A TOP Gear star is locked in a bitter row with a council over turning his posh street into a “dumping ground death trap”.
Retired racing driver Ben Collins, who was the BBC show’s former test driver The Stig, is backing calls for an inert landfill site in Devon to be refused.
DevonLive/BPMBen Collins, Top Gear’s former test driver The Stig, is backing calls for an inert landfill site in Devon to be refused[/caption]
AlamyCollins appeared as The Stig from 2003 to 2010[/caption]
AlamySimon Cowell gets taken for a ride in Noble M12GTO 3r at Dunsfold Aerodrome by The Stig in 2003[/caption]
The 49-year-old’s identity was always concealed behind a racing helmet during his time on the motoring programme.
He would step in to set lap times and test cars, while also giving pointers to celebrity guests, including Simon Cowell.
Collins regularly uses the road through Enterprise Avenue in Tiverton, and is among the locals fearing the plans will mean lorries overrunning the route.
Waste disposal firm Decharge Ltd has applied to Devon County Council for permission to build the landfill site less than a mile from homes.
It hopes to ferry tonnes of soil, stones and inert construction material there using 40-tonne HGV lorries, which would drive through the estate’s narrow roads every 7.5 minutes, according to planning documents.
The land was previously illegally as a dumping area.
Locals fear the plot could be used to dispose of nuclear waste, though the council has denied this.
Collins said the application is “absurd”.
Speaking to DevonLive, he said: “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.
Who is The Stig on Top Gear?
The Stig is a character from British motoring show Top Gear, created by former host Jeremy Clarkson and producer Andy Wilman.
The running joke was that nobody knew who or what was inside The Stig’s racing suit, which was always left on.
His primary role in the show is setting lap times for new cars and previously instructed celebrities for the show’s Star in a Reasonably Priced Car segment.
The identity of the original Black Stig was revealed to be Perry McCarthy in a Sunday newspaper expose in January 2003.
That Stig was then “killed off” that October and replaced by a new White Stig, later revealed to be Ben Collins during a legal battle over his impending autobiography.
In December 2010, Collins was replaced by a second White Stig whose identity remains a secret.
“It just doesn’t make any sense.”
He went on to say he hoped the council would see sense and dismiss the plans, but said it is “distressing” for locals.
Collins said if it is built, there could be a “never-ending train of trucks”, with the structure of the road designed for “low-speed, light traffic”.
Decharge Ltd said the frequency of vehicles using the route “is likely to be low” and will use CB radios to ensure the road ahead is clear.
The council said if the plan is approved it would be used for “inert waste only” and “definitely not for nuclear waste”.
The Sun has approached Devon County Council for further comment.