Mysterious pastries appear along a Welsh road, puzzling villagers and sparking a litter debate.
The treats include almond tarts and lemon tarts. Villagers joke about a “Phantom Iced Tart Flinger”. They even made a hashtag for it, #IdentifythePITF.
The pastries are all the same brand and still wrapped in cellophane. Some are old, but some are still good. One was found far from town, leading people to believe someone is throwing them from a car.
Some joke about a “Hansel and Gretel” story. Others wish they could find a tart, while some are angry about littering. Someone even called it “littering” on social media.
Paul Donnelly, who walks his dog by the A470, has found many pastries. He estimates he’s found about a dozen lately.
He spoke to someone from Welsh class who found one near her house. The next day, he found three more, still in their wrappers. He points out the wrappers are not biodegradable.
He believes the road is the problem, noting he often picks up litter like coffee cups and plastic bottles. He suspects people throw things from their cars, even though the nearest McDonald’s is far away.
Some think someone is simply getting rid of old food. However, the fact that some tarts are still good makes no sense to him.
The village has regular litter clean-ups. Despite these efforts, it’s difficult to control drivers on the A470, the longest road in Wales.
Residents believe the tarts were tossed from car windows, not dropped by walkers. As the village is a tourist area, they feel the littering looks bad.
The tarts are from Margaret’s Country Kitchen. The company started long ago in Leamington Spa and now sells products everywhere.
The company claims to know nothing about the pastry dumping. The village store also does not sell these tarts.
Walkers have been picking up litter, and one admitted they were “gutted” to not find a tart. They still picked up lots of cans and wrappers.
Some villagers are enjoying the mystery. Others are angry about the littering, with one person asking everyone to “enjoy the weird mystery”.
Dolwyddelan was once important as the birthplace of a famous leader. A stone castle remains, which is a tourist attraction. Paul fears the tart mystery will become one too.