Off-road bikers using ancient monuments as racetracks

Ancient monuments across the UK face "complete destruction" from off-road bikers illegally using them as ramps and racetracks, archaeologists have warned.

Examples include a Bronze Age ring cairn near Swansea - a potential burial site - which bikers have been riding around.

Heneb (The Trust for Welsh Archaeology) said what may seem like "lumps and bumps" in the landscape could be of huge significance and greater awareness of the historic environment was needed.

Cadw, the Welsh government's historic environment service, said it was working with local communities and police to tackle what it described as a "devastating" and "very prevalent" problem.

"It's a sad state of affairs," said councillor Gordon Walker, surveying damage to Tor Clawdd ring cairn on a remote and windswept part of Mynydd y Gwair common, north of Swansea.

"They're cutting it up, it'll disappear forever," he added, showing how the banks of the prehistoric meeting place had been eroded by motorbike riders, exposing bare earth to the elements.

"The site as it is now needs to be fenced off, and information panels put up," he said.

"It's been here for over 3,000 years and needs to be preserved".

"The bikers tend to come up here on the weekend and I can understand the buzz they have in riding out here in the open," added community councillor Gareth Richards.

"But it's devastating to see the damage - this is our history."

The low bank forms almost a complete circle and stands alongside an ancient causeway.

It was thought to be "a ritual site, or even used for burial and burning", Mr Richards explained.

It is one of more than 30,000 scheduled ancient monuments across the UK, of which about 4,200 are in Wales.

These are sites which are protected by law for their archaeological and historical value and include more well-known examples such as Stonehenge and Caernarfon Castle.

Dr Alex Langlands of Swansea University said "forensically important evidence of past societies" was being destroyed at Tor Clawdd, a site which had not yet been excavated.

The archaeologist, also known for presenting TV programmes such as Digging Up Britain's Past, said ancient monuments faced "many and varied risks" ranging from climate change to increased levels of tourism.

But damage from off-road vehicles was becoming "a growing issue" for the sector, he warned.

At another scheduled monument on Swansea's Kilvey Hill, where Roman era pottery had been unearthed in the 1970s, he pointed to more evidence of tyre tracks.

"There's a lot of off-road biking that goes on here and it's starting to encroach on the monument," he said.

"It's in a precarious position."

Enforcement at sites was an issue, he said, while funding cuts had made it harder to communicate their importance to the public.

Archaeological trusts, alongside Cadw, were in a "challenging position", trying to "maintain monuments and look after them without necessarily having the resources to do so".

"Wales has a fantastic history and heritage and much of it is written in the landscape - so we need to look after and care for these sites," he added.

"If we lose sight of that we lose sight of social cohesion."

Claudine Gerrard of Heneb agreed "unprecedented cuts" in recent years had meant the sector was "forced to do less and less".

Illegal off-roading was a "significant issue that takes a large resource to tackle", she said.

Archaeological trusts were working in partnership with Cadw, local authorities and the police, including in areas such as the Blaenavon industrial landscape in Torfaen, designated a World Heritage Site.

"It's made up of a huge amount of lumps and bumps with evidence from the industrial use of that landscape but it's also really popular with off-roaders," she explained.

"The damage that does particularly to earthwork monuments - (it's) complete destruction essentially."

She urged people to make use of Archwilio - an online database of historical sites before embarking on any off-roading activity to help plan a safe and legal trip that would not damage the historic environment.

The introduction of new legislation was designed to make it easier to prosecute cases of unlawful damage to scheduled monuments.

Jonathan Berry, senior inspector of ancient monuments and archaeology for Cadw said people were now expected "to make every possible, reasonable attempt to find out whether the area of ground to be used is scheduled".

"Off-road vehicles and bikes can be enormously damaging and we have certain areas of Wales where we know that this is very prevalent," he said.

The situation at Tor Clawdd had been reported to Cadw, leading to an inspection of the site and a report which was shared with police.

A Wales-wide neighbourhood watch scheme for ancient monuments had also been launched in recent years, known as Operation Heritage Cymru, and was delivering "good results", he added.

"Our communities across Wales are fundamental to Cadw being able to look after the historic environment - they act as our eyes and ears," he said.

The Welsh government said: "We continue to prioritise our statutory responsibilities despite the pressures on public sector finances."

"December's draft budget includes a funding uplift for Cadw in both revenue (to £9.4m) and capital (to £16.3m)."

This funding would "support statutory conservation work for Cadw's historic properties and wider grants for the heritage at risk across Wales".

Sgt Louise Tew of South Wales Police said the force had "a number of operations" dedicated to tackling illegal use of off-road bikes, working with partners to act on any intelligence.

"We also have wildlife and heritage crime specialists in each area of the force, who work to ensure that our natural and historical heritage is safeguarded for years to come," she added.