A pilot scheme to assess the usefulness of e-bikes by some Powys County Council and Powys Teaching Health Board staff is already bearing fruit for parking enforcement officers.

The e-bikes have been purchased from Powys bike shops using funding from Welsh Government.

The staff that cover the north east of the county have been on duty to try and help manage the parking of the heavy numbers of motorists to Pistyll Rhaeadr waterfalls and have been using e-bikes in their work. This summer has seen large numbers of visitors taking advantage of the good weather to, understandably, make a visit to the falls.

Recent weekends have seen visitors parking on residents' lawns as the available parking has been full.

Damian Perkins, Lead Civil Enforcement Officer with the council, said: "The road to the falls is quite narrow and on days where there are a lot of visitors it's not uncommon to see gridlock, often due to people parking inconsiderately.

"My colleagues have been able to park their cars in Llanrhaeadr ym Mochnant and then cycle the last four miles, using the folding e-bikes, to the falls to check for inconsiderate parking. If they'd driven up, they too would have been stuck in the traffic but with e-bikes they can easily get through to the source of the problem," he explained.

"Our officers are not there just to issue tickets, they often find themselves taking on an educational role. Educating drivers on inconsiderate parking often works as a preventative measure to ensure the safer flow of traffic."

Councillor Heulwen Hulme is the council's cabinet member with responsibility for highways. She said: "We are really grateful to the Welsh Government for this funding which is allowing us to investigate which roles within the council that e-bikes can prove useful to staff in their day-to-day work.

"We've recently introduced our first electric refuse lorry and with initiatives like this we can help to reduce our carbon footprint, "added Councillor Hulme.

Beauty spot is being 'ruined' by visitors

One of the newly crowned seven natural wonders of the UK is being ruined by daytrippers who turn the beauty spot into a rubbish dump and stay there until after dark, it has been claimed.

Phil Facey, who runs the tea rooms and toilets at the foot of the spectacular waterfall, says he had pleaded with people to clear up after themselves.

He fears those picnicking with portable barbecues could pose a fire risk.

Mr Facey is also asking Powys County Council to empty overflowing litter bins more regularly and consider putting in more.

The Pistyll Rhaeadr falls were recently crowned one of seven natural wonders of the UK by the Royal Geographical society.

But Mr Facey says this title will only bring even more visitors to what is often a choked narrow, four mile road to the falls.

"And sadly when they arrive they might be confronted with the rubbish that too many visitors leave," he said.

He said the good weather had added to the problems.

"We are getting large groups of people coming into this beautiful place who seem to have a complete disregard for looking after it," he said.

"They think it is acceptable to leave their rubbish, from nappies to BBQs everywhere and can't see that what they should do is take it home with them.

"I am being left day after day to clean up their garbage tip.

"We shut at 5pm but I regularly see groups of people still here at 10pm and even up to midnight - groups of maybe 20-30 people.

"This situation can not carry on, people are abusing this place."

Mr Facey said he had had to stop taking campers because he had to use the land as an overflow car park.

And he said the toilets, which he took over after Powys County Council decided not to continue caring for, were being over-run.

"We are just about keeping our heads above water dealing with the huge volume of visitors but it is both exhausting and soul destroying," he said.

Last summer as lockdown was eased community meetings were held in an attempt to work out how to tackle the influx of thousands of visitors to the waterfall.

Some weekends residents said the road to the falls were completed gridlocked as drivers abandoned vehicles on the road or carried on trying to get to the head of the valley despite the car park and laybys being full.