Off-roaders caught damaging protected site after posting videos to TikTok

Three men have been convicted after videos of them using off-road vehicles to cause "irreversible" harm to a protected area were posted to TikTok.

John Robinson, Michael Williams and Joseph Hodgson were part of a convoy that drove the vehicles from Liverpool to the Berwyn Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Denbighshire.

Robinson and Williams were fined more than £2,000 each and disqualified from driving for two months, while Hodgson did not attend court but was found guilty of criminal damage in his absence.

Kirsty Roberts, from Natural Resources Wales (NRW), said SSSIs were protected because they "support the UK's most important" and fragile wildlife.

Wrexham Magistrates' Court heard on Thursday that seven 4x4 vehicles travelled to Berwyn SSSI, a protected site under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, from Liverpool on 1 June 2025.

NRW said the vehicles travelled over private land to the Moel Fferna peak, leaving "huge tyre marks and damage" in peat and blanket bog habitats, both of which are "rare and protected".

A gate lock was broken with bolt croppers, NRW said, and signs were "torn down" to enable the vehicles to gain access, despite "clear signage" stating that private vehicles were not permitted.

TikTok accounts linked to the group showed images and videos of them at the site causing "serious damage" to the peat and bog habitat and "leaving deep tracks when entering the blanket bog".

The social media content also showed that two of the vehicles had to be towed by the group after becoming stuck, causing further harm to the environment.

NRW classified the most serious damage as a Category 2 impact, defined as "significant harm to an SSSI habitat, with deep ruts causing long-term, irreversible hydrological damage that limits natural recovery".

SSSIs are legally protected because they contain special features, including threatened habitats, rare and endangered species or important geology.

As well as hosting large areas of blanket bog, a rare type of peatland, Berwyn SSSI is also an important upland area for breeding birds and supports species including black grouse and curlew.

Robinson pleaded guilty to criminal damage and Williams accepted damaging the ancient peat and blanket bog site at an earlier hearing.

The court heard Hodgson, who failed to attend court, had previously accepted he had caused damage to the site. A warrant has been issued for his arrest to bring him to court to be sentenced.

Roberts said blanket bog is a particularly sensitive part of the UK's wildlife.

"Once it is cut up by deep ruts, the water balance can be altered for years degrading habitat and reducing carbon storage," she said.

"Illegal off-roading also impacts farmers and landowners who manage these privately owned working landscapes, disrupting farming operations, increasing costs, and undermining long-term conservation efforts."

NRW's specialist teams will also undertake peatland restoration work to help return the site to a healthy condition.