News

Puffins ‘hit hard’ by last winter’s storms

Published

12 years ago

January 5, 2015

Tom Sinclair

Seafood snack: Adult Puffin with his lunch

AS the first storms of the winter turn the Atlantic into a gargantuan washing machine, research is revealing the harsh consequences of last winter’s storms for seabirds in Wales. Dr Matt Wood, from the University of Gloucestershire, is helping to uncover the consequences for thousands of puffins on Skomer Island, in Wales. Around 50,000 dead seabirds, including puffins, guillemots and razorbills, were washed ashore in a severely emaciated state – they’d basically starved as storm after storm prevented them from catching enough fish to eat.

With unknown numbers dying out at sea, this was the biggest seabird wreck recorded in Europe. By the end of 2014’s breeding season, the numbers of adult puffins returning breed was down by 25% on the previous year: a quarter of the puffins on Skomer and Skokholm islands may have died, around 5,000 birds. “Puffins typically live in large island colonies, seabird cities if you like,” said Dr Wood. “Now take a city like Cardiff and imagine what would happen if a quarter of people didn’t come back after the Christmas holidays, by mid-January things would be going seriously wrong, and it looks like that’s what happened to the puffins”.

Field assistant Ros Green found that Skomer puffins bred unusually late, their chicks hatching two weeks later than usual and being fed at only a third of the rate in 2013. As a result, breeding success dropped markedly by 25%, with only just over half of puffin pairs raising a chick. This was the worst year on record for puffins on Skomer, in the 43 years of the study (since 1972).

“The long-term seabird studies on Skomer are an amazing resource. One of the puffins that was still around until recently was first seen in 1973, the year I was born,” Matt said. “With studies like this, with birds we know and study as individuals, we can understand how populations work in the detail we need to face the challenges of the future.

Will more storms impact seabird populations? I’d say ‘probably, yes’, but it’ll take us years to get a true picture of what happened in 2014, and only long-term monitoring at key sites like Skomer can provide reliable answers to questions like that.” Long-lived seabirds like puffins can take a gap year if times are tough, but Matt believes that the numbers of birds washed up dead on beaches last winter are little cause for optimism.

Matt added: “Seabird wrecks are not unprecedented, these are tough little birds that can usually cope with a storm, but forecasts of global climate change predict that these extreme storms will become bigger and more frequent. The effects of the recent seabird wreck will only become clear over the next five to ten years: longterm studies are vital to understand how the populations will cope in the Seafood snack: Adult Puffin with his lunch long-term”

Crime

Man sentenced after false stabbing claim in abusive 999 call

Published

14 hours ago

July 16, 2026

Court Reporter

Court hears intoxicated caller wasted police resources after contacting officers from Penally caravan site

A MAN has been sentenced after falsely claiming he had been stabbed and making abusive comments during a 999 call to police.

Christopher Lawrence, 43, contacted the emergency services from the Oasis campsite in Penally on June 2, saying he wanted to report a crime.

“He told police that he had been stabbed, stating: ‘You f****** don’t care,’” Crown prosecutor Sian Vaughan told Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court this week.

Lawrence then ended the call, but the police control room contacted him again.

He told the call handler that a man he described as “half bald” and drunk had arrived at the campsite and was threatening him.

“I’ve told the f****** police that if he comes here, I’ll go mental,” Lawrence said.

He also claimed to have suffered a stab wound to his side but said he did not require an ambulance.

When officers arrived, they found Lawrence heavily intoxicated.

“He told the officers that he had not been stabbed and had not made the call, but clearly that was not the case,” Ms Vaughan said.

Lawrence, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to sending an offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing message to police.

His solicitor, Michael Kelleher, said the offence had been driven by Lawrence’s alcohol misuse.

“What runs throughout this case is his alcohol abuse, but he is now showing a willingness to address it,” Mr Kelleher told the court.

“This functioning alcoholic wants to get to the bottom of his problem and stop offending.

“Alcohol can heighten a person’s anxiety and their perception of what is happening. There was no issue concerning his safety on this occasion, but there had been in the past, and that was playing on his mind.

“But what he did was wrong. It was a waste of police resources, and he understands how other people could have been affected by his actions.”

Lawrence was sentenced to a 12-month community order, including a nine-month alcohol treatment programme and 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

He was also fined £100 and ordered to pay a £114 surcharge and £85 prosecution costs.

Crime

Saundersfoot man admits attempted sexual communication with a child

Published

14 hours ago

July 16, 2026

Sarah Jane Absalom

A 56-YEAR-OLD man has admitted attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child in Saundersfoot.

Appearing before Haverfordwest Magistrates Court this week was Philip Williams, of Valley View, Saundersfoot.

The court was told that between July 20 and July 28, 2024, Williams attempted to engage in sexual communication with a 13-year-old child who was called Sam.

During his communication with the child, Williams requested snapchat images of the child’s bottom as well as images of her wearing running leggings or tights. This, the court, was told, was for his sexual gratification.

But unknown to Williams, the ‘child’ was an undercover police officer.

Williams pleaded guilty to the charge of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.

His sentencing will take place on August 4 to enable an all options pre-sentence report to be prepared by the probation service.

Crime

Rear-seat passenger admits causing serious injury by dangerous driving

Published

15 hours ago

July 16, 2026

Sarah Jane Absalom

Court hears 21-year-old repeatedly grabbed steering wheel of moving Volkswagen Golf

A REAR-SEAT passenger has admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving after repeatedly grabbing the steering wheel of a moving car.

Joseph Lawrence Jones, 21, was travelling in the back of a Volkswagen Golf being driven by Sioned Tesni Povey, 22, along the Spring Wells to Spittal road on September 30.

Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court heard that Jones reached forward from the rear seat and pulled the steering wheel from the driver.

“He then repeated his actions, but Sioned Povey continued to drive and made no resistance to Mr Jones’ actions,” Crown prosecutor Sian Vaughan said.

“This was a deliberate decision to ignore the rules of the road.”

The court heard that Harlie-Louise Smith sustained serious injuries during the incident.

Jones, of Wesley Way, Spittal, pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Povey, of Duncan Terrace, Maenclochog, denied the same charge, maintaining that her driving had not caused Ms Smith’s injuries.

Although magistrates accepted jurisdiction to deal with the case, Povey elected to be tried at the Crown Court.

She is due to appear at Swansea Crown Court on August 14, when Jones is also expected to be sentenced.

Magistrates imposed an interim driving disqualification on Jones.

Both defendants were released on unconditional bail.