Crime
Teacher sentenced after thousands of child abuse images uncovered
A WEST WALES teacher has avoided immediate jail after police found a vast collection of child sexual abuse material on his electronic devices – including more than a thousand images never previously seen by investigators in the UK.
Benjamin Charles Deuchars Gray, 57, of Eastbourne Grove, Sketty, appeared before Swansea Crown Court after South Wales Police’s online investigation team raided his home on 2 October last year.
During the search officers seized a Samsung phone, an Apple Mac laptop and a hard drive. Forensic analysis uncovered 4,383 indecent images of children. Of those, 368 were classified as Category A – the most serious level, depicting the rape and sexual abuse of very young children, including girls as young as two. A further 405 were Category B and 3,610 Category C.
The court was told that 1,280 images were classed as “visually unique”, meaning they had not been encountered before by UK law enforcement and were not listed on the national child abuse image database.
Digital examination showed Gray had been accessing child sexual abuse websites for more than a decade, visiting pages with search terms such as “barely legal” and “sexy schoolgirl” dating back to 2013.
At the time of his arrest Gray was employed as a teacher at Penyrheol Comprehensive School. The court heard he has no previous convictions and pleaded guilty at the first opportunity to three counts of making indecent photographs of children across Categories A, B and C.
Judge Paul Thomas KC imposed a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, along with a requirement to complete a rehabilitation activity programme. Gray was placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years and made subject to a sexual harm prevention order for the same duration.
Penyrheol Comprehensive School confirmed that Gray was suspended immediately once the allegations came to light and has not returned to school. The school stressed that none of the offences relate to any current or former pupil.
Education Workforce Wales records show that he has been under an interim suspension order since 20 December 2024 and is not eligible for registration.
Crime
Police investigating nightclub assault in Saundersfoot
POLICE are appealing for information following a serious assault at a nightclub in Saundersfoot which left two people with significant facial injuries.
Officers from Dyfed-Powys Police are investigating reports of grievous bodily harm and actual bodily harm at Sands Nightclub. The incident is believed to have taken place in the early hours of Sunday, February 8, 2026.
Two people suffered serious facial injuries during the incident.
Police say several lines of enquiry have already been carried out and officers are now keen to identify and speak with the individuals pictured, as they may have information that could assist the investigation.
Anyone who recognises the people shown, or believes they may be one of the individuals, is asked to contact police.

Information can be provided online at: https://www.dyfed-powys.police.uk/contact/af/contact-us-beta/contact-us/
Alternatively, email [email protected] or call 101.
Information can also be passed anonymously to Crimestoppers by calling 0800 555111 or visiting crimestoppers-uk.org.
Quote reference: 26000106343.
Crime
Chinese intelligence probe reaches Dyfed-Powys Police area
Counter-terror officers arrest man in Powys as part of national security investigation
THREE men have been arrested in Wales and London on suspicion of assisting Chinese intelligence services in the United Kingdom.
The arrests were made on Wednesday (Mar 4) as part of a counter-terrorism policing investigation being carried out under the National Security Act 2023, the Metropolitan Police confirmed.
Two of the suspects were detained in Wales, while a third man was arrested in London.
Police said the men are aged 39, 43 and 68.
The 43-year-old was arrested at an address in Pontyclun, while the 68-year-old was detained in Powys. A 39-year-old man was arrested in London.
Shocking links to Westminster
The Guardian has reported that one of the men arrested is the partner of a sitting Labour MP, while another is said to be the partner of a former Labour MP. Police have not confirmed the identities of the suspects.
Officers also carried out searches at a number of properties linked to the suspects, including addresses in Cardiff and East Kilbride in Scotland, as part of the ongoing investigation.
The Metropolitan Police said the arrests relate to suspected offences involving assisting a foreign intelligence service, believed to be connected to China.
In a statement, police emphasised that the operation is being handled by Counter Terrorism Policing, which is responsible for national security investigations in the UK.
Suspects in police stations
Officers confirmed the suspects remain in custody while enquiries continue.
Police also reassured the public that there is no immediate danger.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: “There is no imminent or direct threat to the public.”
The National Security Act, introduced in 2023, created new offences designed to combat espionage, foreign interference and covert activity by hostile states operating in the UK.
The investigation is continuing.
Crime
A teenage driver sentenced after pedestrian seriously injured on zebra crossing
Crash happened outside Haverfordwest McDonald’s just three months after passing test
A TEENAGE motorist has been sentenced after causing serious injuries to a pedestrian on a zebra crossing outside McDonald’s in Haverfordwest, just three months after passing his driving test.
CCTV footage shown to Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court this week captured restaurant employee Cameron Davies walking towards the car park zebra crossing after completing an eight-hour shift on July 17. As he began to cross, a white Vauxhall Corsa driven by 17-year-old Jayden Kerrick approached at speed and struck him.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, Cameron Davies described the moment his evening took a devastating turn.
“When I finished my shift at 10:00pm I left the restaurant via the front door,” he said.
“I recall walking towards the crossing. I checked to the right and left to make sure the path was clear, but as I started walking onto the crossing my next recollection was coming round in the back of an ambulance.”
Davies was taken to Withybush General Hospital where doctors treated him for a bleed on the brain after he struck his head on the car park tarmac during the collision. The impact also triggered a seizure, and he continues to receive medication as a result.
The court heard that he continues to suffer a number of ongoing symptoms, including dizziness, poor coordination and flashbacks to the moment his head struck the ground whenever he hears loud banging noises. Investigations into the full extent of his injuries are continuing.
“I’m now back at work but I’m extremely wary every time I approach any crossing,” he said.
“At the time of the incident I was learning to drive, and this was something I was looking forward to. But this has now been put on hold after being told that I’m unable to drive for 12 months as a result of the seizures.”
Jayden Kerrick, now aged 18, of Baring Gould Way, Haverfordwest, pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by careless or inconsiderate driving. He was represented in court by Alaw Harries.
“His guilty pleas have been made without hesitation and he accepts full responsibility for what happened that night,” she told the court.
“He was just seventeen when this happened, so he was a young and inexperienced driver. He’s deeply devastated that his actions have caused injury to the complainant and he’s asked me to express his unreserved remorse.”
Harries said Kerrick had seen Davies leaving the restaurant.
“But there was a split-second error, and he realises that the consequences are real,” she said.
“He has been replaying the events in his mind ever since and has found the experience extremely distressing. This is not someone with a pattern of offending, but someone who made a serious mistake that night and who has reflected deeply upon it.”
Kerrick, who has no previous convictions, was sentenced to an 18-month community order. During that time he must complete 200 hours of unpaid work.
He was also disqualified from driving for 18 months and ordered to pay a £114 court surcharge and £85 costs.
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