Mountain rescue's 12-hour operation to clear 'river of rubbish' seen 3 miles away

Fly-tipped waste that had been described as a "river of rubbish" running down the side of a mountain has been cleared away by volunteers.

Central Beacons Mountain Rescue Team said they removed over a tonne of waste from Bwlch Mountain, a well-known beauty spot in Rhondda Cynon Taf, over the weekend.

Due to the "challenging" terrain, teams had to lower themselves by rope as part of a 12-hour operation to remove the rubbish.

Rhondda Cynon Taf council, which worked with the mountain rescue team on the clean-up, praised their efforts, saying it was "completely unacceptable" that a minority of people had treated the site "as a personal dumping ground".

The waste on the side of the mountain had been highlighted in January by travel blogger Nathan Dixon, who captured drone footage showing the scale of the fly-tipping.

At the time he said the mess could be seen from "three to five miles away", while landowner Katie Davies said she was "devastated" by the "disgusting" scenes.

The rubbish appeared to have accumulated over time from being dumped from a lay-by at the top of Bwlch Mountain, meaning it lay on steep terrain that was difficult to access.

The council said the illegally dumped waste included commercial and household debris, such as "tyres, plasterboard, cement bags, household white goods, and tonnes of loose refuse".

They added that there was also evidence that people had scaled the slopes in order to burn the evidence, potentially endangering local wildlife and the environment.

However, with favourable weather conditions over the weekend, the council managed to team up with the mountain rescue team to remove the rubbish.

"This was far more than a litter pick," said Carys Rees from the Central Beacons Mountain Rescue Team.

"Over the course of a 12-hour day, the team deployed around a kilometre of rope and hauled well in excess of a tonne of rubbish back to the roadside using specialist rope rescue systems.

"The terrain was challenging, the conditions were demanding and it required a huge amount of teamwork, skill and determination from everyone involved."

Rees said she "couldn't be prouder of the team", adding: "Not only did volunteers give up their time to take part in this operation and work safely in such difficult terrain, but throughout the day we also responded to four separate mountain rescue callouts.

"That commitment says everything about the professionalism and dedication of our volunteers."

Although legally the financial responsibility of clearing fly-tipped waste on private property falls on the landowner, the council said it stepped in given the "exceptional danger and scale of the site".

Council leader Ann Crimmings said: "The Bwlch Mountain is home to some of our most beautiful countryside, and it is completely unacceptable that a minority treat it as a personal dumping ground."

She said similar fly-tipping behaviour in the future would "not be tolerated".

"That is why we will continue to use all the powers available to us to hold those accountable for their actions," she said, adding that many of the items recovered on Bwlch Mountain could have been taken to a recycling centre "or collected from the kerbside at no extra cost".