THE holiday sledging 'madness' on Dartmoor has left a legacy of debris that could take weeks to clear.
Revellers taking advantage of a brief lull in the months of wet weather that brought both snow and sunshine to the region, left broken sledges and plastic sheeting all over the beauty spot.
Margaret Hughes, who lives at Two Bridges, has already filled her car with rubbish from Crockern and thinks it will take many more trips before the tor is returned to its pristine glory — and the danger to livestock completely eradicated.
'I've been collecting it all week since the snow melted and I've already filled my jeep with broken toboggans, baby changing mats, plastic sheeting and other bits of plastic,' she said.
'And there's still a lot work. I spent two hours each of the last two days picking up rubbish. I think if I went up again I could spend another two hours.
'Every time I go up there I'm going to take a bag and fill it up with the smaller bits of plastic to stop the animals eating it.'
Mrs Hughes said she liked to see people coming up to enjoy the moor, but there was a kind of madness that seemed to grip the snow seekers.
'They came up with toboggans, plastic, sheets, all sorts of things and when it broke or they were finished with it they just left it there,' she said.
'They were totally mad and irresponsible. It was like a drug that went to their heads, they didn't think of anything else — some were even getting their children to toboggan across the road.'
Dartmoor National Park spokesman Mike Nendic said he and the head ranger had joined other Dartmoor staff at Hay Tor last week and spent several hours filling a truck up with rubbish.
He said the littering was extensive wherever there was a slope that was fairly accessible from the road — and the problem was a recurring one each time there was any snow.
'It's a shame, not only because it's an offence, but because of the amount of rubbish left behind. It is a problem for us because we have to clean it up and it costs public money to do it,' he said.
The entire ranger service, including the volunteers, and the estate team was out doing similar work all over the moor.
'We have no problem with people enjoying themselves in the snow, but we would ask people to take their rubbish home with them.
'Most of the rubbish was only yards from the road — people could easily have put it in their boots.
'As well as the unsightliness of it, it can also be dangerous to animals, and it is an offence.
'People need to be sensible. We hope they will enjoy themselves, but take their rubbish home with them.'