Inside the landfill hiding £1.5bn in Bitcoin that council bosses won't let ... trends now
A landfill hiding £1.5billion in Bitcoin is being guarded round the clock with a network of video cameras to keep out metal detectors hoping to strike lucky.
Early crypto investor James Howells, 38, made the calamitous mistake of accidentally throwing away 8,000 Bitcoins ten years ago and is now launching a legal fight to get them back.
A misunderstanding saw his partner throw away the only hard drive containing the access to his crypto assets - which has now rocketed in value to more than £450m - as he had been temporarily storing it in a black bin bag.
Distraught James has been trying to recover the disc from the council run dump ever since and has narrowed the potential search down to an area which would mean excavating 100,000 tonnes of rubbish buried under the grassy hills.
However, a strict security cordon is in place at the the Newport Household Waste Recycling Centre in South Wales after the council refused him permission.
Computer expert James Howells (pictured), 38, who accidentally threw out his Bitcoin fortune has seen its value rocket to be more than £450m
Here is a look at the landfill which is hiding a whopping £1.5bn in Bitcoin
A general view of the Newport recycling and waste tip where James Howells believes the hard drive is
Security guards are on duty around the clock in case treasure seekers arrive with metal detectors
A worker at the recycling centre told Mail Online: 'There's 24-hour security - everyone who works here knows about what's supposed to be buried in the landfill under the hills.
'But the other problem is, where would they start looking? The two small hills cover several acres, they'd never find it.
'The owner has visited the site many times - if it's here it's under one of those two hills in the distance.
'He's adamant but no one can know for sure if it's here - some of the stuff that arrives is sent off to incinerators.
'Even if the council gave permission it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. It would be impossible.
'Unless the computer stuff has some sort of homing device on it, there's just no way. The fella should just forget about it and move on.'
The latest explosion in Bitcoin value means if James still had his haul they would be worth £451,765,891 putting him on the super rich list alongside Hollywood star George Clooney, musician Sting and author Stephen King.
The landfill site is owned and run by Newport City Council which has an annual budget of £537.3m. If Bitcoins continue to rocket at the same rate, James's lost fortune could be worth three times that amount by the end of the year.
James has offered the cash-strapped council a hefty slice of the money if they allow him and a team of experts to start digging.
But the council says the landfill where the hard disc is buried can't be touched due to strict environmental regulations.
Even so, some refuse workers at the site believe James should be given a chance. One said: 'If he has an idea where it could be then he should be allowed to look for it.
'At the end of the day it's his property, if it can be returned then why not?'
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