Police say off-road drivers causing anti-social behaviour or damage to protected habitats will have their vehicles seized “on the spot”. PC Eryl Lloyd, of North Wales Police’s rural crime team, said new powers allowed officers to take vehicles without notice, and warned offending drivers: “It’s a long walk home.” Both the force and Natural Resources Wales (NRW) said damage caused by off-roading incidents and other anti-social behaviour was on the rise. In August, three men who caused “irreversible” harm to the Berwyn Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 4x4s were convicted after videos of them causing the damage were shared on TikTok. John Robinson, Michael Williams and Joseph Hodgson were part of a seven-vehicle convoy which drove from Liverpool to the Berwyn range – an area of moorland in northeast Wales – where they caused “serious damage” to the peat and bog habitat.
Robinson and Williams were fined more than £2,000 each and disqualified from driving for two months. Hodgson was ordered to pay £1,000 compensation for damaging the SSSI, as well as costs, and was also banned from entering the Berwyn SSSI for three years. Lloyd – who is seconded to NRW – said his team had “definitely seen an increase in off-roading incidents”. As well as 4×4 vehicles and motorbikes, “we’re getting a lot more reports about e-bikes, which also cause the same amount of damage as motorbikes”, he added.
Under the Crime and Policing Act 2026 – introduced earlier this year – police have new powers to tackle the problem. “Previously, we had to give a warning for incidents of anti-social behaviour, careless driving. “Now we can just seize the vehicles there on the spot. “We will use these new powers and we will be seizing vehicles on the spot as well.” Although the reason for a rise in off-roading incidents is unknown, Lloyd believed it was “to do with social media” and people sharing locations.
He added: “They come from all over the UK. We are very close to the northwest of England. But we’ve seen people travelling from the Midlands, even London as well.” While social media may have contributed to a rise in off-road incidents, Lloyd also said: “We’ve had incidents over the summer in Newborough Forest, Newborough Beach [Anglesey], where social media has exploded. “And the amount of people coming to wild camp, and causing anti-social behaviour from that, from illegal fires to barbecues… so it’s been a busy summer.” On the Berwyn Range, damage which led to the convictions of drivers last month included the wearing away of hundreds of years worth of peat growth.
Kirsty Roberts, of NRW, said: “On this specific occasion we’re talking about peatlands, which are really slow-growing habitats. “So in this particular scenario we had a depth of 40cm (15in) worth of peat, which equates to around 400 years worth of peat depth and peat growth. “And so, to see this area naturally recover, we just wouldn’t see it in our lifetime.” Damage caused by off-road vehicles to peatlands and vegetation also impact wildlife, including ground-nesting birds, she said. Without intervention to avoid further degradation, she warned: “We’re not going to be able to reverse that biodiversity curve.” As well as a rise in 4×4 and e-bike incidents, she said “general anti-social behaviour” was also increasing, including use of barbecues and “a lot of waste being dumped on protected sites”, adding: “It’s happening on areas that are really fragile.” Lord Newborough, of the Rhug Estate in Denbighshire, owns the Berwyn land damaged by the off-roaders convicted last month.
He said areas of the estate had been opened up “for the public to enjoy”, but “the mountain is very precious and we’ve tried to protect that and be good custodians for many years”. He agreed that damage to important habitats caused by off-road vehicles was becoming more frequent. “I feel gutted basically because this is damage that has happened in recent years.” Under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act, a fifth of Wales is classed as “access land” including areas where land owners have agreed the public have a right of entry on foot. “I’m pretty old myself, so I grew up respecting the mountains and not seeing the encroachment that we’ve got by the public now.
“So, yes it hurts me and it hurts, the fact that the damage has been done. “We monitor the bird life on the mountain every year and we know that certain precious nests are being damaged wilfully, and this isn’t really the way ahead.” Tens of thousands of fridge freezers left at docks as household collections suspended Matthew Rhys’ sister ‘so proud of him’ after historic Emmy wins Nepo baby is a horrific term, says Zeta-Jones
