A man has apologised for taking a bath up a 3,000ft mountain - and leaving it there, writes Lauren Beavis.

Tom Christopher, 25, carried the tub up Pen y Fan in an attempt to break the record for the 'world's highest bath'.

The content creator had a soak and said he planned leaving it up the 886m (2,907 feet) highest peak in South Wales for 48 hours - so others could enjoy it.

But Cardiff rugby players who visited the peak 24 hours later decided to remove the tub themselves after assuming it had been dumped.

The team said they carried it all the way back down the mountain - and slammed the "mindless" action.

Cardiff Rugby team helping the National Trust rangers retrieve a bath tub which had been left up Pen Y Fan. A man has apologised for taking a bath tub up a mountain - and leaving it there. Tom Christopher, 25, carried the brand new bath tub up the highest peak in South Wales in an attempt to break the record for the 'world's highest bath'. After he took his epic bath, the content creator from Wales said he planned on leaving the tub up Peny Y Fan for 48 hours - so others could enjoy it. However, Cardiff rugby players who visited the peak 24 hours later decided to remove the tub themselves after assuming it had been dumped. The team said they carried it all the way back down the mountain - and slammed the "mindless" action.
Cardiff Rugby Academy players removed the bathtub after finding it at the top of Pen y Fan during a volunteer day (Cardiff Rugby / SWNS)

Tom from Wales said: "I know that night I should've taken it down and I am sorry.

"It was my fault and my mistake, I have definitely learnt my lesson to not do it again.

"But it was genuinely for a good cause!

"Even though I'm the 'bad guy' I am so happy that people are sticking up for the national parks and keeping them clean!"

Content creator Tom Christopher takes a soak on Pen y Fan after carrying the bath tub to the summit
Content creator Tom Christopher takes a soak on Pen y Fan after carrying the bath tub to the summit (Tom Christopher / SWNS)

Tom said he decided to purchase a brand new bath tub and carry it up Pen y Fan on July 16 after feeling inspired to claim a record for taking the world's highest bath.

He said: "I just wanted to do something crazy and make a funny, cool video showing me taking a bath up Pen y Fan whilst watching the sunset."

After filming himself maneuvering the heavy household object up the peak, Tom said he put up signs at the bottom of the mountain asking people to help him fill up the bath by bringing up bottles of river water.

He said: "I left signs and empty bottles which people could use to bring water up - and to my delight people just kept coming up and getting involved.

"It was brilliant to see so many strangers getting together to help fill this bath!

"The reason for the video soon become not just me taking the bath, but showing the public getting together to fill it up with water.

"People say oh it's only for me, but I genuinely wanted to make it a community thing too - if you watch the video you can see that."

After posting the video online, Tom said it swiftly went viral - receiving more than 200k views in just four hours.

The young creator said he was inundated with positive comments and requests from people begging him to leave the bath up the mountain for them to use too.

Tom said: "My DMs were flooded - everyone wanted a photo with the bath tub!

"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!

"But it weighed a tonne and was a nightmare to take it up there - so 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."

Before Tom could remove the item himself, however, a "confused" local Cardiff rugby team spotted it during a volunteer day and carried it back down the peak.

He has since been informed by the National Trust rangers that it has been crushed.

Tom said: "That bath put me in an overdraft - I lost £400 but I've learnt my mistake!

"I could have gotten a dirty scummy bath but it's brand new - so I was definitely going to bring it back down!

"I even had a message from someone saying they had seen the bath tub online and had travelled five hours to take a photo with it - but it had been removed.

"They were gutted."

Tom added: "Social media is always hard - one minute there is lots of love, the next you are berated for being 'lazy' and a 'fly-tipper'.

"It's negative on me but the positive thing is that I've learnt my lesson and this whole situation shows people are sticking up for our outdoor spaces!"

The Cardiff players were confused when they visited the peak 24 hours later to find the tub still there and volunteered to remove it.

Cardiff Rugby Academy's social media page said: "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."