Man accidentally binned Bitcoin hard drive that’s now worth £569 million

We've all accidentally got rid of things which we didn't mean to while decluttering, but I'll bet you've never chucked out a hard drive that's supposedly worth more than half a billion.

So spare a thought for James Howells next time you are reorganising your prized possessions, as he believes his Bitcoin fortune is sat at the bottom of a landfill site near Newport, Wales.

The 39-year-old has been at war with the local council for more than a decade while trying to retrieve the bin bag which he says contains a hard drive with 8,000 Bitcoins on.

It would have been worth around four million quid when it was mistakenly chucked out by his former partner, but its value has reportedly soared to over £569 million recently.

So you can understand why James is willing to move mountains - or in this case, dig through 1.4million tonnes of rubbish at Docksway Landfill - to get his hands on it.

The cryptocurrency has been valued at an all-time high, and even if you'd only invested a tenner into it back in 2010, you would be filthy rich now.

James explained that his private key, which is a digital key used to access his Bitcoin, was stored on his computer's hard drive.

The gadget - which is only the size of an iPhone - was later removed when he upgraded his PC and he placed it into a desk drawer.

However, it was thrown away in 2013, prompting him to repeatedly call on Newport Council for help with his crypto predicament, claiming he has 'pinpointed' the exact spot where the elusive bin bag is.

But James' requests have fallen on deaf ears, with the council saying that an excavation was 'not possible' under it's licensing permit.

James Howells has launched legal proceedings against Newport Council (BBC)

Newport Council also said there would be a 'huge environmental impact on the surrounding area' if they allowed him to have a root around the landfill.

James had previously tried to twist their arms by proposing that the local authority could have 25 percent of his Bitcoin fortune to fund local community projects.

Now, he's reduced his offer to 10 percent and has launched legal proceedings against Newport Council.

The bloke has lodged a writ of £495,314,800 to retrieve the hard drive from the landfill site, and is being backed by a team of wealthy investors

His legal team is suing the council and the matter is set to end up in court in December.

James said that in his eyes, the local authority are 'withholding his property without his consent' and aren't allowing him to search for it.

"The last time we put an offer to them to meet it was worth £500million, a few weeks ago, and they refused that," he said.

He reckons the Bitcoin on his hard drive is worth more than half a billion (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

"There is an object in Newport worth almost $750million (£593million) and Newport council don’t want to look for it."

With Donald Trump's recent win at the US 2024 election, Bitcoin has reached $80,000 (£62,000) per unit, and Howells speculates that his Bitcoin could be worth £1 billion by next year.

“There is an object in Newport worth almost $750m (£593m) and Newport council don’t want to look for it." he said.

"I am still willing to avert court action and have a sensible and amicable conversation with Newport City Council, but there has to be no messing around.

"They have to come and speak to me."

A Newport City Council spokesperson told the BBC: "Mr. Howells has brought a civil claim against the council for a sum in the region of £0.5bn.

"The claim has no merit, and the council is vigorously resisting it."

LADbible has contacted Newport City Council for further comment.