Outrage Erupts Over Human Waste and Maggot-Infested Food Dumped at Cherished UK Beauty Spot

A HUMAN poo and maggot-infested food were left behind at a beauty spot in south Wales amid a surge in littering over the summer.

Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, also known as the Brecon Beacons, said it had noticed a recent increase in litter dumping and urged visitors to leave only footprints.

The park authority said there is “no justification” but “unfortunately, across this , it’s not been unusual.”

The waste left near Llyn y Fan Fawr over the bank holiday was “one of the worst” the park had seen it added.

In a post to social media the authority said: “This is not wild camping. This is fly-tipping and littering.

“One of our wardens spent their bank holiday weekend in a less-than-ideal way, clearing up a tent full of kit with chairs, a BBQ and two bags of maggot-infested food, and also found human excrement on site.

“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 there has been an increasing number of “abandoned wild camps”.

She added: “People come to the area to enjoy the beautiful scenery, the beautiful views, but now we are being faced with litter and it’s disturbing that beautiful view.”

The authority are struggling to get through to visitors about the issue she said.

Bronwyn said the weekend’s litter was “one of the worst examples that we have come across”, but rotting food, discarded BBQs and beer cans are not uncommon.

Following a summer of wildfires the levels of littering is a growing concern.

Last month a fire raged across the park’s moorland for days in a major incident.

“Our wardens have gone from supporting firefighters with the wildfires and, the first rainy weekend, they’re off finding abandoned wild camps. They have had quite the summer,” Bronwyn said.

“It has a knock-on effect on wildlife. There’s still a fire risk. can contaminate water. It affects everything, not just it looking nice.”

Steffan Edwards, a warden at the park, told Wales: “We’ve got plenty of things to get on with within the national park as warden’s.”

He continued: “This isn’t new to us and it’s not new to other national parks and other beauty sites across and the UK. But what we are finding is it’s an increasing problem over the last couple of years.

“People are finding out about these nice places and taking literally everything up with them, which you would take to a campsite and just leaving it there.”

Policy and Advocacy Manager at Wildlife Trust Wales, Joe Wilkins, said after a summer of fires and extreme heat the wildlife “can’t sustain another threat”.

He added that it is “unfair” for some people to “absolutely ruin” the spaces for other visitors.