Officers called to Hawkstone Road property as investigation continues and residents urged to come forward

DYFED-POWYS POLICE officers have launched a murder investigation following the sudden death of an eighty-five-year-old man at a property in Hawkstone Road, Pembroke Dock.

Emergency services were called at approximately 1:30pm today (Friday, Feb 6).

Officers attended the scene and enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances of the death.

A man in his forties has been arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in police custody.

Residents can expect to see an increased police presence in the area while the investigation continues.

Anyone with information that could assist officers is urged to come forward.

Information can be provided online, by 101.

Quote reference: 212 of February 6.

Alternatively, reports can be made anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 or via their website.

Precautionary measures activated at Ysgol Brynteg after morning disturbance outside gates

CARMARTHENSHIRE pupils were kept inside classrooms after a precautionary lockdown was triggered at Ysgol Brynteg on Friday morning (Feb 6), marking the second west Wales secondary school to enter lockdown in the same week.

Police were called shortly after 9:00am following reports of a verbal altercation outside the school grounds.

Officers from Dyfed-Powys Police attended and the Llanelli school activated its safeguarding procedures while the situation was assessed.

No weapons were reported, no injuries have been confirmed and there have been no arrests at this stage. The incident is understood to have involved a dispute outside the site rather than inside the school itself.

Pupils remained indoors under staff supervision while officers made checks. Once police were satisfied there was no ongoing risk, the lockdown was lifted and lessons continued as normal.

A spokesperson said the measure was purely precautionary.

The incident comes just days after armed officers were deployed to Milford Haven School following a serious assault on a teacher, prompting a temporary closure and widespread concern among parents.

While the circumstances in Llanelli were far less severe, the two events occurring so close together have heightened anxiety among families across west Wales.

Schools routinely use lockdown procedures when there is any uncertainty or potential threat nearby, even if the risk later proves minimal. The approach is designed to err on the side of caution and protect pupils while emergency services investigate.

Parents were informed that Brynteg was safe and operating normally once the situation had been resolved.

There is currently no indication that pupils inside the school were directly involved in the disturbance.

The Herald understands enquiries are ongoing.

Both incidents underline how quickly everyday school days can be disrupted, and how safeguarding responses are increasingly becoming part of standard practice across Welsh schools.

Anyone with information about the Llanelli incident is asked to contact police.

Retired builder won over £130k from Milford Haven form Price and Kelway in 2022 for negligence, but is still waiting to be paid due to ongoing divorce

A NOW-RETIRED Pembrokeshire builder who won a six-figure professional negligence case against his former solicitors says he has still not received any of the money — almost four years after the court ruled decisively in his favour.

David Norman Barrett secured judgment in 2022 after a judge found that failures by the law firm Price & Kelway had caused him to lose the opportunity to pursue a potentially valuable claim against HSBC and HSBC Life.

The court ordered that damages, interest and costs totalling £130,820 be paid. Permission to appeal was refused.

Yet Mr Barrett says the legal victory has brought him no closure — because he has yet to see a single pound.

A clear win on paper

The negligence case arose from a failed property development at Ludchurch, near Narberth, where Mr Barrett borrowed money from HSBC in 2007 to purchase land and build two houses.

He later alleged that the bank departed from an agreed funding model, draining development funds prematurely and leaving the project financially unviable. He also claimed that associated life insurance policies were mis-sold.

After years of dispute with the bank — including an unresolved complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service — Mr Barrett instructed Price & Kelway.

He did this after hearing a radio advert for the solicitor’s firm on Radio Pembrokeshire. On November 7, 2012 Mr Barrett had a meeting with Mr Gareth Lewis, a partner in the firm.

“After that date and paying the a large amount in legal fees, progress was slow”, Mr Barrett said.

He added: “I gave Mr Lewis lots of paperwork, but work was not done in a timely fashion”

Proceedings against HSBC were eventually issued too late and struck out as time-barred, court documents show.

In 2022, the court found that the solicitors had failed to properly advise on limitation deadlines and that this negligence caused Mr Barrett a “loss of chance” to pursue or settle his claims.

Damages were assessed at £42,000, with statutory interest and costs bringing the total award to £130,820.

Money paid — but not released

Documents seen by The Herald show that following the conclusion of the case, a portion of the judgment money — £34,405.49 after fees and disbursements — was paid into the client account of Mr Barrett’s own solicitors, Red Kite Law LLP.

However, correspondence confirms that the funds have not been released due to an ongoing divorce between Mr Barrett and his wife, Dianne Carol Barrett, who was also named as a joint claimant in the negligence proceedings.

Red Kite Law has stated in writing that it cannot distribute the money without agreement from both parties, or a court order determining entitlement. The firm has also made clear that it cannot hold client money indefinitely and may ultimately be required to pay the funds back into court if the dispute remains unresolved.

‘This was business money’

Mr Barrett strongly disputes that the judgment award forms part of the matrimonial assets.

He told The Herald that the negligence case related entirely to his work as a self-employed builder and property developer, and that the damages awarded were compensation for business losses.

“This money didn’t arise from our marriage,” he said.

“It arose from my business. I was a sole trader. The claim was about my development project and professional advice I received as a builder.

“It wasn’t family savings or joint income. It was compensation for business losses.”

Mr Barrett says the stress and financial pressure of the prolonged litigation played a significant role in the breakdown of his marriage.

Years of financial strain

Earlier cost breakdowns from the case show that Mr Barrett personally paid more than £16,000 over several years to fund the negligence action, alongside significant unpaid disbursements incurred as the case progressed.

He says the litigation drained his finances long before judgment was handed down and left him struggling even after he technically “won”.

Now reliant on his pension and benefits, he says the continued freezing of the remaining funds has left him in financial limbo.

A legal deadlock

Where competing claims exist over money held in a solicitor’s client account, firms can find themselves acting as stakeholders.

Under professional rules, solicitors may retain funds until entitlement is resolved by agreement or court order, to avoid the risk of releasing money to the wrong party.

Red Kite Law has stated that it cannot advise either Mr Barrett or his wife on the dispute due to a conflict of interest, and has suggested options including a restricted joint account or transfer to a neutral third party — proposals which, to date, have not resolved the deadlock.

Personal cost

Beyond the legal arguments, Mr Barrett says the personal toll has been severe.

“The case broke us,” he said.

“And even after winning, I’m still fighting — this time just to get what the court already awarded.”

No allegation of wrongdoing

The Herald stresses that no finding of wrongdoing has been made against Red Kite Law LLP.

The firm has not been accused of acting unlawfully, and the dispute centres on how the judgment award should be classified and distributed in light of ongoing matrimonial proceedings.

The case raises wider questions about whether winning in court always delivers justice — and how long successful litigants can be left waiting for payment when personal and legal systems collide.

The Herald contacted Price and Kelway for comment at their main email address, but at the time of publication had received no response.