IT WAS LIKE A GIANT

Village 'besieged' as hundreds of cars lined both sides of hilltop site close to attraction that has surged in popularity

- By ANDREW FORGRAVE Countryside and Tourism Editor [e-mail]

FED-UP locals are demanding change after they were "besieged" by Easter visitors at a former slate quarry in Gwynedd.

Dramatic car-cam footage filmed by a frustrated Dinorwig resident showed massive lines of double-parked vehicles stretching all the way to the neighbouring village of Deiniolen some two miles away.

The surging popularity of Dinorwig Quarry, once the world's second largest slate mine, has been blamed on social media.

In recent years, increasing numbers of people have been flocking to the site on the edge of Eryri (Snowdonia), and over the Easter weekend numbers there were said to be "unbelievable".

Local communities have complained of over-tourism, pointing to piles of litter and human faeces left in surrounding fields.

Some say they are now too afraid to venture out from their homes when roads become clogged.

There are now calls for a renewed look at parking restrictions - or even a new car park with toilets up on the mountain.

"The traffic there at the weekend was the worst I've ever seen," said John Horrigan, who lives next to the quarry.

"The whole site was like a giant anthill with people crawling all over it.

"I spoke to several of them and they all said they'd seen the quarry on Tik-Tok and they wanted to see it for themselves. There seems to be a view that just because a place has been on TikTok, people have a God-given right to go anywhere."