Top Gear legend wages war against council over 'death trap' landfill plans that 'don't make any sense'

Ben Collins played 'The Stig' on BBC's Top Gear between 2003 and 2010He was the second person to play the secretive racing driver on the hit TV show 

A Top Gear legend says plans for an inert landfill site close to a Devon beauty spot will create a 'death trap' and 'do not make any sense'.

To millions Ben Collins was better known as The Stig.

The former racing driver, 49, appeared on BBC's Top Gear for seven years between 2003 and 2010. For much of that time his identity was a closely guarded secret.

However, today, Collins is fighting against plans to build an 'inert' landfill site in Tiverton, Devon.

Part of the plan involves driving 40-tonne trucks carrying soil, stones and construction materials such as crushed concrete to site almost one mile from the nearest homes.

Ben Collins, who appeared on BBC's Top Gear as their tame racing driver 'The Stig' has joined opposition to a proposed landfill site near Tiverton, Devon

Collins, who wore the iconic white racing suit, helmet and dark face visor to protect The Stig's mystique, believes plans to send thousands of tonnes of rock and earth through Tiverton could lead to possible fatal accidents

The proposed site is close to the Devon town of Tiverton and has caused outrage among locals

Residents of the Against Greenway Landfill action group, Tiverton, Devon captured in Uplowman on March 17th 2024

Residents complain that the trucks will cause major inconvenience to local residents and present a threat to their safety.

Waste disposal company Decharge Ltd have applied to Devon County Council for permission to dump the non-toxic waste on the site.

Residents fear the site could be used in future to store nuclear waste.

Mr Collins told Devon Live: 'I looked at the route and it’s quite clearly a death trap. 

'When there’s an alternative to use a trunk road and build an extra junction, it would save time and money for the project which is understandable as you’ve got to get the soil somewhere, but you wouldn’t drive it through a tiny lane in a residential area near a kid’s playground.

'It just doesn’t make any sense.

'Hopefully, there will be some sense seen at Devon County Council, which will dismiss this, but the fact it’s come back again is distressing for people that live here.

'Ploughing HGVs through a tiny road through village communities through a high concentration of schools, it just doesn’t make any sense.'

Mr Collins suggested building a new stretch of road would be safer and more cost effective in the long run.

He said the area was not suited to modern heavy goods vehicles.

HGV lorry drives through a narrow country lane to dump rubble

Mr Collins said the local roads are too narrow to cope with HGVs. He said he would 'lie down on the road' if permission is granted for the controversial sceme

He added: 'People who have watched HGVs trying to get through here, they can’t do it on the road they just ride straight onto the pavement where kids are walking or playing and there will be fatalities, and if it comes to it, I’ll lie down in the road if I have to, until they see sense.'

A spokesperson for the company said: 'With the small number of vehicles utilising the lane leading to Uplowman Road, the frequency of vehicles travelling in opposing directions due to the proposed scheme is likely to be low.

'With the majority of these interactions assumed to be those of HGVs hauling material to the fill area, it is proposed that the site operator will utilise vehicles equipped with CB radios to enable drivers to radio ahead to make sure the road ahead is clear.'

Devon Council Council dismissed suggestions the landfill could be used for nuclear waste and will only cater for 'inert' spoil such as soil and stones.