Who is Gwynedd protecting over fly-tipping in Bala?

Gwynedd Council says it has issued a £700 fine has been issued for fly-tipping near Bala’s Llyn Celyn.

Good for them.

But why has the council failed to say who the goon is who dumped their crap at the lay-by?

Are they hiding something or protecting someone?

All the council says it that it has successfully prosecuted an individual “who failed to comply with their duty of care in relation to a fly-tipping incident at a lay-by near Llyn Celyn, Bala.”

“Following a successful warrant application in July 2026, police assisted in bringing the individual to court,” a council spokesperson said.

“During the proceedings, the court found that the individual had failed to comply with his Duty of Care in relation to waste, and he was ordered to pay a total of £700.”

The penalty included a fine of £300 in relation to the original fixed penalty notice and court costs of £400.

So, who is it?

Most days online and certainly every week in print, Cambrian News carries the names and addresses - and no, privacy rights don’t apply to those in court and don’t waste your or my time moaning about it – of those charged and convicted with offences before our courts.

The principle of open justice is a keystone of our society. No one is above the law. Or should be.

Unless, of course, you’re a fly-tipper in Gwynedd.

Come on, Gwynedd. Come clean. Who are you shielding? And why?

Haven’t you learnt anything from the Foden years?

‘Care’ seems to be a word that has fallen by the wayside. And it certainly seems to have fallen from the lexicon of those who make decisions for our local authorities.

Cambrian News this week relates the story of Rory White, a man who attended a Lampeter day centre for more than 17 years but has now been left without any day care.

Rory lives in Carmarthenshire and lost his place at Canolfan Steffan on 1 November 2025 after Ceredigion County Council decided to end placements commissioned by neighbouring authorities.

His mother, Diane White, says the decision has stripped Rory of familiar faces, friendships and a routine that had shaped much of his adult life.

"Losing Canolfan Steffan was, and still is, unbearable for him," she says.

Rory subsequently attended a day centre in Johnstown, Carmarthen, two days a week from January, but that arrangement ended in August when he lost the support worker needed to accompany him.

Now Rory now spends his days at home or accompanies his mother on shopping trips, appointments, and classes.

She says the loss has left him lonely, particularly without the male companionship he enjoyed at Canolfan Steffan. "He feels rejected," she says, explaining that Rory struggles to understand why he can no longer attend.

"Some days Rory is very quiet," she adds.

Have those in positions of authority lost their compassion?

What about that line from the good book that says: “Whatever you do to the least of my people, you do onto me”?

When you read that the same county council is spending £100,000 on a consultancy firm to check up on people paying their tax, it makes you wonder.

And then Ceredigion decides to spend another £24,000 on a consultancy that will assess how much care home fees should be, it seems ludicrous.

So quick to spend money on things like these consultations, so quick to cut poor Rory off.

Makes you wonder where priorities lie…

My cousin Frank loved a flutter on the horses.

It’s partly the reason why he moved to Cheltenham. The fact that he worked at GCHQ was a bonus.

I haven’t signed the Official Secrets Act so I can’t be whisked away in the middle of the night with a hoodie over my head for saying that even his wife and children knew little if anything of what he did for the spooks.

The Gold Cup festival in March is the highlight of the racing calendar for many punters, with Cheltenham buzzing.

Frank loved it. And like tens of thousands of others, he was there in March 2020 as that strange virus was ripping through Italy.

By mid-March then, many European nations had decided that they were shutting down to give a break and try and avoid coronavirus from overwhelming healthcare systems.

Not in the UK. And just as many Liverpool fans know, their game against Atletico Madrid was afterwards considered to be a so-called ‘superspreader’ event – just like the Cheltenham Festival.

Frank contracted Covid and was one of the first in the UK to die.

I thought about Frank this week as the latest official reports into the way the UK Government handled the crisis was published. Matt Hancock and Boris Johnson have a lot to answer for.