Crime

Former Haverfordwest pupil brought hammer onto hospital ward before killings

Published

4 weeks ago

May 12, 2026

A FORMER Haverfordwest pupil who later killed three people in Nottingham brought a hammer onto a hospital ward two years before the attacks, an inquiry has heard.

Valdo Calocane is understood to have lived in Haverfordwest and attended Sir Thomas Picton School before going on to study at the University of Nottingham.

The public inquiry into the Nottingham attacks was told on Monday (May 11) that Calocane returned from leave to the Priory Hospital in Arnold, Nottinghamshire, with a hammer in his rucksack.

The West Wales link has previously emerged through a former housemate, who knew Calocane while he was in Pembrokeshire. She later contacted Nottinghamshire Police after the killings and said she believed he had a history of mental illness dating back to 2013.

She also said she believed he had worked as a cleaner at Pembrokeshire College.

Consultant psychiatrist Dr Ajith Gurusinghe told the inquiry that Calocane claimed he had the hammer because he was moving into a new property and needed to hang items.

Counsel to the inquiry, Craig Carr, suggested the explanation was “completely implausible” because Calocane did not have a new home to move into.

Dr Gurusinghe said staff were sceptical and believed Calocane may still have been paranoid. He accepted the incident should have been recorded and included in Calocane’s risk assessment.

He said: “It’s been missed. I admit it’s been missed.”

Charge nurse Helen Foster also gave evidence, agreeing that the hammer was “clearly a potential weapon” and that the incident was serious. However, she said she could not remember how staff followed it up.

Calocane, who had earlier links to Haverfordwest before moving to Nottingham, went on to kill students Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19, and school caretaker Ian Coates, 65, on June 13, 2023.

He then used Mr Coates’ stolen van to try to kill three pedestrians in Nottingham city centre.

The inquiry is examining the decisions made by mental health services before the attacks.

A Care Quality Commission inspection of the Priory Hospital in December 2021 later rated it “inadequate” overall and raised concerns about patient safety.

Crime

Kebab firm fined £500,000 after ‘lamb’ found to be mostly skin and fat

Published

10 hours ago

June 8, 2026

Court Reporter

A KEBAB manufacturer has been fined £500,000 after a court heard products sold as lamb contained little actual lamb and were instead made up largely of skin, fat and other meats.

Kismet Kebabs Ltd, based in Chelmsford, Essex, was sentenced at Swansea Crown Court after previously admitting fraud by false representation.

***The court heard invoices showed products that “cannot be called meat as per the legal definition” were being used to produce kebabs***

The company was also ordered to pay £259,298 in costs.

The case was brought following an investigation led by Swansea Council’s trading standards team, which found products supplied to takeaways and restaurants did not match the meat content declared on their labels.

***The judge said the firm had engaged in “considerable dishonesty”***

Prosecutor Lee Reynolds told the court the firm had misled wholesalers, retailers and customers over a prolonged period.

He said products described as lamb contained a mixture of fat, skin, goat, mutton, mechanically reclaimed meat and other lower-grade products.

In one example, a lamb doner labelled as containing 87% lamb was found to contain only 51% meat and 40% fat.

The investigation began after trading standards officers carried out sampling at kebab houses and restaurants in late 2020 and early 2021.

**The company purchased a “large volume of fat” to put in its products**

Further testing at wholesalers found major differences between what was stated on labels and what the products actually contained.

Officers later visited Kismet’s factory in Chelmsford, where concerns were raised about production, packaging and labelling.

The court heard invoices showed the firm was buying very little lamb, but large quantities of skin, fat, goat and other products.

***Invoices showed products that “cannot be called meat as per the legal definition” were being used***

Kismet’s barrister, Stuart Jessop, said the firm had operated successfully for many years and had since made significant changes. He said the company had “taken its eye off the ball” at the time of the offending, but argued that forcing it out of business would benefit nobody.

Judge Huw Rees said fraudulent activity had been “endemic” at the company and described the dishonesty as considerable and prolonged.

The company has been given four years to pay the fine and costs.

Crime

Carmarthenshire man jailed for having lock knife

Published

2 days ago

June 6, 2026

Court Reporter

Court told offence was committed during suspended sentence period

A CARMARTHENSHIRE man has been jailed after admitting possessing a lock knife in a public place.

David Jones, aged 61, of Cwmcatty, Porthyrhyd, appeared before Llanelli Magistrates’ Court on Friday (Jun 5).

He admitted that on June 4, at Llanelli, he had a lock knife with him in a public place without good reason or lawful authority.

Jones was jailed for four months.

The court record stated the offence was so serious that only custody could be justified, and that it was committed during the operational period of a suspended sentence.

The court also ordered that the lock knife be forfeited and deprived from him.

A second charge, alleging threatening or abusive behaviour towards PCSO Nicholl of Dyfed-Powys Police, was withdrawn.

Crime

Milford Haven man admits harassment and assault

Published

2 days ago

June 6, 2026

Court Reporter

Case adjourned for pre-sentence report at Haverfordwest court

A MILFORD HAVEN man has admitted harassment and assault charges.

Wayne Whatling, aged 40, of Howarth Close, Milford Haven, appeared before Llanelli Magistrates’ Court on Friday (Jun 5).

The court heard that between September 1 and September 13, 2025, at Milford Haven, Whatling pursued a course of conduct which amounted to harassment of Carol Whatling.

The charge stated that he regularly asked her for money and that she was in fear of repercussions if she did not provide it.

Whatling also admitted assaulting Ben Whatling by beating him at Milford Haven on September 13, 2025.

Magistrates adjourned the case for a pre-sentence report.

He was remanded on conditional bail and must return to Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, June 11.