A PROTESTOR from west Wales has been ordered to pay more than £7,500 after breaching a designated safe zone outside a reproductive health clinic in Ealing. 

Stephen Green, 73, from Carmarthen was ordered to pay £7,536.50 in prosecution costs following a judgement taken at Isleworth Crown Court on Wednesday 15 January, which dismissed his appeal against a conviction for the offence of failing to comply with a public space protection order.  

He was first issued with a £100 fixed penalty notice (FPN) in March 2023, after failing to comply with a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO). 

The PSPO, which was introduced in 2018 by Ealing Council, creates a safe zone around the MSI Reproductive Choices clinic in Mattock Lane to shield visitors from pro-life/pro-choice protests. 

The PSPO also sets out a designated area for protesters, respecting their right to freedom of speech, which Green ignored as part of his protest on Monday 6 February 2023. 

At the time of the incident, Green was seen carrying a sign bearing the religious verse: “For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.” 

After failing to pay the fixed penalty notice, the case was taken to Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court, where Green was handed a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £2,426 in costs. 

He appealed the decision on 30 October 2024 at Isleworth Crown Court but his case was ultimately dismissed by the judge who ordered Green to pay the additional prosecution costs. 

Councillor Jasbir Anand, the council’s cabinet member for tackling crime and anti-social behaviour, said: “We welcome the court’s decision to dismiss Mr Green’s appeal. 

“The Mattock Lane Safe Zone exists to protect women from facing unreasonable interference and intimidation at the point they are accessing services for intensely personal reasons. Whilst we of course respect people’s right to protest, we also respect people’s right to privacy, and the kind of behaviour Mr Green engaged in was totally unacceptable. 

“I hope this result sends a clear message; that any breaches will be taken seriously.” 

Louise McCudden, advocacy lead at MSI Reproductive Choices UK, said: “We welcome the news that Stephen Green’s conviction has been upheld.

“The local safe zone is very important for our clients and our frontline healthcare workers. The zone is there to make sure anyone who needs it can access confidential medical care without being harassed and intimidated by strangers.   

“Every day we are grateful that Ealing Council introduced this protection. At a time when we’re seeing global attempts to roll back reproductive rights, most notably in the United States, it could not be more important to stand up for women and girls.”

A 40-YEAR-OLD Puncheston man is to appear before the Crown Court for sentence after admitting making over 1,000 indecent images of children.

Thomas Becton, of Ty Newydd, Puncheston, pleaded guilty to making 11 of the most serious category A images, five indecent Category B images and 1,028 indecent category C images in June, 2024, when he appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

District Judge Mark Layton declined jurisdiction as a result of the seriousness of the offences.  Becton will now be sentenced at Swansea Crown Court on February 11.

He was released on unconditional bail.

A TAXI driver and his passenger have been jailed after being caught smuggling a kilogram of cocaine into Pembrokeshire. Police stopped their vehicle on the Cleddau Bridge, where the pair tried—but failed—to ditch a “bag for life” stuffed with the Class A drug.

Pajtim Meta and Albert Nikolla, both 26, were ferrying the cocaine from Northampton to Milford Haven when Dyfed-Powys Police intercepted their run as part of a wider crackdown on drug trafficking in west Wales.

Nikolla, from Plough Way, London, admitted possession with intent to supply cocaine, being concerned in its supply, and a separate charge of cocaine possession in London in June 2023.

Meta, of Ruskin Road, Northampton, denied all involvement but was found guilty by a jury after just 50 minutes of deliberation.

Nikolla’s troubles began in June 2023 when London police spotted him behaving suspiciously in his car. A search revealed 37 wraps of cocaine worth up to £1,850.

But the duo’s real downfall came on January 18, 2024. During a routine stop near the Cleddau Bridge, Nikolla fled Meta’s taxi, discarding a bag that police recovered. Inside was a 1kg block of cocaine with a street value of up to £85,800.

Meta initially claimed he was an innocent cabbie who didn’t know Nikolla or even the area. However, ANPR records showed Meta’s taxi had made nine trips between Northampton and Milford Haven. Confronted with the evidence, he admitted transporting Nikolla but claimed he lied to avoid a long sentence.

Nikolla’s barrister, Matthew Murphy, argued his client—a trained vet from Albania—was coerced into drug dealing by the criminal network that smuggled him into the UK.

Meta’s lawyer, Llewellyn Culver-Evans, said his client, a hardworking taxi driver since 2018, was of good character and determined to turn his life around.

Nikolla was sentenced to four years and three months, including time for the London charges. Meta received five years for his role in the operation.

Both men are now behind bars, their plot to flood Pembrokeshire with cocaine brought to an end.