'Honest mistake!' Now influencer apologises for dumping bathtub on mountainside in Welsh national park

A social media influencer has issued an apology after dumping a bathtub on a mountainside in a Welsh national park.

Tom Christopher filmed himself carrying the tub up the highest peak in Bannau Brycheiniog National Park - also known as the Brecon Beacons - wearing flip flops on July 17.

He bathed in the tub at the 2,907ft (886m) summit before leaving it behind after fellow hikers encouraged him to keep it there for photographs.

The stunt provoked a backlash over its environmental impact, and the national park authority reported it as fly-tipping.

Mr Christopher insisted he was simply trying to produce a "cool, wholesome video which made people smile".

"It was a complete honest mistake," he said.

"I obviously didn't mistakenly leave it up there, I didn't forget - it was a mistake in the fact I thought I was doing the right thing with people telling me it was 'awesome' and 'cool'."

He acknowledged he should not have left anything on the mountain and said he had been inundated with critical messages.

He said: "I should never have left anything up the mountain. I'm glad the message of this story is that, even though I'm the villain, everyone's sticking up for the national park.

"It's a dirty mistake, I shouldn't be leaving anything up the mountain.

"It's my fault for thinking it was a good idea but when clearly I should have been thinking more about keeping our nature clean."

The influencer claimed he had planned to return two days later to wheel the bath back down.

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But the following day, players from Cardiff Rugby's academy discovered the bathtub during volunteering and essential maintenance work on the mountain.

They assisted park rangers in retrieving it and passed it on to officials.

The academy jokingly referred to the recovery effort on Facebook as an "additional and unexpected team building exercise".

Mr Christopher remains uncertain whether he will face a fine for the fly-tipping report.

"I haven't got the money. I'm in my overdraft, I haven't got the money to do anything," he said.

"If it comes, I'll be gutted. I hope there's an option to do some voluntary work to try and pay the fine."

Under Welsh law, those found guilty of fly-tipping can face fines of up to £300.

It can also lead to possible prosecution and a criminal record if the fly-tipper is convicted.

According to the Welsh Government and Fly-tipping Action Wales, there was an almost 15 per cent spike in incidents between April 2024 and March 2025.

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