bbnpa patrol from Merthyr to Brecon including senny bridge
while senta is north of Brecon and includes sennybridge.
(which may explain why they both target sennybridge café and filling station, a well know haunt of lane criminals)
they have enrolled the assistance of the police, who usually provide them (mostly bbnpa) with a PCSO .. who I believe has no powers of arrest? and is not legally allowed to stop any vehicle (must be a serving full time PC in uniform on duty?).
also the parks wardens have no authority to stop vehicles, I believe, and have no more authority to drive the lanes than bikers.
the parks have enlisted the help of Ramblers, and also decent walkers too
, by supplying an on line form to report bad and anti-social activity, with the implication that it is bikers doing this.to be fair .. no doubt there are such riders, and I have heard of riders taking bikes over the footpaths of the ranges, and of course there is a great safety issue. No doubt there are the hooligan element and the stolen bike brigade tearing up our beloved trails, also, so there is bound to be some basis for the animosity.
but for the law-abiding and considerate trail rider there is a bad situation.
we are harassed for the sins of the baddies
we have had our beloved Sarn Helen and Gap and other trails taken off us
we have been let down and abandoned by the TRF (sorry Hugh)
some have had threatening fake letters from the police etc
erection of illegal `no entry` signs
etc etc
we all know that some of these activities are illegal besides being discriminatory,
but they have happened and their persistence has altered trail riding in south wales.
its a shame that there is not a powerful organisation to fight our cause
but TRF membership is relatively low and their actions ineffectual compared with walkers and 4x4 groups.
perhaps the bbnpa are looking for bikers to supply them with their names and addresses, as I don't believe they are concerned with our views or in providing balanced access for us to OUR beautiful park .. I hope I am wrong.
