Award for Nicola Harteveld kept quiet to focus on charity work

MILFORD HAVEN campaigner Nicola Harteveld has been named one of the UK’s Top 100 Most Influential People for 2024—an accolade she kept secret for months to avoid drawing attention away from her team’s work.

The emotional award ceremony took place in Cardiff in March, but Harteveld, 44, only recently shared the news publicly. “I didn’t set out to influence—I set out to survive,” she said, dedicating the award to her daughter Megan, who died by suicide aged 14 after suffering cyberbullying.

“I’m still in disbelief,” Harteveld said as she accepted the award, “but I accept this for Megan, and for everyone in our community who believes in kindness and hope.”

The honour recognises individuals who have made a significant difference in British society. Harteveld was recognised for her work with Megan’s Starr Foundation, an anti-bullying charity she founded in memory of her daughter. The foundation has grown to become a leading grassroots voice on youth mental health in Wales.

Despite the national recognition, Harteveld said she didn’t want the award to overshadow recent projects in her home county. “We were busy opening The Dizzy Bear and our new support centre—that had to be the focus,” she said.

The Dizzy Bear, which opened earlier this year at Milford Waterfront, is more than just a café. Run as a social enterprise by the Megan’s Starr Foundation, it combines food, fun, and a mental health mission. Alongside waffles and street food, the café offers youth training schemes and a safe, welcoming space for those in need. Every purchase helps fund the charity’s free counselling and outreach services for vulnerable young people in Pembrokeshire.

“We’re unBEARlievably proud of what we’ve built,” said a spokesperson for the café. “This is about community, kindness, and giving young people a place to belong.”

Harteveld’s journey from personal tragedy to public impact has inspired people across Wales. Since losing Megan in 2018, she has devoted more than 40 hours a week to the foundation. In 2023, she was named Volunteer of the Year at the Welsh Charity Awards.

The charity’s motto—“Be kind”—comes from a note Megan wrote before her death, and has since sparked a movement in Pembrokeshire schools, encouraging empathy and mental health awareness.

From local coffee mornings to national talks, Harteveld has shared her story to highlight the dangers of bullying and the need for better support. “No young person should feel they have no choice but to end their life,” she said.

Volunteers with Megan’s Starr Foundation include those who’ve faced adversity themselves, offering peer mentorship and lived-experience counselling.

Organisers of the Top 100 Influential People list praised Harteveld’s dedication, saying she had turned heartbreak into hope and was “leading a quiet revolution” in youth mental health.

In Milford Haven, news of her award has been met with an outpouring of local pride. “This may have my name on it,” Harteveld said, “but it belongs to all of us—my team, our supporters, and of course Megan. We are just getting started.”

PLANS to expand facilities at a “state-of-the-art” Pembrokeshire abattoir, the only one of its kind in the county, have been approved.

In an application to Pembrokeshire County Council, Euro Farm Wales sought permission to extend the yard, together with the erection of a storage building and water tanks in association with the abattoir, at its existing facilities at Unit 7+8 Withybush Trading Estate, Withybush Road, Haverfordwest.

A supporting statement by Johnston Planning Ltd on behalf of agent GMW Design and the applicant said a previous application for the proposals, which had not drawn any objections, was withdrawn following officer concerns of the level of detail, particularly with regard to drainage provision and potential impacts to the nearby SAC.

Detailing the latest application, it says: “The applicants run a modern and welfare conscious facility at Withybush that is fitted with state-of-the-art mitigation to ensure there are no adverse impacts resulting from the business.

“This application which essentially seeks an extension to the rear yard is to allow for the better management of the facility through the improved circulation and management of vehicles attracted to the site.

“It will not involve any significant increase in throughput nor will the proposed extension host any animal storage or processing facilities.”

An officer report recommending approval says: “The abattoir has recently been extended and the statement submitted with the application states that the proposal is essential to allow for the better management of the facility through improved circulation and management of vehicles attracted to the site.

“The facility serves the whole county and is a slaughterhouse and meat (beef) processing facility, which is the only one of its kind in Pembrokeshire providing a vital service to the local farming community.”

It says the scheme would have positive economic benefits through the expansion of the existing business and retaining employment, along with positive environmental impacts “through the incorporation of a sustainable drainage system for surface water and the provision of landscaping on the eastern boundary and bird boxes on the external elevations of the proposed storage building”.

The application was conditionally approved.

A SHOP WORKER was robbed at knifepoint during a terrifying incident in Milford Haven on Saturday morning (May 17).

Pirintha Jeyanthirakumar, who was working her shift at the Pill Ship store on Pill Lane, described the ordeal as “scary” after a masked man entered the shop at around 10am and demanded money.

“I was very very scared, shocked,” she told The Herald. “I gave him the money and straight away I called the police.”

The suspect, described as a young man wearing a mask and a hoodie, reportedly demanded £50 before fleeing the scene.

Shop owner Mathan Sritharin, who was not present at the time of the robbery, told The Herald that police responded swiftly. “The police came quickly – within about 20 minutes,” he said.

When The Herald visited the premises at around 2:00pm, a police forensics officer was on site dusting for fingerprints and collecting evidence in an effort to identify the suspect.

The manager said that while they had reviewed CCTV footage, the individual was hard to recognise due to the mask. He added that it is possible the man is not from the local area, although this has not been confirmed.

Staff at the store said they intend to post the clearest possible CCTV image on the shop’s Facebook page. The Herald has agreed to share any images on its social media platforms to assist with the investigation.

Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact Dyfed-Powys Police. The police said: “We are appealing for information following a report of a robbery at a shop in Milford Haven this morning (Saturday, May 17).

“A call was received at 10am reporting that a man wearing a face covering and holding a Stanley knife entered the Pill Corner Shop on Pill Lane and demanded cash.

“He was described as being around 5’ 5” tall and was dressed in black. He possibly had black tights pulled over his face.

“When he left the shop, he ran towards Beech Hill.

“Anyone who saw a man matching this description, or who was driving in the area and might have dash cam footage of him, is asked to get in touch in one of the following ways:

| https://orlo.uk/SMiCo

| [email protected]

| 101

Please quote reference 100 of Saturday, May 17.”