Man banned for three years after TikTok-documented damage to Welsh protected area

A Liverpool-based driver, Joseph Hodgson, was handed a Criminal Behaviour Order that prohibits him from entering the Berwyn Site of Special Scientific Interest for three years, after a TikTok video captured his 4x4 traversing the protected area. The incident occurred on 1 June 2025 when a convoy of seven vehicles drove over three kilometres of privately owned land, damaging peat and blanket bog habitats on the Moel Fferna peak.

Hodgson was found guilty of criminal damage in his absence and ordered to pay £1,000 in compensation, £1,000 in costs, £50 for criminal damage and £30 additional compensation, totalling more than £2,000. Two other convoy members, John Robinson and Michael Williams, were also convicted and received fines and driving disqualifications. Natural Resources Wales traced the vehicles to their owners, used the TikTok footage as evidence, and highlighted the long-term ecological harm caused by deep ruts in the bog. The court’s decision reflects the seriousness of illegal off-roading in protected landscapes.