Countryfile landowner appalled as campers wreck grounds with ‘vomit, poo and fire’ in sickening scenes
COUNTRYFILE landowner exposed his campers revolting habits – leaving fans fuming.
John Howell is a owner of a 1,000 acre estate on Dartmoor and said he has had serious issues with campers in the past.
The landowner revealed a disgusting discovery finding “poo and vomit” on his South West property left behind by wild campers.
This comes after a controversial High Court ruling at the start of 2023 overturned the presumed automatic right to camp on Dartmoor.
During yesterday’s show, presenter Charlotte Smith said: “Nature lovers have been camping in the wilds of Dartmoor for decades, long thought to be the only place in England and Wales where you didn’t need permission from landowners.
“But earlier this year all that changed when the rights of wild campers were challenged in the High Court. This all comes down to the interpretation of a bylaw.
“The judge ruled open air recreation – as it’s worded in the Dartmoor Commons Act – didn’t include camping and so there was in fact no right to camp without permission.”
Talking about what campers had left behind in the past, John told Charlotte: “In amongst these rocks, old tins, broken glass, plastic bags and then there’ll be excrement and used toilet paper and so on just lying on the rocks in amongst the mosses, sleeping bags full of field.”
According to the landowner, he is the one who is burdened with the responsibility of cleaning up the mess, and it is something he has had to endure.
John claims to have spent thousands of pounds fixing damage caused by fires and litter, and believes that people should go camping but should follow the “leave no trace” principle.
Despite previous challenges, John has now allowed campers to return to parts of his land by granting permission for camping.
He said: “We’re saying, if you want to camp you’re welcome to do that a bit further up, a 20-minute walk from here, from there onwards ‘no trace’ camping is very welcome.
“What has been the problem in the past is the minority of people who have indulged a sort of festival-type culture, cooler boxes full of booze, a fire, a lot of mess and then then everything is abandoned in the morning. That’s what we can’t tolerate.”
Fuming Countryfile viewers showed their support for John.
Taking to Twitter, one said: “To many lazy people spoiling it for everyone else.”
Another wrote: “What a lovely society we live in, Country file showing you how to camp properly. It’s simple, take your sh*t home with you. LITERALLY.”
A third penned: “Watching Countryfile and it just makes me so angry.
“Why do #campers abuse the privilege of being able to spend time in the countryside? [notracecamping] [Dartmoor] people should not need educating!”