Three men have been filmed unloading sofas, chairs and bin bags on a rural road near Maesycwmmer in south Wales before fleeing in a white van.
The incident took place at a hillside beauty spot popular with walkers and dog owners, where residents say fly-tipping has become a persistent problem.
Footage recorded by a local man shows the trio climbing out of an allegedly untaxed and uninsured van and rapidly dumping two leather armchairs, office chairs and a large quantity of rubbish across the road.
The witness can be heard warning the men that he was calling the police and had recorded their registration number. The group then reportedly turned around and chased him in an attempt to make him delete the video.
The walker escaped by running to a nearby farm, where a farmer found him distressed moments later.
“I had to pick the boy up basically trembling out of his socks on the floor,” the farmer said. “He saw them dumping their rubbish from afar, ran towards them and then the guys chased him. It frightened him to death.”
Photographs taken after the incident appeared to show unopened letters among the discarded waste, including names and addresses.
Fly-tipping has become a persistent problem near Maesycwmmer
The farmer, who did not wish to be named, said the same group had allegedly been seen dumping waste at the location on several occasions in recent weeks.
“In the last month or so the same group of boys have come up here three times,” he said. “We’ve got cameras and I spotted them literally two weeks ago.”
He said there had been more than 40 reported incidents at the spot in the past year and claimed he had accumulated about 200 crime reference numbers from Gwent Police.
“Fly-tipping is a real problem around here,” he said. “It doesn’t just stop at fly-tipping. You get the boy racers up here, kids taking drugs and drinking. You wouldn’t believe what goes on in a rural environment when you can see it.”
The video was posted on Facebook by a local woman who rides her horse in the area and has since attracted almost 100,000 views.
Residents fear that broken glass and other hazardous material left on the road could injure walkers, dogs and horses. Hundreds of people also visited the hillside several weeks ago to watch a solar eclipse.
One woman who lives nearby said the dumping was damaging a scenic area overlooking the Welsh valleys.
“There was practically nothing there that couldn’t have gone to the tip,” she said. “They’re ruining our countryside for quite literally the sake of a few quid. It’s horrible.”
She added: “They’ve done it in broad daylight and expected not to be seen. They don’t care about anybody else.”
Figures released earlier this year showed that more than 1.26 million fly-tipping incidents were recorded by authorities in England during 2024-25, a nine per cent rise on the previous year.
The number of court fines issued during the same period fell from 1,378 to 1,250. Gwent Police was approached for comment.
