A man who admitted throwing polystyrene from his vehicle has been issued with a £1,000 fixed penalty notice (FPN) by Wiltshire Council after claiming he was driven to do so by a wasp sting.

The incident happened in June 2026 in Warminster and was witnessed by a local resident, who also captured the offence on CCTV.

The witness reported seeing a car being driven along the lane when the driver threw pieces of polystyrene from the passenger-side window into a hedgerow. The driver did not stop to recover the material and continued driving away from the scene.

Around half an hour later, the witness returned to the location, collected the discarded waste and reported the incident to the council.

As part of the council’s investigation, the suspected offender was invited to attend an interview under caution.

During the interview, he explained that he had intended to take the polystyrene to a household recycling centre for disposal. However, he claimed a wasp emerged from within the material while he was driving and stung him on the leg. He said he began throwing pieces of the polystyrene out of the passenger window while continuing to drive in an attempt to remove the source of the disturbance from the vehicle. To support his account, he brought the deceased wasp to the interview and showed investigating officers what he said was the wasp sting on his leg.

Despite this, he was issued with a £1,000 FPN for fly-tipping. As a FPN isn’t a conviction in court, the fly-tipper cannot be named.

Cllr Martin Smith, Cabinet Member for Highways, Streetscene and Flooding, said: “This is certainly one of the more unusual explanations our enforcement team has heard, but it does not change the fact that waste was deliberately thrown from a vehicle and left in the countryside.

“Fly-tipping and littering blight our communities, damage the environment and create unnecessary clean-up costs. We are grateful to the witness who took the time to report this incident and provide evidence.

“This case shows that if you dispose of waste irresponsibly, we will investigate and take appropriate action.”

The council takes fly-tipping and littering offences seriously and encourages residents to report incidents, particularly where photographs, video footage or vehicle registration details are available.

The witness who reported the fly-tipper was rewarded with a £100 shopping voucher as part of the council’s We’re Targeting Fly-tippers (WTF) campaign to encourage people to assist the council with fly-tipping investigations. Anyone who witnesses fly-tipping can find out more and report it at www.wiltshire.gov.uk/fly-tipping