Offender had 1,101 unlawful images of children stored on his devices, including 122 Category A images – the most serious classification.

A PENDINE man has been jailed after admitting abducting a teenage girl, supplying her with drugs and keeping more than a thousand indecent images of children.

Richard Knight, aged 73, from Pendine, Carmarthenshire, was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison at Swansea Crown Court following what police described as a lengthy and complex investigation.

Officers from Dyfed-Powys Police were alerted in the early hours of Monday, April 11, 2022 after a distressed 15-year-old girl phoned her mother asking to be collected, saying she had taken drugs at Knight’s home.

Police forced entry to the address after receiving no answer and finding concerns for the girl’s safety. Inside, officers discovered a small cannabis grow but no occupants. It later emerged Knight had driven the girl home himself.

He was arrested shortly afterwards on suspicion of drink driving and drug offences. A further search of the property uncovered several types of controlled drugs and a number of digital devices.

During interview, the teenager told officers she had agreed to meet Knight but believed he knew her age and that she had not told her mother where she was going. She described being given various drugs, including substances hidden inside fruit pastels. CCTV later showed Knight buying the sweets before collecting her.

Digital forensic analysis revealed 1,101 unlawful images of children stored on his devices, including 122 Category A images – the most serious classification.

Drug experts valued the cannabis grow at between £6,000 and £20,000. Officers also seized six different types of Class A drugs from the address.

Guilty pleas before trial

Knight was charged with 12 offences including child abduction, possession and making of indecent images of children, and being concerned in the supply of controlled drugs.

He admitted the drug offences in April last year and later pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images. Although he initially denied child abduction, he changed his plea immediately before a trial was due to begin at court in January.

‘Very serious case’

Detective Constable Jon Gouldson said: “This was a very serious case involving a man who groomed a young and vulnerable girl for his own satisfaction.

“There is no doubt he knew that taking this 15-year-old into his home without parental permission was wrong.

“Taking or keeping a child under 16 without consent is a crime. There are no grey areas.

“We welcome today’s sentence and remain committed to bringing offenders like this before the courts.”

Support available

Anyone concerned about their own behaviour or thoughts towards children can seek confidential help from the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, which runs the Stop It Now service aimed at preventing abuse before it happens.

THIRTEEN volunteer crew members at Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s Angle Lifeboat Station have successfully completed a demanding week of assessments, marking the culmination of months of training and preparation.

The pass-outs strengthen the station’s operational capability and ensure the all-weather lifeboat remains fully crewed and ready to respond to emergencies across the Milford Haven Waterway and the wider Pembrokeshire coast.

Three crew members – Anthony Thomas, Gareth Thomas and Nathen Houston – qualified as All-weather Lifeboat (ALB) Navigators after completing a four-hour practical and theory assessment.

Their test covered a range of search and rescue scenarios, including simulated taskings, radar work, position fixing and traditional paper chart navigation – all skills vital during poor visibility and challenging sea conditions.

A further ten volunteers – Phil Jones, Tom Meehan, Nick Gale, Rob Davies, Finn Frost, James Findlay, Allen Price, Seymore Phillips, Graham Booth and Matt Nicholas – passed their Tier 2 ALB Crew assessments.

The qualification tests every aspect of lifeboat operations, from man overboard recovery and towing to mooring, berthing, helming and anchoring. Candidates were put through their paces by an RNLI assessor in realistic scenarios designed to mirror live shouts.

Station representatives said the results reflect the commitment and professionalism of the volunteer crew, many of whom balance training with full-time jobs and family life.

The latest qualifications come as the Angle crew continue to play a crucial role in rescues around Milford Haven and the south Pembrokeshire coastline, one of the busiest and most complex maritime areas in Wales.

A spokesperson said the achievements “demonstrate the dedication of our volunteers and the continued strength of lifeboat operations from the town of Milford Haven.”

With 13 newly qualified crew now ready to serve, the station is better equipped than ever to respond when the pager sounds.

A NEW tax on long-vacant plots of land could be introduced in Wales in a bid to force stalled housing sites back into use and speed up housebuilding, ministers have confirmed.

The Welsh Government and the UK government are preparing a joint consultation on devolving powers that would allow Wales to create a vacant land tax targeting sites that have planning permission but remain undeveloped.

Ministers say the move is aimed squarely at discouraging “land banking” — where land is bought and held in the hope its value will rise, rather than being built on — a practice they argue is worsening the housing shortage.

Research commissioned by the Welsh Government previously identified 456 “stalled” sites across Wales, including 376 earmarked for homes, that have failed to progress.

Finance secretary Mark Drakeford said the proposals were about behaviour, not revenue.

“This is not about raising money but changing behaviour and getting more houses built,” he said. “A tax on land that has been designated for development but has not yet been developed could encourage building within expected timescales.”

The powers would first need to be transferred from Westminster before any levy could be introduced by the Senedd Cymru.

Consultation expected

At Westminster, Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens told MPs the change would have a “positive and tangible” impact.

She said: “There are pockets of land being held for ever and ever and we need to bring them back into use.”

Officials have indicated the consultation will be launched soon, though it is not expected before the next Senedd election.

Any new tax would require approval from both Houses of Parliament and the Senedd before coming into force.

Political divide

The plans come as housing supply remains a major political battleground ahead of the election, with Plaid Cymru and other opposition parties pressing Labour to go further on devolution and regeneration powers.

First Minister Eluned Morgan has previously called for additional powers and funding from Prime Minister Keir Starmer, saying Wales needs more tools to tackle housing and infrastructure challenges.

Plaid Cymru has welcomed the consultation, though it argues Wales should also gain control over areas such as rail and the Crown Estate.

Stevens rejected calls to devolve the Crown Estate, warning it could disrupt investment and delay offshore energy projects.

Opposition scepticism

Welsh Conservatives questioned whether the proposals would deliver real change.

Shadow finance spokesman Sam Rowlands said ministers must provide clear data and timescales.

“If this is truly about building more homes rather than raising revenue, ministers should be upfront with the Welsh public about the impact,” he said. “Warm words are not enough.”

Ministers insist the aim is to encourage regeneration, prevent dereliction and unlock brownfield land for affordable homes — particularly in towns where unused plots have remained empty for years.

If approved, Wales would join a growing number of governments looking at fiscal measures to push developers to build sooner rather than later.

The proposal is not new. The Welsh Government first identified a vacant land tax as a priority back in 2018, when ministers began formally requesting powers from Westminster to introduce it. Research published by Senedd Cymru shows those discussions dragged on for years, with talks repeatedly stalling as the UK Treasury sought further evidence and clarification, leaving the plans effectively at an impasse. At one stage ministers said six years had passed with little progress. The latest joint consultation therefore marks the first real movement in nearly a decade — and could finally unlock a policy long promised as a way to bring derelict and unused sites back into productive use across Wales.