A mineral collector has been convicted of damaging a site in Dumfries and Galloway by using a hammer to break rocks to collect rare minerals to sell. ‌

In the first conviction of its kind in Scotland, Dagmara Lesiow Lasczcewski was found guilty of three charges of causing reckless damage to two Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSI) at Paisley Sheriff Court ‌

One of the sites targeted was Talnotry Mine SSI near Newton Stewart, which is a historic mining location containing limited amounts of mineral-bearing soil. ‌

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Specimens extracted from this, and other vulnera

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