Two Scottish men who are driving around Iceland in a modified 4×4 truck for a charity, Poppy Scotland, have turned themselves in to Police, the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service reports. The two men were under investigation by Police after Icelandic media published photographs and testimonies which seemed to prove the two men had engaged in illegal off-road driving.
Off-road “adventurers”
The two men, who have been described as “adventurers” by Icelandic media, are raising money for a UK Veterans charity, Poppy Scotland. According to a web page where people can donate to their cause the two, who are former soldiers themselves, are driving a modified truck “across Iceland and Summiting a series of volcanoes” as part of what they call “Operation Raganrök”.
Read more: Police investigating Scottish adventurers for criminal off-road driving
Photographs and stories published on their website seemed to show the two engaging in off-road driving and according to people interviewed by the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service their truck had left tracks by the Holuhraun lava field, which remains a closed area.
The two proclaim innocence while removing photos and videos from their web page
Since the story broke yesterday the two have taken down photographs and videos from their website, as well as closing its guestbook which had filled up with angry comments from readers who urged the two to turn themselves in to the police and hand over all evidence they have of their exploits in Iceland. The website has been down due to its bandwidth limit being exceeded.
A defiant message on the website claimed that the site had received “negative attention due to an ill-informed individual” and that all their driving had been legal and within designated tracks.
This is appears to be demonstrably untrue, as there is at least one scene in a video which had been posted by the two, which showed them to be driving in mosses and vegetation far from any designated tracks.
Other photographs similarly seem to indicate the two had driven off road, including an image of the two with their car parked within a seaside cave. The video has been removed from YouTube since the story broke.
Ill-informed drivers frequently shocked to learn they are breaking the law
According to the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service RÚV, the two have now turned themselves in. Aðalsteinn Júlíusson a police sergeant with the Húsavík Police in Northern Iceland told RÚV that the two had contacted the police offering to pay any fines. He added that the police repeatedly meet people who seem unaware of the fact that driving off-road is illegal and are shocked to learn they have broken the law. Fines for off-road driving can run in the thousands of USD or EUR, depending on the extent of the damages caused.
Iceland Insider has reached out for comment to both the two men as well as the top management of the charity Poppy Scotland, to inquire whether the charity will accept money collected by the two men or whether it will donate it to Icelandic conservation societies to repair damages caused by the off-road driving of Operation Ragnarrök. We have not yet received a response from either.
Two Scottish men who are driving around Iceland in a modified 4×4 truck for a charity, Poppy Scotland, have turned themselves in to Police, the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service reports. The two men were under investigation by Police after Icelandic media published photographs and testimonies which seemed to prove the two men had engaged in illegal off-road driving.
Off-road “adventurers”
The two men, who have been described as “adventurers” by Icelandic media, are raising money for a UK Veterans charity, Poppy Scotland. According to a web page where people can donate to their cause the two, who are former soldiers themselves, are driving a modified truck “across Iceland and Summiting a series of volcanoes” as part of what they call “Operation Raganrök”.
Read more: Police investigating Scottish adventurers for criminal off-road driving
Photographs and stories published on their website seemed to show the two engaging in off-road driving and according to people interviewed by the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service their truck had left tracks by the Holuhraun lava field, which remains a closed area.
The two proclaim innocence while removing photos and videos from their web page
Since the story broke yesterday the two have taken down photographs and videos from their website, as well as closing its guestbook which had filled up with angry comments from readers who urged the two to turn themselves in to the police and hand over all evidence they have of their exploits in Iceland. The website has been down due to its bandwidth limit being exceeded.
A defiant message on the website claimed that the site had received “negative attention due to an ill-informed individual” and that all their driving had been legal and within designated tracks.
This is appears to be demonstrably untrue, as there is at least one scene in a video which had been posted by the two, which showed them to be driving in mosses and vegetation far from any designated tracks.
Other photographs similarly seem to indicate the two had driven off road, including an image of the two with their car parked within a seaside cave. The video has been removed from YouTube since the story broke.
Ill-informed drivers frequently shocked to learn they are breaking the law
According to the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service RÚV, the two have now turned themselves in. Aðalsteinn Júlíusson a police sergeant with the Húsavík Police in Northern Iceland told RÚV that the two had contacted the police offering to pay any fines. He added that the police repeatedly meet people who seem unaware of the fact that driving off-road is illegal and are shocked to learn they have broken the law. Fines for off-road driving can run in the thousands of USD or EUR, depending on the extent of the damages caused.
Iceland Insider has reached out for comment to both the two men as well as the top management of the charity Poppy Scotland, to inquire whether the charity will accept money collected by the two men or whether it will donate it to Icelandic conservation societies to repair damages caused by the off-road driving of Operation Ragnarrök. We have not yet received a response from either.
