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Nitrous oxide canisters dumped in national park

Chris Dearden
BBC News
Welsh Cottage by Zina Zina Kornishina wearing a green coat, standing among brambles on a very noticeable sloping hillside. She's carrying a blue recycling box which she's using to pick up blue cardboard boxes. The hillside around her is strewn with blue cardboard mess.Welsh Cottage by Zina
Zina Kornishina was one of several volunteers who fought their way through brambles to pick up the rubbish

Volunteers have cleared up 60 boxes of nitrous oxide gas which had been fly-tipped on a mountain in Conwy county.

Nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, is designated as a Class C drug.

Most of the boxes were empty, but around 30 unopened cans of the gas were also cleared away from the Sychnant Pass above Penmaenmawr.

Conwy council is appealing for anyone with information on the fly-tipping to get in touch.

Welsh Cottage by Zina A close-up photo of a circular blue tin of nitrous oxide being held in someone's right hand. The tin is decorated with filmstrip images and has the label "Miami Magic Infusions'Welsh Cottage by Zina
One of the cans of nitrous oxide found dumped

The rubbish was dumped just over a week ago on a slope below the road over the Sychnant Pass.

Much of it landed in thick brambles, which meant the volunteers had to fight their way through the undergrowth on the slope to pick up the mess last Saturday.

Zina Kornishina, a craft wool worker from the Conwy valley, was among the volunteers.

She said: "How often do you see Class C drugs scattered around the mountain?

"This was a massive amount of rubbish to throw away anywhere, but this site is in the national park and quite dangerous to clear up on a steep drop covered in brambles.

"We didn't know what exactly was in that pile and were concerned that it could be food waste or plastic that would be harmful to wildlife, sheep or the Carneddau mountain ponies which roam the area.

"But when we saw what actually was dumped in the mountains, we had to clear it up before any drug dealers or users have found it, or some silly kids got themselves in trouble with misuse."

Welsh Cottage by Zina View of steep hillside falling away from the camera with brambles and other scrub - there's a scree slope in the background. A substantial quantity of bright blue cardboard litters the slope heading downhill from the cameraWelsh Cottage by Zina
The site of the fly-tipping just below the road over the Sychnant Pass in Eryri National Park

A police officer stopped to help the volunteers and to make sure everyone was safe working below a narrow mountain road.

More than eight bin bags full of rubbish were taken away.

Conwy council said the rubbish was on private land, but it was investigating who dumped it there.

A spokeswoman said: "There is no excuse for fly tipping and local residents should not have to tolerate this type of behaviour by a small minority of irresponsible people who break the law.

"Cases are investigated and when there is sufficient evidence to identify those who have fly-tipped, appropriate action will be taken, including prosecution through the courts."