Rubbish ‘hero’ sentenced for obscene exposure

A Grafton man who was on a mission to clean the Clarence has been sentenced after he was arrested for obscene exposure and claiming he had coronavirus to police

Aydan Wyse has been cleaning up the roads of the Clarence and Richmond Valley. Picture: Caitlan Charles

A GRAFTON man who has spent two years trying to clean up Australia one yellow rubbish bag at a time has been sentenced for public indecency and falsely claiming he had coronavirus to police.

Aydan Wyse was arrested on March 29 in Maclean after he allegedly "wilfully and obscenely exposed" himself on Union and McLachlan streets, according to court documents.

He also told a police officer "don't come near me, I have coronavirus" during the incident.

The 34-year-old appeared in Grafton Local Court on Monday having previously entered guilty pleas to charges of expose oneself in/within view from a public place/school, behave in offensive manner in/near/within view from/within hearing from a public place/school and give false information person/property in danger.

Represented by solicitor Greg Coombes, Wyse was sentenced by magistrate Kathy Crittenden to a community correction order for a period of 18 months, starting from May 25.

Mr Wyse had recently returned to Grafton after he'd spent two years travelling across the country picking up rubbish on the road, as part of his "One man's effort to clean up the Clarence" project.

He'd initially started the project in 2018 to change his life around, after he started to suffer from depression following a family breakdown.

Speaking with The Daily Examiner earlier this year, Mr Wyse said he was astonished at how communities as far as Cairns had welcomed him along his journey.

"It's the little things you don't even realise helps - like someone waving and saying thanks, the appreciation keeps my spirits up and keeps me going," he said.

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