Crime

Haverfordwest man spared jail after two assaults on woman

Published

2 months ago

March 25, 2026

Sarah Jane Absalom

38-year-old given “final chance” despite probation warning of high risk of harm

A HAVERFORDWEST man has narrowly avoided a jail sentence after admitting assaulting a woman twice within a month.

Haverfordwest magistrates heard that the first assault took place on Tuesday (Jan 28), when Paul Webber, 38, struck the victim to the face. A month later, he carried out a second assault in the town centre, again targeting her face.

“The first was a knock to her face, and the second was a forceful slap, again to her face, both resulting in facial marks,” said Crown Prosecutor Nia James.

A victim statement read to the court described the impact of the abuse.

“Our relationship was becoming really hard, due to the violence and control he had over me,” she said.

“I’m relieved that I’m in a much safer environment, without being afraid of repercussions as I was before.”

She asked magistrates to impose a restraining order preventing further contact.

“I want to feel safe, knowing that he can’t approach me and subject me to further physical or verbal abuse,” she added.

Webber, of Glebe House, Haverfordwest, pleaded guilty to two charges of assault by beating and a third charge of possessing a Class A drug, namely 1.7 grams of crack cocaine, which was discovered during his arrest on Thursday (Feb 27).

A pre-sentence report recommended immediate custody, but this was challenged by his solicitor, Tom Lloyd.

“If he goes back to prison, he’ll come straight out and re-offend,” he said.

“He needs to work with probation to try and sort these issues out because without doing that, we’ll continue going round and round.

“His triggers are consistent and predictable, which means they are much easier to deal with.

“Paul Webber clearly needs help, and his response to supervision has previously been good. There are many things which could be beneficial to him and I find it very odd that probation’s conclusion doesn’t tie in with all the other factors.”

However, probation officer Julie Norman said Webber had already received extensive support.

“He’s been constantly supervised by probation over the last four years after every term of imprisonment, when we’ve worked with him to address his offending behaviour,” she said.

“But even though he attended, we question what he’s learnt from the intervention after committing an offence of this nature so soon after.

“In our opinion he remains a very high risk of harm to the victim.”

After lengthy consideration, magistrates opted to give Webber a final opportunity in the community.

He was sentenced to an 18-month community order, during which he must complete 150 hours of unpaid work and 25 rehabilitation activity requirement days, including anger management and substance misuse work.

A three-year restraining order was imposed, preventing him from contacting the victim directly or indirectly, entering any premises occupied by her, or accessing or sharing any information about her online.

Webber was also ordered to pay £100 compensation to the victim, along with £85 court costs and a £114 surcharge. A forfeiture and destruction order was made in relation to the crack cocaine.

Crime

Police standoff ends after four-hour incident in Pembroke Dock

Published

20 hours ago

May 9, 2026

Tom Sinclair

ELIZABETH COURT SCENE STOOD DOWN AFTER DOMESTIC INCIDENT

A FOUR-HOUR police standoff in Pembroke Dock has ended with a 21-year-old man arrested on suspicion of inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Dyfed-Powys Police said the incident at Elizabeth Court has now been stood down and the scene released.

The man has been taken to hospital to receive medical attention.

Chief Inspector Dominic Jones said: “I want to thank local residents for their patience while we dealt with this incident. I understand that such a large police presence in a residential street is concerning to see, and I’m grateful to everyone who co-operated with our officers at the scene.

“I’d like to offer my reassurance that our units responded to an isolated domestic incident, and there was no further threat posed to the wider community. The scene has now been released, and we will investigate the full circumstances of this morning’s incident.”

Officers were called to the address this morning (Saturday, May 9), with a large police presence remaining in the area for several hours.

Eyewitnesses told The Herald that police were asking a man upstairs to come down, with tasers drawn during the incident.

Police dogs, specialist officers and what appeared to be a negotiator were also seen at the scene.

The incident lasted from around 11:00am until about 3:10pm.

Crime

Teen denies attempted murder of Milford Haven teacher

Published

23 hours ago

May 9, 2026

Tom Sinclair

TEENAGER REMANDED AHEAD OF JULY TRIAL

A 15-YEAR-old boy has denied attempting to murder a teacher during a stabbing incident at Milford Haven School.

The teenager, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, appeared at Swansea Crown Court on Friday (May 8).

He pleaded not guilty to attempted murder, causing grievous bodily harm with intent, and unlawful wounding with a knife.

The charges relate to an incident at Milford Haven School on Thursday, February 5, when emergency services were called after reports that a teacher had been assaulted by a pupil carrying a weapon.

The school was placed into lockdown and pupils were later safely evacuated.

The injured teacher was taken to hospital with stab wounds, but was discharged later the same day.

Police said at the time that specialist officers were supporting the victim and the wider school community.

The teenager was remanded in custody following Friday’s hearing.

A trial is due to begin on July 6.

Crime

Racial abuse suspect barricaded himself inside Johnston lodge

Published

3 days ago

May 7, 2026

Tom Sinclair

ARMED police were called to a supported accommodation building in Johnston after a man allegedly barricaded himself inside a room while behaving aggressively and racially abusing staff.

Dyfed-Powys Police confirmed officers were called to Silverdale Lodge at around 8:55am on Saturday (May 2) following reports of disorder involving a resident.

According to police, the man allegedly acted aggressively towards staff members and made racially abusive comments before barricading himself inside a room at the property.

The force said armed officers were deployed to ensure the safety of staff, other occupants and the man himself.

A spokesperson for Dyfed-Powys Police said: “Dyfed-Powys Police was called to Silverdale Lodge in Johnston at approximately 8.55am on May 2 following a report of a male behaving in an aggressive manner and being racially abusive towards a member of staff.

“Officers attended the scene and the male had barricaded himself in a room.

“In order to ensure the safety of the male, staff members and other occupants of the building, armed officers attended the scene.

“The man was detained and arrested. There were no injuries to members of staff or officers reported. There is currently no ongoing threat to the public.”

Police confirmed Billy Pitman, aged 29, has been charged with racially aggravated public order offences, criminal damage and threats to cause criminal damage in connection with the incident.

Pitman was remanded into custody and appeared before Swansea Magistrates’ Court on Monday (May 4).

We will bring you the court result as we receive it.