A DIRECTOR of an environmental firm falsified soil sample reports on the sites of three schools in the borough.

Gary Dainton, formerly a director of the now-defunct Dragonfly Environ- mental, was given a 12-month suspended sentence for fabricating certificates over a five-year period.

Admitting eight offences between 2005 and 2010, Dainton filed false reports after his company had supposedly carried out tests on land before it was developed.

Dainton, aged 47, of Fenwick Drive, Westhoughton, pleaded guilty to the eight charges relating to the falsified reports, and was sentenced at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court on Friday.

According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Dainton’s firm charged clients up to £6,000 a time for producing the falsified reports for the sites.

The conviction forms part of a wider investigation by Greater Manchester Police which involved up to 80 sites.

Three of the sites involved in the case were schools in Bury and Whitefield — All Saints Primary in Whitefield, and Elton High School and St John with St Mark Primary in Bury.

A spokesman for Bury Council said: “The safety of children in Bury is of the highest priority.

“When we became aware of these allegations, we commissioned another consultant to carry out surveys at these sites.

“Residents can be assured that all three sites have proved satisfactory and pose no risk.”

As part of the investigation, all councils in Greater Manchester were contacted by police and asked to look at planning records dating back to 2005.

Dainton was arrested in January, 2013, and Dragonfly Environmental has since been dissolved.