THE boss of an illegal waste company was arrested on the runway at Heathrow Airport as he tried to flee the country.

Amrik Johal, of Trelawney Avenue, Langley, has been jailed for three years after he was stopped by police trying to board a flight to Delhi on Thursday last week (16).

The 55-year-old had not paid the full amount of a �881,513 confiscation order brought by the Environment Agency in 2008 for running Johal Skip Hire at an illegal waste site in Colnbrook By Pass, Slough.

A warrant for Johal's arrest was issued on May 10, 2013, after he failed to appear at court to explain why he had not paid up.

Police were alerted when an airport security check found a warrant with no bail had been issued for him and officers were forced to stop the plane while it was taxiing with Mr Johal dramatically arrested on the runway.

Angus Innes, prosecution team leader for the South East region of the Environment Agency, said: "Mr Johal's imprisonment sends out a clear message to all those who commit waste offences - disobey the law and you will be punished."

Johal was sentenced at Folkestone Magistrates' Court on the same day as his arrest. He had previously pleaded guilty to five charges of waste offences at Bracknell Magistrates' Court on April 23, 2010, and was given a two-year community sentence on August 4, 2011, at Reading Crown Court for the offences.

He was then ordered to pay �881,513 under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, on July 7, 2011, at Reading Crown Court.