Tourists visiting an iconic national park have accused locals of being "self-righteous" and "biting the hand that feeds" after their cars were towed away.
The angry response comes after officials at Eryri National Park, formally known as Snowdonia, acted on its zero-tolerance policy for dangerous and illegal parking in the area following concerns about the impact of the soaring popularity of the park.
NorthWalesLive reports police shut a major road in the area to allow 40 cars which had been parked illegally to be towed away. Enforcement teams were also seen dishing out fixed penalty notices to vehicles which had ignored the double yellow lines on the side of the busy road.
Visitors to the park claim the decision went too far and called for “constructive management” to the problem which has caused escalating tension between tourists and residents.
Critics of the national park argued it needed to put in better provision for parking.
One blogger wrote: "The root cause of the parking issues is not hundreds of insensitive louts being lazy or ignorant - the vast majority are decent people stuck with nowhere to park and poor alternative provision.
"It should not be beyond the national park and local authority capability to anticipate peak crowds and make appropriate provision that makes visitors welcome and well-catered for. Instead we are presented with a self-righteous, insular, let's-tow-away-their-cars-and-that'll-show-'em type attitude, which is counterproductive and, most of all, ungenerous.
"Let's see more constructive and generous proposals rather than this biting of the hand that feeds."
But locals say vehicles causing a hazard should absolutely be removed.
"I wouldn’t expect anything else [other than being towed] if I parked up on Manchester ring road and went shopping for the afternoon," one resident said.
While another asked: "So people will risk being towed and putting others lives at risk for the sake of £20 per car? Unbelievable!"
Another local accused tourists of backing respect for the community, stating: “There seems to be a post-Covid attitude of entitlement that they can do what they like, when they like and how they like," she said.
"Abuse by some visitors is on the increase - not all, but the numbers are rising."
To combat the problem an app has been launched in recent weeks to help visitors find the nearest car parks with free spaces and encourage more people to use the shuttle bus which runs from the outskirts of the national park.
Despite these attempts, locals fear that problems will only increase as peak summer season approaches and Snowdon Mountain Railway which takes visitors to the summit is set to resume service.
The local authority is hoping that shuttle busses could be a solution to the problem and have committed to investing in the services.
However, many visitors prefer to park at the foot of the mountain, complaining that after a tiring day on the mountains the last thing they want is to "wait an hour for a bus".
A spokesperson for Eryri National Park said: "Only a small minority of visitors are not following the guidelines. We are very grateful for everyone’s cooperation in this regard."
They added the transport and parking policy helps "greatly reduce traffic, pollution and noise in the inner area during high season" and will therefore "vastly improve the visitor experience and promote sustainable tourism".
"To ensure the preservation of this remarkable area, it is crucial that visitors adopt sustainable practices and adhere to the guidance provided, especially during peak times as we head in to the busy summer months," the spokesperson said.
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