A British rapper caused “carnage” at a beauty spot in the Peak District when he blocked off a road with a £300,000 Rolls-Royce to film a music video.
Police were called last month to Winnats Pass in Derbyshire after Tion Wayne, whose single Body reached No 1 in 2021, filmed a music video for his latest single Streets a Lie.
The rapper allegedly had his entourage block off both entrances, at either end of the narrow hill pass, so he had a clear shot without passing traffic.
He used a roaming cameraman and a drone to film the video, which also features a Range Rover and an orange Lamborghini.
The road is the only route in and out west of Castleton, a small village home to about 550 people, and the incident caused “gridlock”, according to residents.
Contacted by The Times, the rapper said: “Winnats Pass is a beautiful place and the people are nice too. Mhm, mhm.”
He did not confirm if they had permission to film there.
Tion Wayne filming his video
Leo Randall, 39, who lives in the village, said that Wayne, whose real name is Dennis Junior Odunwo, and his production team had treated Winnats Pass like a “playground”.
“No one in the village is happy about it,” Randall said. “It’s not a five-minute job shot on an iPhone. If anyone was to do that in any other form of business, there would be police coming, the council would be breathing down their neck.
“The police aren’t five minutes away, they would have gone from something quite serious to tackle this idiot.”
Wayne, 32, who has featured on songs with Stormzy, was filmed standing in the rain in front of a black Rolls-Royce Cullinan with a “No 1” number plate. Other shots show him in various outfits and driving the vehicle on the apparently empty road.
He uploaded the videos, which have garnered millions of views, to his social media account. One has the caption: “Locked off Peak District until the Feds (police) came.” A police car was also pictured in the video.
Multiple award-winning rapper and singer Stormzy, left, and Tion Wayne have collaborated
DAVID M BENETT/GETTY
Another shows him later parked up and greeting fans who waited to see him with the caption: “Winnats Pass gave us a pass”.
Randall said that if Winnats Pass was blocked it created “carnage” on nearby Buxton Road which goes through the village: “It becomes a bottleneck, the whole of the village is gridlocked. It can take me ten minutes just to pull out my drive.”
Jon Pearce, the Labour MP for High Peak, said: “We’ve had our fair share of bad parking across the Peaks — but blocking Winnats Pass with a £300,000 Rolls-Royce really takes the mick.
“I completely understand why Tion Wayne would want to film his music video here — it’s one of the most beautiful places in the UK. But like everyone who visits, he needs to respect local communities and not block a vital road that residents and visitors rely on every day.”
Parking on Winnats Pass has been an issue before. In January, the road was shut by police due to “selfish parking”. The cars blocked gritting lorries and emergency services trying to respond to an injured walker.
The rapper is a car enthusiast and attended the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit in 2023
JAKUB PORZYCKI/NURPHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES
Locals say that the area has become more popular with a younger generation in recent years with large groups from inner cities coming for the day after seeing a video on social media.
A recent TikTok phenomenon saw many come to nearby Mam Tor to take videos of the sunrise and sunset causing parking issues for residents.
A Derbyshire Police spokesperson said: “We received a report on Sunday, October 19, just after 5.25pm about cars blocking off Winnats Pass, Castleton. Officers attended and the road was cleared.”
The council was contacted for comment.