Volunteers clear fly-tipping at The British in Torfaen

Sofas, car parts, garden furniture, window frames and children’s toys were among the items which had been dumped in a valley on the Torfaen mountainside.

Volunteers, supported with equipment from Keep Wales Tidy, looked to clear some of the historic waste which had been discarded in the valley – which has been a well-known hotspot over the years for fly-tipping.

“We’ve been on about two big cleans here, and various other little ones,” said Jess Flag, one of the volunteers.

“This is all fresh [on the hillside]. It’s just general crud. People just reach for a black bin bag and as soon as it’s in there, they forget about it.

“I run a collection for people who can’t get to the tip or charity shops because they don’t have a car.

A vacuum cleaner and children's toys amongst the dumped waste.

“That’s what most of this is – just rubbish taken and thrown down the mountain.

“There’s no need for it.”

Ms Flag branded the illegal dumping as “shameful”, and called for more to be done to protect Wales’ countryside.

Bags full of waste collected by volunteers at The British.

“They don’t spend any time in nature so it doesn’t bother them,” she said. “If it was nearer their house, they would be saying that it’s terrible.

“Why wouldn’t people want to put money into the countryside. Especially as in Wales around three quarters of the land is countryside. When people think of Wales, they think of beautiful countrysides. But this is shameful.”

Garden chairs and a bin dumped at The British.

Thom Board, from Keep Wales Tidy, said: “I’d like to express my thanks for those who have come out today. They have shown great passion for their community.

“It’s a shame it’s got to this.”

Despite the efforts of the volunteers on Saturday, a large amount of dumped waste remains in the valley, as it requires heavy machinery to clear.