Newport IT engineer James Howells is suing Newport City Council for £495 million (around $647 million) after accidentally throwing away a hard drive containing 8,000 Bitcoins.

In 2013, Howells accidentally put the hard drive in a bin bag while cleaning the house, which was sent to a recycling centre.

The council has repeatedly rejected Howells’ requests to take the hard drive back due to environmental concerns.

Howells has proposed an $11 million plan to take the hard drive back, but the council has also rejected that plan.

The case will be heard in December.