A FORMER paddleboard company owner jailed over the deaths of four people on the Western Cleddau has failed in a Court of Appeal bid to challenge her sentence.

Nerys Bethan Lloyd, 39, of Port Talbot, was jailed for ten years and six months in April 2025 after admitting four counts of gross negligence manslaughter.

Paul O’Dwyer, Andrea Powell, Morgan Rogers and Nicola Wheatley died following a paddleboarding trip on the River Cleddau in Haverfordwest on October 30, 2021.

The group had entered the water in dangerous flood conditions before being swept over the weir near County Hall.

Sentence not excessive

Three judges at the Court of Appeal rejected arguments that Lloyd’s sentence was “manifestly excessive”.

Lady Justice May said the original sentencing judge had clearly taken Lloyd’s mitigation into account and ruled there was no arguable basis for reducing the term.

Lloyd, a former South Wales Police officer, had been running the paddleboarding trip through her company, Salty Dog Co Ltd.

At sentencing, the court heard neither Lloyd nor fellow instructor Paul O’Dwyer was qualified to lead the tour in such conditions.

‘Abysmal’ safety failures

Mrs Justice Stacey, who sentenced Lloyd, described the approach to health and safety as “abysmal”.

The court heard there had been heavy rain in the days before the trip, leaving the river in flood with a visibly strong current.

Participants were taken towards the weir, where they were swept into turbulent water described as a hydraulic jump. Several were wearing ankle leashes, which were unsuitable for fast-flowing water and made escape more difficult.

The court was told there had been no proper safety briefing, no suitable risk assessment, and no next-of-kin details taken.

Lloyd’s police and RNLI background was also raised in court, with the judge saying she “knew better”.

Victims remembered

Paul O’Dwyer, from Port Talbot, Morgan Rogers, from Merthyr Tydfil, and Nicola Wheatley, from Pontarddulais, died at the scene.

Andrea Powell, from Bridgend, died in hospital on November 5, 2021.

During the sentencing hearing, families of the victims described the devastating impact of the tragedy.

Mr O’Dwyer had initially managed to get out of the water but went back in to try to help others.

Dyfed-Powys Police previously described the incident as “completely avoidable”, while the Health and Safety Executive said Lloyd had failed to plan for obvious risks or take basic safety precautions.

A CALL to sell alcohol from a coffee shop at a Pembrokeshire railway station, which recently a mass violence incident which led to 11 arrests and several people being taken to hospital, has been given the go-ahead.

At the June 4 meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s licensing sub-committee, members were asked to consider the granting of a new premises licence for Lisheens Coffee Pod, Tenby Station, which included the sale of alcohol off-site from 11am to 10pm, seven days a week.

Emergency services were called to the station at around 9.50pm on Tuesday, April 7, following reports of disorder involving a group of people.

During the incident, one individual was reported to be carrying a knife. Four teenagers, aged 13 to 17 were injured and taken to hospital.

A total of 11 arrests for offences including grievous bodily harm and violent disorder were made. All of those arrested were aged between 13 and 19 years old and all local to the Tenby and Pembroke Dock area, police have previously said.

While the incident was unconnected to the licensing application, it was raised in objections to the scheme.

A report for members of the committee said two objections to the application by Mrs Nicola Nolan were received, from The British Transport Police, as a responsible authority, and another from a lease of the railway building, which said: “It encourages group gatherings, encouraging vandalism, and violence such at stabbings by group gatherings as of April 7.”

Jessica Jones, Designing Out Crime Officer for British Transport Police, who later spoke at the meeting had raised concerns “based on crime data, operational policing considerations, lone-working risks, public safety concerns, and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) risks”.

Her report said, over the past two years, there had been 12 incidents of violence, three serious public order offences, and one motor vehicle crime incident, the majority between 9pm and 11pm, a timeframe overlapping the proposed hours of alcohol sales, raising concern that alcohol availability “may further exacerbate existing issues of violence and disorder”.

That report added there were many outlets in Tenby town centre selling alcohol, questioning the need for a further facility at the station, and there was “significant concern regarding the risk to a lone worker having to refuse alcohol sales to intoxicated individuals or manage customers who refuse to leave”.

It went on to say that, while British Transport Police already deploy dedicated policing operations throughout the six-week summer holiday period to manage increased passenger numbers and deter crime, “introducing another alcohol sales point during these peak periods may heighten existing risks”.

Jessica Jones later told committee members introducing the scheme in Tenby would mean it was the only such offer at an unmanned station in Wales.

Speaking at the meeting, Barry Nolan, husband of the applicant, said it was hoped to supplement the ‘coffee pod’ with “genteel” and “trendy alcoholic products” such as wine, “really cool craft beer,” and Barti Ddu rum in cans for consumption elsewhere rather than “pints of lager and triple vodkas”.

He said the facility wouldn’t lead to youths congregating due to the products being at the more premium price end; also offering security if needed.

He later offered a reduction in alcohol serving hours to 8.30pm, with committee chair Cllr Tim Evans mooting an 8pm finish.

After retiring to deliberate, members agreed to the granting of the licensing, subject to an 8pm cut-off, wishing the applicants well in their business.

WALES’ four Police and Crime Commissioners are to be questioned by MPs over the future of policing and proposed UK Government reforms.

The Welsh Affairs Committee will hold a session on 8 July to examine what planned changes in the Police Reform Bill could mean for Wales.

A White Paper published in January set out plans to abolish Police and Crime Commissioners, the elected officials responsible for overseeing police budgets and setting the overall strategy for individual forces in England and Wales.

In England, those responsibilities are expected to pass to elected regional mayors or council leaders. However, it remains unclear who would take on those functions in Wales.

The White Paper also raised the prospect of merging some of the 43 territorial police forces across England and Wales, but there is no firm detail yet on whether Wales’ four forces could be affected.

The session will allow MPs to question the PCCs from Dyfed-Powys Police, South Wales Police, North Wales Police and Gwent Police about the likely impact of the proposed reforms.

Committee members are also expected to discuss wider policing issues affecting Wales, including violence against women and girls, the use of facial recognition technology, and whether policing should be devolved to the Welsh Government.

Ruth Jones MP, Chair of the Welsh Affairs Committee, said the session would be an important opportunity to examine what the reforms could mean for Welsh communities.

She said: “If PCCs are to be abolished, it is essential that any new arrangements ensure police forces in Wales remain clearly accountable to the public and that communities continue to have a strong voice in shaping policing priorities.

“We also want to explore views on the optimal number of forces for Wales and the importance of striking a balance between efficiency and preserving a strong understanding of local needs.”

Call for evidence

Ahead of the session, the committee is inviting written evidence from academic and policy experts.

It is asking how Welsh police forces should be held to account if PCCs are abolished, what lessons should be learned from the current model, and what the optimal number of police forces for Wales should be.

The committee also wants views on how other parts of the UK Government’s policing reforms could affect Wales, and the arguments for and against devolving policing to the Welsh Government.

The Welsh Affairs Committee is a House of Commons select committee. It scrutinises the work of the Wales Office and UK Government policies that affect Wales.