A Picton man's solo protest on Queen Charlotte Dr against the Marlborough District Council's rubbish dumping fee could have endangered drivers, police say.
Lesley John Huntley, 57, represented himself in a defended hearing at the Blenheim District Court yesterday, when he appeared on a charge of depositing litter in a public place.
Huntley also defended himself on charges of resisting police, assaulting police and threatening behaviour likely to cause violence relating to separate incidents at Waikawa Marae and at his home.
Judge Tim Broadmore told Huntley at the end of the hearing that he could discharge him without conviction on the littering charge if he paid a $200 donation to the Department of Conservation. Huntley agreed to do that.
Huntley admitted the other three charges, which will go to a restorative justice conference.
He was remanded to reappear in court on November 2.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Graham Single said Huntley gathered rubbish, including car tyres, buckets, car batteries and a door from a roadside and placed them on Queen Charlotte Dr on September 24 last year.
The items blocked the eastbound lane of a blind corner on the stretch of road between Havelock and Picton, he said.
Huntley said his actions were a passive protest against rubbish dumped down the bank of Queen Charlotte Dr, which he believed was caused by the council's rubbish dumping fees.
Witness Oliver Crook said he saw Huntley wandering on the road and asked if he had lost the load off his truck.
Huntley then asked Crook to take a photo of him and the rubbish and to make sure they were sent to "the snowman". Mr Single said it may have been a reference to Marlborough Mayor Alistair Sowman.
Constable Tim Goodyear, of Picton, said passing cars would have been forced to drive close to or over the centre line to avoid the rubbish. He said there was potential for a crash, especially as it was getting dark.
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