Anger as human poo and 'maggot-infested' food left behind at beauty spot

Human faeces, maggot‑infested food and a structure described as “full of kit” were abandoned at a beauty spot in Bannau Brycheiniog National Park over the bank holiday weekend, prompting outrage from park officials. The incident occurred near Llyn y Fan Fawr in the western part of the park, which the authority labelled “one of the worst” fly‑tipping episodes it has encountered this summer. The dumping follows a period of prolonged wildfires in the area. A warden spent the bank holiday weekend clearing the site, removing chairs, a barbecue and two bags of food crawling with maggots, and also recovered human excrement on the ground. “This is not chaotic camping. This is fly‑tipping and littering,” the park authority said in a statement. “One of our wardens spent their bank holiday weekend … clearing up a structure full of kit with chairs, a BBQ and 2 bags of maggot‑infested food, and also recovered human excrement on site.” The authority added, “When out enjoying nature, respect your surroundings. Leave no trace and take everything back home with you. There is no justification for this behaviour.” Bronwyn Larry, head of communications for the park authority, said the problem appears to be growing. “It does look to be increasing,” she noted. “People travel to the country to bask the beautiful scenery, the beautiful views, but now we are being faced with litter and it's disturbing that beautiful view.” She described the shift toward more fly‑tipping as “baffling” and said staff are struggling to “figure out how to speak to people” about the issue. Larry added that the problem is not isolated to Bannau Brycheiniog. “It's not just here, for our park, it does look to be across the national parks. We are constantly putting out messaging around The Countryside Code, and the algorithm that we follow… that's what I see, for me it's 2nd nature to take back what you bring with.” Social media has previously been cited as a factor in the rise of irresponsible behaviour, with visitors to the “Instagrammable” park urged to probe and respect the environment. Larry acknowledged that many influencers do visit the area, but said “generally their messaging is about visiting responsibly” because “they want it to be beautiful too.” She concluded, “So it's really hard to recognise where this change of cognition is coming from.” The authority characterised the weekend’s dumping as “one of the worst examples that we have come across,” although it noted that discarded barbecues, beer cans and rotting food are regularly found. “Logic says it's lighter to transport back once you've eaten and drunk it all than it is to transport it out there,” Larry said. She urged visitors to “come and have a good time, but leave no trace.” The “leave no trace” principle, already embedded in the Countryside Code, remains relevant, she said, noting it has been associated with beauty spots “for so long” but is “just as applicable today.” The code also states that “dropping litter and dumping rubbish are criminal offences.” Larry reflected on the wardens’ recent workload: “Our wardens have gone from supporting firefighters with the wildfires and, the first rainy weekend, they're off finding abandoned chaotic camps. They have had quite the summer.” She warned of broader impacts: “It has a knock‑on effect on wildlife. There's still a fire risk. Pollution can contaminate water. It affects everything, not just it looking nice.”