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Paul Donnelly<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nMystery surrounds why someone keeps dumping individually-wrapped cakes by a main road in north Wales.<\/p>\n People living in Dolwyddelan, Conwy county, have been finding almond tarts, lemon tarts and Eccles cakes on verges by the A470 – still in their plastic wrapping.<\/p>\n The cakes have been appearing for several months, and though some have started to decay, others are still in date.<\/p>\n Margaret’s Country Kitchen, <\/b>the manufacturer behind the cakes, has asked the “phantom iced tart flinger” to desist from littering the Eryri National Park.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n People living north of the village started noticing the cakes towards the end of last year on a stretch of the A470 north of Dolwyddelan.<\/p>\n One resident, Paul Donnelly, has spotted them regularly and picked them up while out walking his dogs.<\/p>\n “It’s been going on for a few months now”, he said. “Though this week, we’ve had quite a major dumping.”<\/p>\n “There were three earlier this week, and another two on Friday,” he added.<\/p>\n “I didn’t really notice them at first, but when the packaging started to get familiar, I noticed a pattern.<\/p>\n “The strangest thing is that they’re still sealed in their packaging, and some are still in date \u2013 if someone’s bought them, then why just throw them away?”<\/p>\n People have been discussing the cakes around the village of Dolwyddelan, and concluded they’ve almost certainly been thrown from a passing vehicle.<\/p>\n One person suggested the cakes may be the work of a “phantom iced tart flinger”.<\/p>\n Another wondered if it was someone trying to get rid of stock past its sell-by-date, or about to go out of date.<\/p>\n Although residents are finding the situation funny, they say it’s frustrating because it is littering the Eryri National Park.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The cakes are all from the same manufacturer, a brand called Margaret’s Country Kitchen, based in Warwick.<\/p>\n Paul Donnelly added: “It doesn’t feel like a publicity stunt for a brand of cakes, because some of them have been in an advanced state of decay when we’ve found them.<\/p>\n “But that’s the more important point – however they got here, they’re littering the countryside and making the verges look a mess.<\/p>\n “The village has a group of people – Doli in Bloom – who do regular litter picks, but roadside litter like this doesn’t help.<\/p>\n “The plastic wrapping is bad news for the environment, as it won’t decay. I just wish whoever is doing this would stop.”<\/p>\n Margaret’s Country Kitchen said it was “deeply concerned” by the recent reports, adding such actions harm the environment and fail to reflect the care it puts into its products.<\/p>\n It said: “It was with great surprise that we learned someone who has purchased our delicious cakes would choose to treat them in this manner.” <\/p>\n The manufacturer is currently investigating the matter and, should the packaging reveal any batch codes, said it will try to trace the origin of the product. <\/p>\n “In any event, we must ask the elusive ‘phantom iced tart flinger’ to desist from this practice,” it added.<\/p>\n The company said any customer wishing to dispose of unwanted products should either return it directly or use a recognised food waste disposal service.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/bbcx\/grey-placeholder.png\")
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Paul Donnelly<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/c826\/live\/f7817320-f084-11ef-b1c3-2109fd8c3d75.jpg.webp\")
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