beautify the former Orgreave colliery site at Waverley in South Yorkshire.

But Daniel Oscroft, prosecuting, told Birmingham Crown Court : “There was no forest where a forest should have been.”

“They found no evidence that trees had ever been planted or any evidence that vandalism had taken place...”

He added the area had not been weeded and went on: “The place had not even been cleared for the planting of trees.

“There was no forest where a forest should have been...”

Mr Oscroft said Ladwa had other sites and there was evidence he had ordered and stored trees – but he had not used them at Waverley.

Ladwa denied fraud but was convicted after a trial and jailed for 27 months. He claimed he and a friend planted some trees and migrant workers had been paid cash-in-hand to plant the rest, the court heard.

But Mr Oscroft said: “The fact is two experienced officers went to the site.

“The work was never done.

“They have seen it with their own eyes.”




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