News

‘Devious’ fraudster jailed again

Published

12 years ago

November 20, 2013

Tom Sinclair

A LETTERSTON man jailed in July for assaulting his mother, has been jailed again for fraud.

William John Thomas, aged 55, received a 32 month sentence in the summer but more offending was being investigated.

Swansea crown court heard this week how Thomas, of Station Road, Letterston, prior to his arrest, had received £100,000 as his share of a divorce settlement following the sale of a property.

He also received an annuity payment of £3,000 and two pensions paying him about £1,200 a year.

He had £90,000 in savings left when, in May 2008, he applied for income support and told the Department for Work and Pensions he was broke. Thomas repeated the lie until 2013 when he was found out.

Thomas was paid a total of £5,802 he had not been entitled to because his savings had been above the limit.

Judge Paul Thomas heard that as the DWP closed in Thomas sent them a letter “from his GP” saying he was too ill to be interviewed for at least six months.

But although it appeared to be on the letterhead of his surgery it was a forgery. The court also heard that Thomas was carrying out a bizarre fraud on the John Lewis retail partnership.

Thomas sent “numerous” e-mails to 22 stores claiming he had received faulty products and 14 stores sent him household goods ranging from steak knives to food processors as “replacements” even though he had not actually bought anything in the first place.

Again, Thomas tried to fool police by producing e-mails showing he traded on-line with retailers like Comet and British Home Stores. But they, too, had been faked by Thomas.

He admitted both frauds and twice attempting to pervert the course of justice. His barrister, Ieuan Rees, said Thomas had not been in trouble with the law until he was 49 when his marriage broke up in.

He said Thomas suffered from depression, had attempted suicide and was finding jail difficult to deal with. Judge Thomas said Thomas’ unpleasant assault on his own mother showed he was a violent man.

“But you are greedy and dishonest as well.

“To get yourself off the hook you calculatedly and deviously falsified documents.

“You have gone off the rails in a fairly spectacular way in recent years,” he added.

Thomas was jailed for an additional 10 months, making the sentence he is serving now one of three and a half years.

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Entertainment

Superstars of Welsh Wrestling coming to the Torch Theatre

Published

17 hours ago

April 22, 2026

Tom Sinclair

A HIGH-ENERGY family wrestling show is set to bring thrills, spills and plenty of crowd-pleasing action to Milford Haven next month.

From Trecco Bay to Baglan, and from Cwmbran to Milford Haven, the Superstars of Welsh Wrestling are back on the road and preparing to rumble once again.

The popular live entertainment show will arrive at the Torch Theatre for a one-night extravaganza on Sunday, May 17, promising body slams, larger-than-life characters and fast-paced action for all ages.

Since being established in 2005, Welsh Wrestling has built a reputation as the leading wrestling promotion in Wales, staging shows in theatres and venues across the country. Each year, the company performs in front of thousands of fans, offering an action-packed night out aimed at families and wrestling supporters alike.

Audience members can expect an afternoon of glamour, chaos and athletic spectacle, with organisers promising a memorable experience that will have children and adults alike cheering on their favourite stars.

Welsh Wrestling has received glowing praise from fans on its Facebook page, with one audience member saying: “What a fantastic night. My two grandsons loved every minute of the show. A great show designed with families in mind. I will highly recommend this to all friends and family. Thanks for a great evening!”

The Superstars of Welsh Wrestling will appear live at the Torch Theatre, Milford Haven, on Sunday, May 17 at 4:00pm.

Tickets cost £15 for adults and £12 for children. For bookings, call the Box Office on 01646 695267 or visit torchtheatre.co.uk.

Crime

Keeston driver to face trial over A40 driving allegation

Published

17 hours ago

April 22, 2026

Court Reporter

Twenty-year-old admits tyre offences but denies driving without due care and attention

A TWENTY-year-old man from Keeston is due to stand trial in Haverfordwest after appearing before Llanelli Magistrates’ Court charged in connection with alleged driving offences on the A40 near Haverfordwest.

Thomas Hayes, of Keeston, appeared before magistrates on Wednesday (Apr 22) in relation to three offences said to have taken place between late on December 26 and the early hours of December 27, 2025.

The court heard Hayes is accused of driving a Volkswagen car on the A40 between Haverfordwest and Johnston without due care and attention.

According to the prosecution summary, police officers first saw the car at around 10:00pm and believed it was travelling above the speed limit. Officers later reported seeing the same vehicle again and said they were unable to catch up because of its speed.

It is further alleged that at around 1:00am officers saw the vehicle on Freemens Way, Haverfordwest, negotiating a sharp bend at speed and crossing solid white lines onto the opposite side of the road. Police later traced the car after checks through the operations room and located it at a filling station in Johnston at around 1:35am.

Hayes denied the allegation of driving without due care and attention.

He did, however, plead guilty to two separate vehicle defect offences. These were using a vehicle with an incorrectly inflated rear nearside tyre, and using a vehicle with a front nearside tyre said to have had a lump, bulge or tear caused by structural failure.

The case was adjourned for trial at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on Monday, August 10 at 10:00am. The hearing is expected to last two hours.

Health

St John Ambulance Cymru sets sights on a more ‘mentally healthy Wales’

Published

17 hours ago

April 22, 2026

Tom Sinclair

ST JOHN AMBULANCE CYMRU has unveiled a range of new courses to help transform the nation’s wellbeing and create a ‘mentally healthy Wales,’ to combat a crisis that currently costs the UK economy millions of lost workdays.

The first aid charity for Wales, which trains hundreds of people in Mental Health First Aid each year, is calling on businesses to integrate it into the core of their operations, treating it with the same lifesaving urgency as physical first aid.

In a recent interview for the St John Ambulance Cymru podcast, Just in Case: Stories from St John, the charity’s Lead Trainer, Belinda James, highlighted the staggering economic and human cost of the current mental health crisis and noted that approximately 17 to 18 million workdays are lost annually due to mental health struggles.

James said the statistics, published by the Health and Safety Executive, were “surprising and upsetting.”

She added: “You think for all of those statistics, for all of those numbers, there’s a person, there are people at the heart of that, who are at home not able to work because they are struggling.”

While physical injuries are often visible, mental health challenges frequently manifest in subtle behavioural shifts. James emphasised that “knowing your colleagues well” is the first line of defence in identifying when someone is in distress.

“If it’s normal for me to be quite chirpy, to be early, to be on the ball first thing in the morning… and then I come in, and I look bedraggled, and I look stressed, and I’m snappy… that would be a good time to just say, is everything all right?”

She noted that other “hidden signs” include withdrawal, changes in eating or sleeping habits, and increased substance use, such as stepping out for more frequent cigarette breaks.

The push for better training comes as society navigates a generational divide in how mental health is discussed. James noted that workplaces are currently “caught in the mix” of the “make do and mend” generation and the younger “snowflake” generation.

“We live in a society that’s like, ‘Oh God, no, don’t address that. Don’t talk about the hard stuff. Chin up,” James observed.

However, she argued that directness is often what saves lives. “It is so much more validating to hear somebody say to you, ‘You are going through a really tough time at the moment. I’m so sorry. That must be very difficult to handle.”

As the UK faces gaps in mental health service provision, many individuals are turning to Artificial Intelligence for support – a trend James views with caution. While AI can be a “fantastic tool for signposting,” she warns that it lacks the essential component of empathy.

“It cannot understand human emotion. It won’t pick up on a human emotion,” she said. “The last thing that we want is for them to be led astray by an AI language program that cannot understand the depths of human emotion”.

St John Ambulance Cymru provides Mental Health First Aid Wales-certified training designed to give people the skills to recognise signs of mental ill-health and provide initial support until professional help is received.

These courses are evidence-based and cover critical topics, including depression, anxiety, psychosis, and crises such as suicidal thoughts and panic attacks.

The curriculum includes:

Mental Health First Aid (2 Days): The flagship 12-hour course teaching adults how to support friends, family, and co-workers. Participants learn the “Mental Health Action Plan” and gain the confidence to intervene in crises like non-suicidal self-injury or traumatic events.
Mental Health Advocate (1 Day): A course for those looking to proactively champion wellbeing and reduce stigma in their organization.
Mental Health Awareness (1/2 Day): A foundational session to build empathy and understanding of what mental health is.
Mental Health for Managers: Specifically designed to help leadership recognise indicators of stress and manage the unique pressures of supporting a team.

For more information on Mental Health First Aid training or to book a course, visit www.sjacymru.org.uk/en/courses/MHFA