RSPCA officers said the stench hit them before they entered a Coombs Road home where dogs, puppies, snakes and other animals were living in waste

A COUPLE from Milford Haven have been jailed after nearly 50 animals were found living in filthy, faeces-filled conditions at a house on Coombs Road.

Lee Lock, 38, and Zoe Graham, 33, appeared at Swansea Crown Court where they admitted a string of animal welfare offences.

RSPCA officers who attended the property on December 29, 2024 said the stench of urine and faeces was overpowering before they had even stepped inside.

Once in the house, inspectors found 29 dogs and puppies – including some just days old – along with 17 snakes, a tortoise and a gecko.

The court heard every floor was covered in waste, with officers describing there being “no space large enough to step” that was not contaminated by excrement and urine.

Many of the animals were described as underweight and unwell. Several died soon after being removed, while others had to be put to sleep.

Officers also made two grim discoveries: the body of a French Bulldog in a freezer, said to be heavily infected with parasites, and another French Bulldog found dead in a shed with a rectal tear, which the court heard was consistent with a blunt object being inserted.

Lock gave no comment during interview, but later became abusive towards officers, the court was told, accusing them of raping his dog.

Lock also faced separate drug charges after police found psilocybin mushrooms weighing 209 grams – said to be worth up to £4,000 – along with cultivation equipment, 35 grams of cannabis and £883 in cash. The drugs were found at the property and in his camper van in June 2024.

He claimed his partner had grown the mushrooms and said he was taking them to a police station when he was stopped.

The court heard Lock has 12 previous convictions for 19 offences, including coercive behaviour, dangerous driving and possession of a bladed article. He was jailed for 18 months last June after crashing head-on into a van.

Defending, Emily Bennett said Lock had struggled with his mental health after family bereavements and had a long-standing cocaine addiction. She told the court he was being sentenced for failing to seek veterinary help for an injured dog rather than causing the injuries, adding that a pre-sentence report raised concerns about his sexual interests, though this did not form part of the prosecution case.

Graham’s barrister, Jon Tarrant, said the couple had started out trying to provide homes for homeless animals, but matters became “unmanageable” as numbers grew. He described Graham as “fragile” and said her remorse was “palpable and genuine”.

Sentencing, Judge Huw Rees said the pair bore responsibility for “a litany of unconscionable cruelty to animals” and said it was to their shame the animals had been kept in “filthy conditions”.

Lock was sentenced to 27 months for the animal offences and a further 18 months for the drugs matter, making a total of 45 months in prison. Graham was jailed for 18 months.

Both will serve up to half of their sentences in custody before being released on licence.

Lock was banned from keeping animals for 25 years. Graham was disqualified for 15 years.

Formerly subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order banning online contact with under-16s

A 57-YEAR-OLD man from St Dogmaels appeared before Swansea Crown Court on Monday (Jan 19) in connection with alleged offences relating to indecent images of children.

The court heard that Leof Sceaga was previously subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), which prohibited him from having any unsupervised contact with girls under the age of 16 and from using the internet to communicate with anyone under that age. The order also prevented him from downloading images onto any device capable of accessing the internet.

Prosecutors told the court that in May 2025, police seized a mobile device belonging to Mr Sceaga and carried out a “DIP” (digital imaging) examination. The court heard that the analysis allegedly detected a number of Category A and Category C images of children.

It was further alleged that Mr Sceaga had failed to notify police that he was using a mobile phone and a bank account, as required under the terms of his order.

A further electronic device was seized by officers on December 18, 2025, and is currently under examination.

The case was adjourned until February 20, 2026 to allow police to complete their investigations.

Sceaga was remanded back into custody ahead of the next hearing.

A HAVERFORDWEST man who fraudulently secured £150,000 in Covid support for mobile phone businesses has been ordered to repay almost £200,000 — and faces prison if he fails to pay.

Zahid Afzal, 37, of Albert Street, appeared at Swansea Crown Court on Monday (Jan 19) for a confiscation hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act. The court ordered him to pay £197,306 within three months.

Afzal was previously handed a two-year prison sentence suspended for two years in June 2025 after pleading guilty to fraud offences following an Insolvency Service investigation. He was also ordered to complete 300 hours of unpaid work.

The Insolvency Service said Afzal made two legitimate applications for Bounce Back Loans in 2020, totalling £52,500, for his companies Phone Bits Limited and Phones Onn Ltd. However, it said he then exploited the scheme by applying for three additional maximum-value loans of £50,000 each, despite companies only being entitled to one Bounce Back Loan.

The £150,000 was paid between May and November 2020 — one £50,000 loan for Phone Bits Limited and two £50,000 loans for Phones Onn Ltd.

Investigators said Afzal falsely declared that Phone Bits Limited had not already received a Bounce Back Loan when he made a further application in May 2020, despite £32,500 having been paid into the company’s account the day before.

They also said he inflated the turnover figure for Phones Onn Ltd on applications in July and November 2020, stating it was £200,000 — the minimum required to secure a £50,000 loan — after earlier declaring turnover of £80,000 when applying legitimately for a £20,000 loan.

The Insolvency Service said significant amounts of the money paid into the businesses were later transferred into Afzal’s personal accounts, contrary to scheme rules which required the loans to be used for the economic benefit of the business.

Afzal has repaid only £2,722 in the more than five years since the applications were made, the Insolvency Service said. If he fails to repay the £197,306 within the time allowed, he faces two years in prison — and will still be required to repay the money even if jailed.

The confiscation figure includes the three £50,000 loans and indexation to reflect changes in the value of money since 2020.

The Insolvency Service said it also secured a restraint order against Afzal’s accounts, preventing assets from being moved or spent while proceeds of crime action was pursued.

Afzal’s businesses operated mobile phone shops or kiosks in Carmarthen, Shropshire, Andover in Hampshire and North Devon.