No go for those coming to spoil the moors

On an August day in 1724 the author Daniel Defoe came walking here, before writing Robinson Crusoe, and claimed to have been caught in a howling blizzard. On more recent summer days the main memory to be taken away from this bracing location by some visitors has been the racket of off-road 4X4s and motorbikes revving up in lay-bys before churning their way across the broad heather and grass plateau.

Along the B6138 road which leads up to Blackstone Edge there have been further unpleasant sights. This, it seems, is where old sofas, fridges and cookers sometimes go to die.

The problems stem from such wild areas being right on the doorsteps of the heavily urbanised communities on both sides of the Pennines. For most people, the close proximity to moorland is a blessing which enhances their quality of life. It is a place to find fresh air and study nature or local history. But for a minority, the moors mean there is less chance of being caught for a variety of illegal activities.

"It's not just all about anti social behaviour, it's also about the fact that this is causing serious damage to a highly sensitive landscape, large areas of which are designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest for their important wildlife," says Graham Joyce of Pennine Prospects, an organisation set up by local councils, Natural England and others to regenerate the South Pennines.

It is behind a new website aimed at halting the abuse of the region's moorland. Called simply "Moorwatch" the website is interactive, allowing visitors to upload photos – perhaps taken with camera phones – of vehicles used in off-roading or fly-tipping activities, and also to pinpoint on a map exactly where the incidents are witnessed.

Action is needed because off-roading in the South Pennines has increased in the last few years following a progressive ban on off-roaders using many green lanes in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

This has worsened the already serious problems on the moors of West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and Lancashire.

On Medley Moor, above Hebden Bridge, off-roaders have so badly eroded the hillside that rain has washed a virtual mud slide into the gardens of houses below. In spring and summer, an unknown number of birds have had their nests destroyed on the moors.

The website is the first of its kind in the UK. Previously, police forces in North Yorkshire and Derbyshire have put up posters asking the public to report illegal off-roader and fly-tippers by using the Crimestoppers phone number.

Crimestoppers is still suggested as the first call in the South Pennines too, when activity is being witnessed.

Information uploaded to the website is more likely to be used by police as a way of building up a picture of where the main hotspots are for moorland abuse.

The mapping software allows each incident reported to be picked up by the police force responsible for that area. Over in Lancashire, sting operations by police against illegal off-roading revealed that in many cases other offences were involved. Stolen vehicles were in use, road tax and insurance unpaid, and some works vans were being used at weekend without permission.

In all, 20 motorbikes were confiscated and prosecutions followed for a variety of crimes.

Around the South Pennines, 180 signs are going up, paid for by Natural England, warning drivers as to the consequences of using vehicles in a way that "is likely to cause alarm, distress or annoyance to members of the public".

Four-wheel drive vehicles, motorbikes and quad bikes can be seized, and it will cost a minimum of 150 to get them back plus 10 for each 24 hours they are impounded.

That is in addition to heavy fines.

Already, the website has had reports of mountain bikers seen digging up part of a moor to create a new cycle track, five 4X4 vehicles scrambling on moorland near the Ovenden Wind Farm above Calderdale, and orchids being dug up on Baildon Moor.

Graham Joyce says: "The main purpose of the site is not to obtain a rapid response.

If somebody logs a report of illegal motorbiking, for example, it doesn't mean that the police will be there within 10 minutes with sirens and flashing lights.

What it means is that the police will log the report, know that there have been several other such incidents in the past month, and mount an operation to try and take the offenders by surprise."

The danger is that the clampdown on off-roaders on Pennine moors will simply shift the problem elsewhere, as did the Yorkshire Dales ban.

In the South Pennines there used to be just one legally permitted site for motorcyclists at a quarry near The Flappit pub, above Haworth. But problems caused by large numbers of vehicles parked along the road led to it being severely restricted.

"What we need is one or two places where people can go to legally pursue this form of biking," says Graham.

"We have discussed it with local police and councils, and that might be a worthwhile course for the future.

"We are not against off-roading, so long as it's done without damaging sensitive landscapes."

Anyone who suspects an offence should use the phone number for reporting non-urgent crime at Crimestoppers: 0800 555 111.

Full details of how to make a report available on the Moorwatch website at http://moorwatch.com