News
Tenby: Company director jailed for drunken assault on paramedic
DRUNKEN company director from London who assaulted and abused the female paramedic who tried to help him when he passed out after a stag night has been jailed for 15 months.
Samantha Dalton, 36, was trying to assist 33-year-old James Richardson when she found him face down and unresponsive after a stag do in Pembrokeshire, West Wales.
The paramedic and her colleagues had physically carried him to the ambulance and taken him to Withybush General Hospital before he lashed out.
Richardson then grabbed shocked Mrs Dalton by the arm and told her: ‘I want to ram my c*** up your punani,’ the Old Bailey heard.
Mrs Dalton, who has worked for the Welsh Ambulance Service for 13 years, said it was the most ‘horrible and disgusting’ experience in her time as a paramedic.
Richardson, who ran a family firm providing building maintenance for estate agents, was spared jail in 2013 for glassing a senior sales negotiator in a Chelsea nightclub.
He launched the unprovoked attack on 37-year-old Edward Peers during an after-work drink on King’s Road leaving his victim with 22 stitches.
But Judge Rebecca Poulet, QC, activated 15 months of a 20-month suspended sentence after Richardson pleaded guilty to a public order offence and common assault.
‘She had carried you to the ambulance and in return she and the others were kicked at and embarrassed by you,’ she told bespectacled Richardson.
‘Mrs Dalton was shocked, dismayed and disgusted. It was the worst conduct she had ever experienced working as a paramedic for 13 years.’
Prosecutor Catherine Picardo said Richardson had been drinking at a stag party on the night of 14 June 2014.
Mrs Dalton was in the middle of a 12-hour night shift when she was called out to his friend’s address in the early hours of the morning.
‘The defendant was heavily intoxicated and had fallen flat on his face and appeared to be bleeding from the nose,’ the prosecutor said.
‘Mrs Dalton and her colleagues placed him in the ambulance with some difficulty, he was incoherent and was combative.’
Ricardson was taken to hospital and put on a trolley where he urinated despite being offered a receptacle to use.
‘He was struggling to get up off the trolley and the medical team were trying to take blood, but that was proving to be very difficult,’ Ms Picardo continued.
‘He was extremely aggressive and said “get away from me you f***ers”.’
Richardson then grabbed Mrs Dalton by the wrist causing her pain and reddening and launched a torrent of abuse described by his victim as ‘disgusting’.
He said ‘I want to f*** you’, ‘I want to explore you’, ‘I want to get my c*** up you’ and ‘I want to ram my c*** in your punani’.
Richardson also kicked out at her in an attempt to get her away from the trolley.
‘When officers arrived the defendant was still aggressive and swore at the police as well,’ the prosecutor added.
He later made full and frank admissions to police and apologised for his ‘disgusting’ behaviour.
Richardson, of Capital House, Michael Road, Fulham, southwest London, admitted a public order offence and common assault.
Business
Stephen Crabb leads inquiry on retaining community bank services
PRESELI Pembrokeshire MP, and Chair of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee Stephen Crabb is leading an inquiry in Parliament that will investigate the closure of high street banks in Wales, as well as access to cash.
In November 2023, Pembrokeshire saw the closure of Lloyds Bank in St Davids, and in the coming months both Barclays Bank and Halifax in Haverfordwest are set to close. In recent years, Wales has experienced a rapid decline in the number of high street banking services available to the public. Already in 2024, 23 high street bank closures have been announced in Wales, while automated teller machines (ATMs) declined by nearly a quarter between 2018 and 2023.
The Committee willconsider how declining high street banking services are impacting vulnerable people and small businesses across Wales, who are often more reliant on cash than digital banking. It will also examine how Wales is being affected by the loss of high street bank services, and whether the problem is worse in Wales than other parts of the UK.
Mr Crabb is a staunch advocate for retaining community banking facilities, especially in rural communities like Pembrokeshire where many local branches remain the only source of face-to-face banking provision for miles.
Recently Mr Crabb challenged Barclays Bank senior management on their decision to close the bank branch in Haverfordwest– a move that will see Barclays not only pull out of the county town, but means they won’t have a branch left anywhere in Pembrokeshire. He has also engaged with LINK – the UK’s largest cash machine network – and continues to campaign on the basis that a Banking Hub is established and that ATM machines should be retained or installed, especially in areas worst affected by the closures.
Following the launch of the inquiry, MP Crabb added: “It is really sad to see so many banks across Wales closing as online banking grows in popularity. Despite the advantages of online banking, for a rural community with an ageing population like Pembrokeshire, bank branches hold huge importance as they offer face-to-face customer service.”
“I am acutely aware of the inconvenience that the bank closures locally have already caused following hundreds of replies from constituents to my ‘online banking survey’ ”
“I am looking forward to gathering further evidence on this subject through the committee’s inquiry, and will continue to put pressure on the relevant stakeholders to ensure that adequate alternative provisions are made through the establishment of banking hubs as well as the instalment of ATM machines where necessary.”
“In this inquiry, we are particularly keen to hear from those likely to be directly affected by the shift away from cash and physical banks. I encourage anyone with first-hand experience of losing banking services to give evidence to the Committee”
Business
Trains resume between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock as works end
TRAIN services resumed this morning (Thursday 28 March) after ten days of essential round-the-clock work to upgrade track and drainage between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock.
The railway was closed from Monday 18 March to Wednesday 27 March to allow Network Rail teams to replace more than 200 metres of track and 300 tonnes of ballast (track stones) between Pembroke station and Pembroke Dock.
Work to improve the drainage between Narbeth and Kilgetty stations was also completed at the same time.
Nick Millington, Network Rail Wales and Borders route director, said: “This essential work in Pembrokeshire demonstrates our commitment to improving the reliability of the service we provide to passengers along our route.
“We know that replacing the track can be disruptive and very noisy, so I would like to thank the residents of Pembroke for their patience while our team carried out this crucial work.”
Colin Lea, Planning and Performance Director at Transport for Wales said: “We’re pleased that our colleagues in Network Rail have completed this essential work and that Transport for Wales rail services resumed today.
“We’d like to thank passengers for their patience while this work has progressed and look forward to welcoming passengers back in time for the Easter weekend.”
News
Welsh Water has increased sewage discharges into waterways ‘by 40%’
NEW figures released by the Environment Agency have shown that Dwr Cymru discharged sewage into waterways for a staggering 23,354 hours last year, a 40% increase on 2022.
The Welsh Liberal Democrats are now calling for tougher action against sewage dumping in Welsh waterways.
The party has also called for a halt on bonuses for water company bosses whose firms have dumped sewage into waterways.
Conservative MPs have consistently voted against measures which would have helped to tackle the crisis.
The Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS said: “It is a complete scandal that filthy sewage is being pumped into our nation’s rivers and waterways without consequence.
“It’s beggars’ belief that both the UK Conservative Government and the Welsh Labour government are allowing water firms to get away with this environmental vandalism.
“We as a party are calling for tougher action to stop sewage being dumped in local waterways. We have also called for a halt on bonuses for water company fat cats whose firms have pumped filth into our waterways.”
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