Man fined for fly-tipping blames wasp attack

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 21 Oct, 11:32 · Archive

A man in Wiltshire was fined £1,000 for throwing polystyrene from his car after claiming a wasp sting caused the incident.

A man in Wiltshire was fined £1,000 for fly-tipping after being caught throwing polystyrene from his car. The incident occurred in Warminster in June when a resident captured CCTV footage of pieces of polystyrene being thrown from the passenger-side window of a passing car. The driver did not stop to retrieve the waste, leaving it in a hedgerow. The witness collected the discarded material and reported the incident to Wiltshire Council.

When interviewed under caution, the man claimed that a wasp had emerged from the polystyrene and stung him on the leg while he was transporting the material to a household recycling centre. He said he threw pieces out of the window in an attempt to remove the source of the disturbance from his vehicle. To support his account, the driver brought the dead wasp to the interview and showed investigating officers what he said was the sting on his leg.

Despite his explanation, Wiltshire Council issued him with a £1,000 fixed penalty notice for fly-tipping. The man cannot be named because a fixed penalty notice is not a court conviction.

How it is being reported

• Fly-tipper brings dead wasp to interview after being caughtA man in Wiltshire blamed a wasp sting for an unusual fly-tipping offence that landed him with a £1,000 fine.Gazette & Herald · 21 Oct, 10:08
• Fly-tipper brings dead wasp to interview after being caughtA man in Wiltshire blamed a wasp sting for an unusual fly-tipping offence that landed him with a £1,000 fine.Wiltshire Times · 21 Oct, 10:08

In this story: Wiltshire · Warminster · Wiltshire Council

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem