:T It amazes me that this program \\\"Top Gear\\\" is still allowed to be made. It is all that is bad in entertainment. It goes out of it\\\'s way o sensationalize its self & the motor car...And ...This bloke Clarkson

BBC\\\\\\\'s car show in salt pan storm
The BBC\\\\\\\'s motoring programme Top Gear has been accused of causing damage to a pristine wilderness in Botswana.

Conservationists have accused the show, hosted by Jeremy Clarkson, of leaving scars across the Makgadikgadi salt pans by driving vehicles across them.

They have said the tracks caused by the cars could remain for decades.

A BBC spokeswoman said: \\\\\\\"We employed several environmental experts who advised us on where we could and couldn\\\\\\\'t go.\\\\\\\"

Bad example

She added the BBC had \\\\\\\"ensured that we never went near any conservation areas\\\\\\\".

Mary Rice of the Environmental Investigation Agency, which carries out conservation work in Botswana, said the BBC\\\\\\\'s example could lead to hordes of \\\\\\\"boy racers\\\\\\\" to follow suit.

Guide David Dugmore was quoted in the Observer paper: \\\\\\\"The thing that worries me is the viewers and public that are going to go out to the lakes, and we will end up with every Tom, Dick and Harry that comes up, with vehicles and quad bikes, which will absolutely spoil the place.\\\\\\\"

Top Gear, which has a large audience in southern Africa, is often controversial because of what critics describe as its addiction to speed and risk.