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ILLEGAL wild campers are descending on the Lake District for parties before leaving their sites strewn with rubbish, outraging locals.
Groups are venturing into the national park for a night or two of camping, drinking and eating outdoors – but are fly-tipping and scorching the earth with BBQs.
The Lake District National Park Authority insists that wild camping is “not technically permitted anywhere in the Lake District” without permission from private landowners.
But those who live nearby have become fed up with the “fly campers’” leaving a mess for them to clear up.
Kate Appleby, 31, from Kendal, Cumbria, says she spends a day a week cleaning up after fly campers.
And she says there’s been a spike in the trend.
She said: “It looks like a festival.
“There was always an element of littering and antisocial behaviour but since the pandemic it has been on an unmanageable scale.”
Kate slammed the campers for not caring about the environmental impacts of their litter and fires.
She said: “People don’t understand the damage – they think people are paid to go and clean up.
“People don’t care, I think they have lost the connection with the outdoors – you would not litter like this in your own garden.”
Kate came across a group of teenagers wild camping at Blea Tarn a fortnight ago and asked them to clean up the litter scattered around their tents.
They refused and the rubbish remained after they had left.
When she posted a video to Instagram detailing the encounter, Kate received “abuse and trolling online”.
Kate is chronically ill with lupus, postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS) and Hashimoto’s disease.
She said: “I found the outdoors as a way of therapy and peace.”
Kate doesn’t want to be “gatekeeping” the countryside, but rather encourage an respectful connection to the landscape.
To clampdown on fly camping, Kate believes there should be tougher fines and more patrols.
People don’t care, I think they have lost the connection with the outdoors – you would not litter like this in your own garden.
Kate
She said: “Police don’t have the resources and it is a tricky one for who takes responsibility.
“For that reason I think it falls through the cracks.”
A spokesperson for the Lake District National Park Authority said: “Wild camping is technically not permitted anywhere in the Lake District without prior permission from the landowner.
“As the National Park Authority we do not have the power to allow camping on private land, and we do not permit camping on the small amount of land that we own.
“Camping in car parks or on roadside verges is not allowed at any time.”
The National Trust website encourages the public to “leave no trace” after wild camping and instructs campers to refrain from lighting fires or BBQs.
The body recognises the “long tradition of wild camping in the Lake District”, but does not permit camping on any National Trust land apart from in official campsites.
The laws of littering
Littering is a criminal offence.
The rules applied to the streets are the same for camping – a person is guilty of littering if they drop and leave their rubbish in any open air place.
Fly campers therefore risk being slapped with fines if they’re caught by an authorised officer.
This starts at £80 – but if the messy camper is prosecuted and put in font of a judge the penalty could skyrocket towards £2,500.
And if you bring your canine pal along for the adventure, picking up their poo is also important.
Failing to do so could lead to a £100 fine, possibly up to a £1000 if it escalates to court.
Outside of designated campsites, the National Trust said wild camping is allowed when permission from a landowner is granted and the site is “above the highest fell wall (approximately 400m or 1200 feet high)”.
People are told not to wild camp next to streams, springs, or buildings, or in valleys, by lakeshores or any lowland area.
A spokesperson for the National Trust said: “Wild camping has increased in popularity since the pandemic and the number of people camping and leaving behind litter and the remnants of fires has also increased.
“This is referred to as ‘fly camping’ to make the distinction between those true wild campers and those who are littering and causing damage to landscapes, impacting wildlife at the places in the National Park.
“We want to encourage people to enjoy the outdoors and to get out and explore the countryside, but to respect the landscape and wildlife which make these places their home.
“We would ask everyone to take all their litter, camping equipment and other items home where they can dispose of them properly or recycle items wherever possible.
“First-time campers or those lacking experience are encouraged to book a recognised campsite.”
Kay Andrews, the landscape engagement officer at the Friends of the Lake District, said the charity is developing initiatives to raise awareness of littering.
She said: “We are working to raise awareness of how people should prepare when planning a visit to the Lake District or a day in the fells, and we’ve been promoting the Leave No Trace campaign alongside the Countryside Code through our own social media channels, something which we’ll be ramping up throughout the summer, hoping to reach more and more people.”
Kay also runs the annual Great Cumbrian Litter Pick event.
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