Man was filmed ‘fly-tipping’ on mountain road
A MAN was filmed dumping what looked like building waste on a South Wales mountain.
Footage shows a man emptying the contents of a red van onto the pristine mountainside in Talywain, near Pontypool.
The man was filmed by Shane Owens dumping waste onto the verge at around 3.30pm on Wednesday.
The fly-tipping happened on the mountain road between Brynithel and Talywain.
Mr Owens said he was driving home from work when he realised what was happening and challenged the man, who was accompanied by a woman sitting in the driver’s seat of the van.
Mr Owens said he then rang 101 to report the incident to police.
He added: “We have these beautiful mountains around Brynithel and then people feel the need to do this. There is no excuse.”
Gwent Police confirmed it had received the report and was investigating.
A spokesman said: “Officers from the local Neighbourhood Team are in contact with the Local Authority to investigate this incident and those involved.”
Torfaen council’s executive member for the environment, Fiona Cross, said: “We were alerted about an incident of fly-tipping taking place at ‘The British’ earlier this week by members of the public, and thanks to the speed of the report and our staff who visited the site quickly, we have strong evidence of who the offenders are.
“Our public health team are currently investigating the incident, and it’s highly likely the offenders will be fined and prosecuted by the courts.
“It’s not OK to dump your rubbish wherever you feel like. Fly-tipping is a crime that not only causes significant damage to our countryside and wildlife, but comes at a significant cost the taxpayer at a time when demand for public services is increasing.
“In a time where spending public money on services is limited, using it to clear up after people who don’t want to recycle, use the Household Waste Recycling Centre, or pay for a business waste collection is not acceptable.
“We would like to thank the member of the public who was vigilant and reported this incident to us, and would like to remind everyone that if you witness an act of fly-tipping to get in touch with us.”