A BANNER referencing the Epynt clearances has appeared on a road side in mid Wales – a nod to the "Cofiwch Dryweryn" slogan that has been daubed across the country.

The slogan, which translates as "remember Tryweryn" was first painted on a wall in Ceredigion more than 50 years ago in response to the drowning of Capel Celyn, a village in the Tryweryn Valley in north Wales, to create a reservoir to supply Liverpool with water.

In February this year the "Cofiwich Dryweryn" slogan on an abandoned cottage on a roadside in Ceredigion, originally painted by the writer Mike Stephens while a student in Aberystwyth, was painted over and replaced with the word "Elvis".

Activists soon restored the politically charged slogan but the wall was again vandalised, and partly taken apart, in April. Supporters again restored the memorial and supporters across the country began painting the slogan on walls. At the latest count it is thought more than 50 new "Cofiwch Dryweryn" slogans have appeared in various locations all over Wales.

However the campaign has been given a specific local twist with the banner that has been tied to railings alongside the abandoned quarry on the A470 near Rhayader reading "Cofiwch Epynt".

It has been placed on the railings by a father and daughter from Llandrindod Wells.

Dad, Robert Bruce, said his daughter Tegwen, wanted to use the campaign to references the Epynt clearances when the Welsh speaking community that lived on the mountain, between Brecon and Builth Wells, was dispersed in 1940 and the land seized by the military for the war effort.

Epynt is still a military training area today and Mr Bruce compared the seizure of the land to Britain’s seizure of the Chagos Islands in the 1960s. The British government evicted the entire population of the Indian Ocean island and invited the US to build the Diego Garcia military base.

"We wanted to ensure that our part of the country was involved and visible," said Mr Bruce of the decision to erect the banner and the "Cofiwch Dryweryn" movement.

"My daughter, Tegwen, a school sixth form student wanted to put a local slant on the slogan. She regards the story of Mynydd Epynt to be not only our Tryweryn, but also our Chagos Islands, and we shouldn’t let it fade from local memory."

The Epynt clearances are seen as significant as the dispersal of the Welsh speaking community meant the border of what is regarded as "Welsh speaking Wales" shifted from just west of Brecon to Carmarthenshire.

The drowning of Capel Celyn in 1965 was seen as a key moment in Welsh politics as though nearly every Welsh MP had opposed the decision it highlighted there was no power in Wales to stop the action of the Liverpool Corporation.

Mr Bruce said he hadn’t obtained permission to erect the "re-purposed" advertising banner which is attached to a safety fence in a lay-by.

He added that though his photograph was taken in the dark they hadn’t been attempting to hide what they were doing but simply fell behind schedule after helping round up escaped lambs on the road near Llandrindod.