Public gardens are intended to serve as a sanctuary away from the hustle, bustle and chaos of everyday life.

But one man in Siġġiewi has found another use for the public space - as a springboard to an illegal dumpsite.

A video posted to YouTube yesterday shows the man launch a mound of rubbish over a perimeter railing at Ġnien l-Armonija, straight into a privately-owned field. 

Having illegally dumped the rubbish, the man rests his arms on the railing and leans forward, as though to admire his handiwork, before scratching his head and walking away. 

"I'm fed up of picking up rubbish bags, dead rabbits and chickens and even syringes from our field beneath Ġnien l-Armonija in Siġġiewi," the uploader wrote in the video description. 

The field owner, who asked for his name to be withheld, told Times of Malta that the dumping had been going on for a few years. 

"What struck me was that the rubbish was always of a similar kind - bird feed, broken cages, dead birds, rabbits, sacks - and always dumped in the same corner."

Things reached a head last week when they found a syringe among that week's selection of illegally dumped litter. 

"I decided to set up a hidden camera and catch the person responsible red-handed." 

He did not have to wait too long. Yesterday at 9am, the man popped into shot, a new mound of rubbish in hand. 

"What I can't quite understand is why he would throw rubbish here. All the roads nearby are served by waste collection services. Why not use them?" the field owner mused. 

The owner has now filed a police report including a copy of the footage. 

Have you filmed or photographed something worth sharing? Get in touch at mynews@timesofmalta.com