COASTGUARD rescue officers are to gather outside Parliament this week as pressure grows on the UK Government to reinstate emergency call-out payments.

Dozens of coastguards from across the country are expected at College Green, Westminster, at 5pm on Wednesday (July 1), where they will call for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to reverse plans to remove hourly remuneration for emergency incidents and training.

The protest, organised with the GMB union, follows a Court of Appeal case which found that Coastguard Rescue Officers could be classed as workers when carrying out paid duties.

Until now, volunteer coastguards have been able to claim modest hourly payments when called out to emergencies or attending training exercises. The MCA says the legal ruling means the current arrangements cannot continue in their existing form, and that from September 2026 officers will instead be able to claim expenses only.

GMB says the decision is unacceptable and risks undermining one of the UK’s statutory emergency services.

Coastguard Rescue Officers are often the first to respond when people are trapped on cliffs, cut off by tides, stuck in mud, missing near the coast or in difficulty in the water. They work alongside lifeboat crews, police, ambulance services, fire crews, air ambulances and Coastguard helicopters.

The issue is of particular importance in Pembrokeshire and across Wales, where coastguard teams are regularly involved in difficult and dangerous rescues along remote coastline, beaches, cliffs and tidal waters.

The Herald has repeatedly reported on incidents where coastguard teams have played a key role. These include the major rescue of three climbers at St Govan’s Head, where teams from Fishguard, St Govan’s and Tenby were deployed alongside helicopters, lifeboat crews, police and air ambulance teams.

In another incident, Milford Haven Coastguard Operations Centre coordinated the rescue of six children from the sea at Aberavon, with Port Talbot and Porthcawl Coastguard Rescue Teams among those sent to the scene.

Angle RNLI has also been tasked this year to searches coordinated by the coastguard, including concern for a fishing vessel near Marloes and a separate search after a vehicle was found abandoned on the Cleddau Bridge.

Supporters of the campaign say these incidents show how reliant coastal communities are on trained volunteers who leave work, family life or rest periods at short notice when pagers sound.

The Westminster photocall will take place after a Westminster Hall debate earlier the same day on the remuneration of coastguard volunteers. That debate is due to be opened by Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael.

The House of Commons Library says the Coastguard Rescue Service had more than 3,500 volunteers in 287 teams across the UK in 2024/25, supported by more than 100 employed operational staff. HM Coastguard responded to 39,147 incidents during the same year.

Plaid Cymru MPs have already raised concerns about the impact on Welsh coastal communities, warning that removing call-out payments could make it harder to retain and recruit trained responders.

The UK Government has defended the move, saying the change follows the Court of Appeal ruling and that the revised volunteer model is intended to protect the future of the service.

In a parliamentary answer, Transport Minister Keir Mather said changing the operating model was “not something which we wanted to do” but was a consequence of the legal position.

He said moving to a volunteer model with expenses, but without hourly remuneration, was judged to be the best option to protect the service and allow people to continue serving alongside their main employment.

The Government has also said serving Coastguard Rescue Officers are entitled to compensation for up to the previous six years of service, with the MCA calculating individual entitlements.

GMB argues that the answer should be to protect both the volunteer nature of the service and the right of coastguards to be fairly compensated when they are called out to save lives.

A GMB spokesperson said Coastguard Rescue Officers carry out rescues and save lives around the UK’s coast, including Scotland, Wales and England’s south coast.

The union said: “The coastguard is a statutory emergency service, like the police, fire or ambulance.

“They have always been given hourly remuneration for attending incidents and training exercises, but the MCA has now removed the payments.

“The move follows a landmark case by GMB Union which saw the Court of Appeal uphold a judgement classifying coastguards as workers.”

GMB says coastguards will be available for photographs and interviews at College Green on Wednesday evening.

The row comes only days after The Herald reported fresh concern over the loss of call-out payments, and amid a series of recent incidents showing how often coastguard teams are used across west Wales. In the past week alone, Milford Haven Coastguard paged lifeboats after an aircraft ditched in Cardigan Bay, while Fishguard and Teifi Coastguard teams helped stretcher an injured woman from the coast path at Dinas Island.

Earlier this year, coastguard teams from Fishguard, St Govan’s and Tenby were among the emergency services sent to a fatal climbing incident at St Govan’s Head.

HYWEL DDA University Health Board is urging people to take part in its consultation on the future of stroke services, as the process reaches the halfway point.

The second phase of the eight-week consultation began on May 28 and will remain open until July 26.

The health board is seeking views from patients, carers, staff, local communities and stakeholders on its preferred option for stroke services across Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion.

Under the preferred option, a 24-hour acute stroke and rehabilitation unit would be based at Glangwili Hospital, with a stroke rehabilitation unit at Bronglais Hospital. Treat-and-transfer services would continue at Bronglais, Prince Philip and Withybush hospitals.

Stroke services are currently provided at all four main Hywel Dda hospitals, namely Bronglais, Glangwili, Prince Philip and Withybush. However, the health board says services do not consistently meet national clinical standards and that specialist stroke cover is not available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

More than 1,700 people have already taken part in the second phase of consultation, either through public events or by completing the questionnaire.

Mark Henwood, Hywel Dda University Health Board’s Executive Medical Director, said: “We know how important stroke services are to members of our communities and to our staff.

“Providing timely, high-quality specialist care for people who experience a stroke is critical. Stroke care has advanced significantly, and evidence shows that patients have better outcomes in specialist units with access to expert teams and equipment around the clock.

“We are listening carefully to what people are telling us, and this feedback is important in helping us understand what matters most to our communities. Thank you to everyone who has already attended our engagement events, both in person and online. We look forward to speaking to more people before the consultation ends on July 26.”

Lee Davies, Executive Director of Strategy and Planning, said the health board had been meeting staff and communities across the three counties, as well as representatives from neighbouring health board areas.

He said people had raised questions about where they would go for diagnosis and treatment, how transfers between hospitals would work, and why stroke services could not continue as they are across all four hospital sites.

Mr Davies said: “It’s important to reassure people that, now and in the future, if you think someone is having a stroke, you should seek immediate help by calling 999.

“As happens today, and with any future option, they will be taken to the nearest appropriate hospital for assessment and initial treatment. If specialist treatment such as a thrombectomy is needed, patients would continue to be transferred to specialist centres in Bristol or Cardiff.

“Throughout this process we are working with the Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust, and other providers such as the Adult Critical Care Transfer Service and national commissioners.

“Once an option for the future of stroke services is chosen, detailed modelling will take place to understand what dedicated transport arrangements will be needed, so this would not impact on emergency ambulance availability.

“We need to make changes to ensure we meet national standards and can provide safe, sustainable, accessible and kind services. We need to give people the best possible chance of recovery after the devastating effects of a stroke.”

The remaining public drop-in events are:

• Tuesday, June 30, 2pm to 7pm, Y Plas, Machynlleth, SY20 8ER
• Monday, July 6, 2pm to 7pm, Canolfan Creuddyn, Lampeter, SA48 7BN
• Wednesday, July 8, 2pm to 7pm, Pater Hall, Pembroke Dock, SA72 6DD
• Tuesday, July 14, 2pm to 7pm, Ivy Bush Royal Hotel, Carmarthen, SA31 1LG
• An online session will also be held on Tuesday, July 7, at 6:30pm.

Everyone is welcome to attend to find out more, ask questions and share their views.

The health board says all feedback received during this phase of consultation, along with views gathered in 2025 and the latest evidence, will be considered before a final decision is made later this year.

Further information, including the questionnaire, is available on the Hywel Dda stroke consultation website.

People can also contact the engagement team by emailing [email protected] or by calling 0300 303 8322, option 5.

Police say gang used luxury cars, rural meeting points and local distributors to move cocaine into west Wales

EIGHT people have been convicted over what police have described as an industrial-scale conspiracy to supply cocaine into Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire.

The convictions follow a major Dyfed-Powys Police investigation into the large-scale movement of Class A drugs into west Wales over a nine-month period.

The case began when officers stopped a DPD courier van on the M4 near Pont Abraham, Carmarthenshire, on August 8, 2025. Inside, police found more than 1.6kg of high-purity cocaine, which the police say has an estimated value of almost £190,000.

Further enquiries uncovered what police say was a complex organised crime network involving upstream suppliers, couriers from outside the Dyfed-Powys area, wholesale customers and local distributors operating in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire.

Tommy Lee Jones, aged 33, of Castle Quarry, Monkton, was identified by officers as playing a leading role as the head of the Pembrokeshire gang.

Police said Jones was sourcing multiple kilograms of cocaine on delivery dates from supplier Ahmed Al-Farraji and his associate Adam Noraddin, both from Cardiff.

According to Dyfed-Powys Police, Jones would make regular contact with the suppliers before large cash payments were handed over to Al-Farraji. The drugs were then transported in high-end luxury cars from Bristol and Birmingham to rural locations, including Stepaside, Lamphey, Hundleton and Monkton.

From there, the cocaine was distributed onwards by members of the gang based in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire.

Kalum Haines, Leon Haines and Zak Fecci were identified as trusted members of the gang, taking possession of drugs directly from upstream suppliers and acting as distributors in Pembrokeshire.

Ryan Hare carried out the same role in Carmarthenshire and was identified as being responsible for organising the collection and delivery of the drugs seized by police on August 8.

Usman Afsar was found to have played a role in the conspiracy when he drove from Bristol to Pembrokeshire as a courier and met with gang members riding e-bikes in Pembroke.

Detective Sergeant Mark Jones, of Dyfed-Powys Police’s Serious and Organised Crime Team, said: “After a number of months of enquiries, we built a case clearly evidencing that Ahmed Al-Farraji travelled from Cardiff to meet with Tommy Lee Jones in rural locations.

“Upstream supply couriers would also drive from Bristol to Pembrokeshire on these dates and supplied Tommy Lee Jones with large amounts of cocaine.

“These deliveries were then collected by loyal customers of his and distributed throughout two counties.

“We estimate that the total amount of controlled drugs handled by the gang between February and November 2025 was that of large-scale commercial trafficking.”

A proactive police operation was later carried out to arrest the suspects over the course of a week. Warrants were executed by the Serious and Organised Crime Team, alongside Neighbourhood Policing and Prevention Teams, in Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, Cardiff and Bristol.

The following defendants were charged with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs:

Tommy Lee Jones, aged 33, of Castle Quarry, Monkton; Ryan Hare, aged 27, of Heol Cae Pownd, Cefneithin; Kalum Haines, aged 22, of Woodland Park, Neyland; Leon Haines, aged 26, of Ashdale Lane, Pembroke; Zack Fecci, aged 20, of Hawkstone Road, Pembroke Dock; Ahmed Al-Farraji, aged 25, of Topaz Street, Cardiff; Usman Afsar, aged 41, of Woodborough Street, Bristol; and Adam Noraddin, aged 25, of Plas Nanthelyg, Cardiff.

All eight appeared at Swansea Crown Court.

Jones, Hare, Kalum Haines, Leon Haines and Fecci admitted their involvement. Al-Farraji, Noraddin and Afsar were found guilty following a six-week trial.

Officer in the case DC Sam Burson said: “These individuals have worked together as an organised criminal gang bringing large amounts of Class A drugs into our towns and villages.

“They have shown an utter disregard to the safety of the communities in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire, and contributed with the adverse effect that drugs have on the social and economic wellbeing of the places that we live and work.

“Through detailed and thorough investigative analysis, we have brought charges against and dismantled a group of people who thought they could profit from their criminal activity.

“The strength of evidence against them has, however, resulted with positive outcomes and the conviction of these individuals.”

The defendants will be sentenced at a later date.

Cover image: Computer generated artists’ impression