Defendant tracked down officer’s home address and sent threatening messages

A FORMER serviceman has been sent to prison after tracking down and harassing a police officer who had arrested him two years earlier.

Gareth Nicholas, aged 41, from Waunarlwydd in Swansea, targeted the officer by discovering his home address and sending a threatening message via Facebook, Swansea Crown Court heard.

The officer had been part of a police team that executed a Scottish arrest warrant at Nicholas’s home in May 2023. Two years later, in August 2025, the officer received an unexpected friend request on social media, followed shortly afterwards by a message that immediately caused concern.

The message began with the words “I found you” and accused the officer of unlawfully entering Nicholas’s property, assaulting him while he was in his underwear, and “abducting” him. Nicholas also claimed he had identified a pattern of corrupt behaviour within the police and issued a veiled threat, stating: “I will catch you down the Liberty son. Look forward to it,” a reference to Swansea City’s former stadium.

The situation escalated further days later when a handwritten letter was delivered to the officer’s former address. The new occupant contacted the officer to alert him to the letter, which repeated allegations of corruption and suggested the matter could be dropped if the officer assisted in exposing alleged police misconduct.

Nicholas was arrested on September 3 and admitted sending the communications, but denied at the time that his actions amounted to stalking.

In evidence, the officer told the court that while he had faced verbal abuse during his policing career, this incident felt different and deeply personal. He said his family installed CCTV cameras, security lighting and fencing, and put safety plans in place for their children. He added that he feared Nicholas had not let go of his perceived injustice and remained concerned the behaviour could continue.

The court heard Nicholas has a substantial criminal record in Scotland between 2019 and 2024, including convictions for stalking, malicious communications, threatening behaviour, domestic abuse offences and possession of ammunition without a licence.

Sentencing Nicholas, Judge Huw Rees acknowledged the trauma the defendant had experienced during military service, but warned him not to repeat the behaviour.

Nicholas, who appeared unrepresented, pleaded guilty to stalking and was sentenced to 20 weeks in prison, reduced by 20 per cent for his early guilty plea. Having already served time on remand, his release is expected shortly. He was also made subject to a five-year restraining order banning any contact with the officer.

Senedd race not Westminster

THE FIRST MINISTER has moved to draw a clear dividing line between the Welsh Labour campaign and the UK government as the Senedd election approaches in May.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4 on Wednesday, Eluned Morgan repeatedly declined to offer a verdict on the performance of the Prime Minister, instead insisting that the election in Wales would be decided on devolved issues rather than UK politics.

Asked directly whether she believed Keir Starmer was doing a good job, Morgan said voters should focus on who would be responsible for running public services in Wales.

“He’s not on the ballot paper,” she said. “That is not what people will be voting for in May.”

She stressed that the Senedd election should not be treated as an opportunity to punish or protest against the UK government, arguing that decisions on health, education and public services were the priority for Welsh voters.

“This is about who is going to deliver the services people rely on in Wales,” she said.

Morgan warned that the election would present voters with what she described as a stark choice, claiming Reform UK would bring “chaos” while Plaid Cymru offered “pipe dreams” that would ultimately lead Wales towards independence.

Her comments follow remarks made last week suggesting Sir Keir Starmer would only campaign alongside her in Wales if he arrived with tangible benefits, such as funding announcements or new projects.

During the same interview, Morgan also appeared to play down her recent call for policing powers to be devolved to Wales, after the proposal was rejected by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood earlier this week.

When questioned about Westminster’s refusal to consider the request, Morgan redirected the discussion towards everyday concerns.

“I think people in Wales are focused on the bread and butter issues in their daily lives,” she said.

While maintaining that successive Welsh governments had consistently sought policing powers under both Labour and Conservative administrations at Westminster, she emphasised that the election would be about the future direction of Wales and growing the Welsh economy.

In a separate BBC Wales interview on Tuesday, Morgan again avoided describing the Home Secretary’s response as a political snub and declined to say whether she could persuade UK ministers to reconsider their position.

Opposition parties were quick to seize on her comments.

Welsh Conservative Senedd leader Darren Millar accused the First Minister of laying the groundwork for an independent Wales and attempting to outflank Plaid Cymru on nationalism.

Plaid Cymru, meanwhile, described Morgan as “powerless”, while a Reform UK Wales spokesperson said Labour and Plaid were focusing on constitutional arguments instead of tackling rising NHS waiting lists and declining educational outcomes in Wales.

ATTENDANCE was formally identified as one of the key weaknesses at Milford Haven School after inspectors placed the school into special measures — an issue that has also been raised at the Senedd as part of growing concern about school attendance across Wales.

In its November 2025 inspection report, Estyn made six recommendations for improvement at Milford Haven School, including a specific call to improve attendance, listed as Recommendation R5. Inspectors concluded that special measures were required and said progress would be monitored regularly.

The focus on attendance locally mirrors a broader national debate, after figures discussed in the Senedd showed that attendance levels across Wales remain significantly below pre-pandemic levels, particularly among vulnerable pupils.

During Spokesperson’s Questions to the Welsh Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Education, the Welsh Conservatives highlighted that more than half of the most vulnerable pupils in Wales were persistently absent during 2024/25, compared with 30.4 per cent in 2018/19. Persistent absence is defined as missing at least ten per cent of school sessions in a year.

The figures also showed that Year 11 pupils recorded the lowest attendance, averaging 86.8 per cent in 2024/25 — 6.4 percentage points lower than before the pandemic.

Political reaction

Following the exchange, Natasha Asghar MS, the Welsh Conservatives’ shadow cabinet secretary for education, said the Welsh Government was failing to meet its own targets on attendance.

She said the government had promised to restore attendance to pre-pandemic levels by the end of the current Senedd term, but warned that with only a few months remaining, that commitment looked unlikely to be met.

She said vulnerable pupils were being disproportionately affected, adding that behind the figures were children missing out on learning, with potential long-term consequences for their education and future prospects.

The Welsh Conservatives also criticised the recent Labour–Plaid Cymru budget agreement, arguing that it would not deliver the changes needed to improve attendance or educational outcomes.

Local and national pressure

Estyn’s recommendation to improve attendance at Milford Haven School comes alongside other concerns highlighted in the inspection, including teaching quality, leadership and management, facilities, and financial oversight.

The inspection found that attendance at the school was below that of similar schools and well below pre-pandemic levels — a pattern reflected across much of Wales, according to national data.

Education professionals and children’s organisations have repeatedly warned that attendance challenges are closely linked to wider issues, including mental health, additional learning needs, family pressures and disengagement following the pandemic.

What happens next

Under the special measures process, Milford Haven School is required to produce a detailed action plan setting out how it will address Estyn’s recommendations, including attendance. Inspectors are expected to return every four to six months to monitor progress.

Pembrokeshire County Council has previously said it is working closely with the school and Estyn to support improvements, while the Welsh Government has said it continues to work with local authorities to improve attendance and re-engage pupils.

As scrutiny of school standards intensifies both locally and nationally, attendance is likely to remain a central issue — for Milford Haven School and for education policy across Wales.