Watch: 4x4 drivers who damaged protected beauty spot caught out by own TikTok videos
The vehicles left tyre marks and caused damage to peat and blanket bog habitats, which are rare and environmentally sensitive.
Three men who damaged a protected beauty spot in 4x4s have been fined after being caught out by their own footage posted on TikTok.
The group churned up large sections of privately-owned land in Wales after travelling more than 3km onto the Berwyn Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
John Robinson, Michael Williams and Joseph Hodgson were part of a convoy that drove the vehicles from Liverpool before leaving deep tyre tracks through rare peat and blanket bog. But they were easily identified by Natural Resources Wales investigators after they posted footage of themselves causing the "irreversible damage" on TikTok.
One clip filmed through the windscreen of one vehicle shows it bouncing along muddy tracks in pouring rain, while other 4x4s snake their way across the rugged countryside. Another shows one vehicle sunk deep in mud as members of the group try to tow it free, while several more are seen parked up across the beauty spot.
Hodgson, 23, from Liverpool, has now been handed a three-year Criminal Behaviour Order banning him from entering the entire Berwyn SSSI, which covers more than 254 sq km. He was also ordered by Wrexham Magistrates' Court to pay more than £2,000 after being convicted of criminal damage.
Seven vehicles had travelled in convoy from Liverpool to Denbighshire on 1 June last year before heading into countryside where vehicle access is not permitted. They then drove across privately-owned land towards the Moel Fferna peak and onto the protected site.
Natural Resources Wales said Hodgson did not co-operate with the investigation or attend an interview and claimed he had sold his vehicle. But officers later identified him as one of the people featured in footage posted online.
Hodgson failed to attend an earlier court hearing in August but was found guilty of criminal damage in his absence on the basis of joint enterprise. He was ordered to pay £1,000 compensation for damaging the SSSI, £1,000 costs, £50 for criminal damage and a further £30 compensation.
He was also handed the three-year CBO because the offences were committed while he was already under a community order for similar countryside offences.
Robinson and Williams, both from Liverpool, were convicted at a hearing in August. Both were fined and disqualified from driving for two months.
Kirsty Roberts, from Natural Resources Wales, said: "Sites of Special Scientific Interest are designated and protected because they support the UK’s most important rare and fragile wildlife.
"Blanket bog is particularly sensitive. Once it is cut up by deep ruts, the water balance can be altered for years degrading habitat and reducing carbon storage.
"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."