A mineral collector has been convicted of damaging a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Ayrshire- 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 SSSIs at Paisley Sheriff Court on July 28, 2025. ‌

The offences involved the damage and removal of mineralised rock. ‌

Two of the sites targeted, Fountainhead SSSI, near New Cumnock, East Ayrshire and Talnotry Mine SSSI, near Newton Stewart, Dumfries and Galloway, are historic mining locations containing limited amounts of mineral-bearing spoil.

Minerals removed from the Fountainhead site included rare stibnite. The stibnite, which is a spectacular silvery-gre

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