An irate farmer has captured his face-off with a scrambler rider on a north Wales mountainside on camera. Gareth Wyn Jones filmed the heated confrontation on the hills above his farm in Llanfairfechan and shared the footage on social media.
The scrambler rider claimed he had been granted permission to ride there by a landowner, however Mr Jones told him he was causing a disturbance for the livestock.
Confrontation on the mountain
In the video, Mr Jones revealed he had received a phone call alerting him to the presence of someone on a motorbike on the Carneddau mountain range.
Mr Jones says on the video: "After a little bit of searching I did find the individual on the bike and I have asked him nicely to vacate the mountain. I have got a funny feeling he's not going to listen. So I am going to stick around quietly and just watch and wait," reports North Wales Live.
Mr Jones is then seen approaching the rider, who is standing next to his bike on the moorland. Mr Jones said: "What did I tell you? Do you think I am stupid? I gave you an option to go home. You are up here. You are disturbing livestock."
Legal restrictions and rider's claim
It is against the law to operate off-road vehicles such as scramblers in open countryside. They may only be used on private land with the explicit consent of the landowner. The rider maintained that a woman had granted him permission to ride there, insisting he had recorded it on video and offered to show Mr Jones the footage on his mobile phone.
Mr Jones then tells him: "I have just spoken to her. Get this bike off this mountain. Right now. I am telling you, before I take this further and get the police involved."
The rider again claims to have footage of the permission granted. Mr Jones instructs him to send it over, and the rider agrees, though Mr Jones adds: "And that's got no inclination about what I told you. What did I tell you."
Impact on livestock and farming
The scrambler rider then countered: "You said I could come up here if I have permission from a farmer." Mr Jones firmly rejects this, stating: "No I did not - I said you could be up here if you are in with the farmers, working with the farmers. You have no permission from anybody," before once again demanding the rider leave.
Mr Jones went on to warn that the noise generated by off-road bikes would "disturb" both the livestock and the Carneddau ponies that roam freely across the mountainside.
Following the confrontation, Mr Jones explained that mountains essentially function as a "factory" for farmers and represent "an intricate part of what we do up here".
"So when somebody comes up here on a very noisy scrambler like that. It is going to disturb the sheep, it is going to disturb the ponies," he added.
North Wales Police were contacted for comment regarding the incident.
