An influencer who carried a bath to the top of Pen y Fan, south Wales’s highest peak, has apologised after a rugby academy team removed the tub. Tom Christopher, 25, admitted leaving the bath at 2,907ft (886m) on Thursday, but a group from Cardiff Rugby Academy took it down the following day.
Rugby team steps in
The academy posted on social media: “Fantastic day for senior academy supporting the National Trust at Pen y Fan with some invaluable work experience and teamwork essential. Also the group had the pleasure of carrying a bath from the top down. Who would leave a bath up there?! #mindless.”
Influencer’s explanation and apology
Christopher said he was trying to break the record for the world’s highest bath, a stunt that cost £400 and put him in his overdraft. He recorded a video of himself in the bath filled with water, carried up by other hikers in what he called a “community thing to do”. He insisted he planned to return and pick it up, but left it because it “weighed a tonne” and people wanted to use it after seeing the video.
Following calls for a fly-tipping fine, he apologised: “I knew that night I should’ve taken it down and I am sorry. It was my fault and my mistake; I have definitely learned my lesson not to do it again. The honest truth was I thought I’d leave it there for 48 hours and then take it back down. I should have left a note on the bath explaining that really.”
Overwhelmed by attention
Christopher added: “My intention wasn’t to leave it up there, I really was planning on taking it back down, but the amount of people that were messaging me was insane. I received about 40 photos from strangers showing them using the bath and loving it.” He noted that social media can be fickle: “One minute there is lots of love, the next you are berated for being ‘lazy’ and a ‘fly-tipper’.”
Bath crushed by National Trust
Christopher has since been informed by National Trust rangers that the bath has been crushed. The incident has sparked debate about environmental responsibility and influencer stunts in protected landscapes.
