A waste contractor who turned a disused quarry near Wells into a toxic dump has died while facing a legal battle over £1.5 million made from his illegal business.

Mark Foley, due to appear at a Proceeds of Crime hearing on 15 July, had died in recent weeks. Foley's assets, valued at £1.5 million, remain frozen, and the prosecution will now seek to recover the money from his estate through civil proceedings.

In 2021, Foley was jailed for dumping large amounts of hazardous waste in Stowey Quarry, near Wells. The Environment Agency described him as one of Britain's worst polluters. His actions left the quarry needing extensive restoration, with costs estimated at £25 million.

Foley, 64, of Cardiff, was sentenced to two years and three months and fined £72,000. The Environment Agency claimed he transferred £1 million to his wife before his incarceration.

The illegal dumping in 2016 led to an investigation revealing severe environmental risks, with elevated landfill gases and leachate breaking out onto surrounding fields. Two companies that dumped waste at the quarry were ordered to pay over £800,000 in fines and costs.

Rebecca Kirk of the Environment Agency called it "environmental offending of the highest order."