Previous convictions for similar offences revealed to court

A 57-YEAR-OLD man from St Dogmaels has been jailed for two-and-a-half years after admitting multiple serious child sex offences.

Leof Sceaga appeared before Swansea Crown Court on Wednesday (Feb 26), where he was sentenced for possessing hundreds of indecent images of children as well as extreme pornographic material.

The court heard that Sceaga had 232 Category A images — the most serious classification — together with 331 Category B images and 366 Category C images in his possession. He also admitted possessing a number of extreme pornographic images.

While outlining the facts, the prosecutor told the court that Sceaga’s internet search history included terms such as “kiddie porn”, “pre-teen models” and “pedo kids centre webcam”.

The court was further told that Sceaga had previous convictions for similar offences, having appeared before Nottingham Crown Court in both 2012 and 2019.

In mitigation, Mr Griffiths, defending, said his client accepted that an immediate custodial sentence was inevitable.

His Honour Judge Geraint Walters sentenced Sceaga to 27 months’ imprisonment for possession of Category A images, 12 months for Category B images and three months for Category C images. He was also handed three months for possessing extreme pornographic images and a further three months for breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

All sentences will run concurrently, resulting in a total custodial term of two-and-a-half years.

Public response now far exceeds health board consultation figures

A PETITION calling for urgent Welsh Government intervention over services at Withybush Hospital has now attracted more than 6,000 signatures — significantly higher than the number of people who formally responded to Hywel Dda University Health Board’s major consultation last year.

The Senedd petition, titled “Urgent Pembrokeshire Healthcare & Resident Safety – Withybush Hospital & Health Board Intervention,” demands direct government oversight of the health board and restoration of key services in Pembrokeshire.

The surge means public engagement with the campaign has now overtaken the roughly 4,140 questionnaire responses submitted during the health board’s official consultation on its Clinical Services Plan.

Campaigners say the growing numbers demonstrate that opposition to the changes is continuing to build rather than fade.

Safety concerns raised

The petition states that the current configuration of services represents a threat to patient safety, particularly in a rural county where travel times to alternative hospitals can be significant.

It calls on the Welsh Government to:

• intervene directly in the running of Hywel Dda University Health Board
• guarantee core hospital services locally
• equalise healthcare standards across Wales
• restore services to Withybush

The campaign was launched after the health board confirmed plans to change emergency general surgery provision, with operations expected to transfer away from Withybush Hospital while other services are reconfigured.

Health board leaders have previously said the changes are designed to improve safety and ensure services are clinically sustainable in the long term.

However, critics argue the proposals risk increasing travel times for critically ill patients and placing further pressure on ambulance services.

Political pressure growing

Under Senedd rules, petitions that exceed 10,000 signatures may be considered for debate in the Welsh Parliament.

With the current total already past 6,000 and rising, campaigners believe the threshold could be reached within weeks if momentum continues.

Residents wishing to sign the petition can do so here:
https://petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/246864

The Herald understands that concerns about rural healthcare access and the future of Withybush Hospital are likely to remain a major political issue in Pembrokeshire ahead of the Senedd elections in May.

THE NUMBER of people waiting for an initial decision on an asylum claim in the UK has dropped sharply, reaching its lowest level in more than five years, according to new Home Office figures.

There were 64,426 people awaiting an initial decision at the end of December 2025 — down 20% from 80,841 at the end of September and nearly half (48%) the 124,802 recorded a year earlier.

The backlog had previously peaked at 175,457 in June 2023. The latest total is the lowest since September 2020, when 60,548 people were waiting.

The number of applicants waiting more than 12 months for a decision also fell significantly, standing at 22,275 at the end of 2025. This compares with 45,094 a year earlier and a peak of 91,741 in June 2023.

Despite the reduction in the backlog, overall asylum applications remain historically high. There were 100,625 applications in 2025 — a 4% decrease from 104,764 in 2024 — but still the third-highest annual total since records began in 2001, and more than double the 45,537 claims recorded in 2019.

Migrants who arrived after crossing the English Channel in small boats accounted for 41% of all asylum claims last year, equivalent to 41,262 people. A further 11% (11,190) entered via other irregular routes, including concealed entry in lorries, shipping containers, or without valid documentation.

The Home Office said the figures demonstrated “real progress” in efforts to restore control over the asylum system.

A spokesperson said: “We have removed nearly 60,000 illegal migrants, numbers in asylum hotels are down, law enforcement action against people smugglers is at record levels and we are bearing down on the asylum backlog.

“But we must go further. The number of people crossing the Channel is too high, and too many hotels remain in use.

“That is why the Home Secretary is introducing sweeping reforms to tackle the pull factors drawing illegal migrants to Britain, and we are ramping up removals of those with no right to be here.”