A FORMER paddleboard company owner jailed over the deaths of four people on the Western Cleddau has failed in a Court of Appeal bid to challenge her sentence.

Nerys Bethan Lloyd, 39, of Port Talbot, was jailed for ten years and six months in April 2025 after admitting four counts of gross negligence manslaughter.

Paul O’Dwyer, Andrea Powell, Morgan Rogers and Nicola Wheatley died following a paddleboarding trip on the River Cleddau in Haverfordwest on October 30, 2021.

The group had entered the water in dangerous flood conditions before being swept over the weir near County Hall.

Sentence not excessive

Three judges at the Court of Appeal rejected arguments that Lloyd’s sentence was “manifestly excessive”.

Lady Justice May said the original sentencing judge had clearly taken Lloyd’s mitigation into account and ruled there was no arguable basis for reducing the term.

Lloyd, a former South Wales Police officer, had been running the paddleboarding trip through her company, Salty Dog Co Ltd.

At sentencing, the court heard neither Lloyd nor fellow instructor Paul O’Dwyer was qualified to lead the tour in such conditions.

‘Abysmal’ safety failures

Mrs Justice Stacey, who sentenced Lloyd, described the approach to health and safety as “abysmal”.

The court heard there had been heavy rain in the days before the trip, leaving the river in flood with a visibly strong current.

Participants were taken towards the weir, where they were swept into turbulent water described as a hydraulic jump. Several were wearing ankle leashes, which were unsuitable for fast-flowing water and made escape more difficult.

The court was told there had been no proper safety briefing, no suitable risk assessment, and no next-of-kin details taken.

Lloyd’s police and RNLI background was also raised in court, with the judge saying she “knew better”.

Victims remembered

Paul O’Dwyer, from Port Talbot, Morgan Rogers, from Merthyr Tydfil, and Nicola Wheatley, from Pontarddulais, died at the scene.

Andrea Powell, from Bridgend, died in hospital on November 5, 2021.

During the sentencing hearing, families of the victims described the devastating impact of the tragedy.

Mr O’Dwyer had initially managed to get out of the water but went back in to try to help others.

Dyfed-Powys Police previously described the incident as “completely avoidable”, while the Health and Safety Executive said Lloyd had failed to plan for obvious risks or take basic safety precautions.

PATIENTS must be given clear answers over when two-year NHS waits will be eliminated in Wales, opposition parties have said.

The row followed a statement in the Senedd by the Welsh Government’s Cabinet Minister for Health and Care, with questions raised over whether Plaid Cymru can maintain recent progress on waiting lists while delivering its own health pledges.

Welsh Labour said NHS waiting lists had fallen for ten consecutive months before the change of government, but warned that the new administration must not allow that progress to stall.

Ken Skates MS, Welsh Labour’s interim leader and spokesperson for health and care, said: “NHS waiting lists have now fallen for ten consecutive months and it’s now Plaid Cymru’s responsibility to ensure this progress doesn’t falter.

“We’re already hearing conflicting timelines from the Plaid Cymru First Minister and Health Minister on when two-year waits will be eliminated, with neither willing to answer the question. Patients deserve answers, not confusion.”

The Welsh Conservatives have also criticised the new government, claiming patients were being left with uncertainty after different messages were given about how quickly the longest waits could be cleared.

During the election campaign, the First Minister said two-year waits would be eliminated within months. However, the new Health Minister has since suggested the task could take longer.

The Welsh Government says reducing long waits remains a priority and that ministers are working with health boards to improve access to treatment, diagnostics and urgent care.

Plaid Cymru has argued that the NHS in Wales cannot be turned around overnight and says the new administration has inherited deep pressures across the health service, including demand on hospitals, delayed transfers of care, workforce shortages and financial constraints.

Health remains one of the most politically sensitive issues in Wales, with patients across the country continuing to face long waits for operations, appointments and diagnosis.

For families waiting for treatment, the political arguments in Cardiff Bay will matter less than whether appointments come through and whether the longest delays are finally brought down.

WALES’ four Police and Crime Commissioners are to be questioned by MPs over the future of policing and proposed UK Government reforms.

The Welsh Affairs Committee will hold a session on 8 July to examine what planned changes in the Police Reform Bill could mean for Wales.

A White Paper published in January set out plans to abolish Police and Crime Commissioners, the elected officials responsible for overseeing police budgets and setting the overall strategy for individual forces in England and Wales.

In England, those responsibilities are expected to pass to elected regional mayors or council leaders. However, it remains unclear who would take on those functions in Wales.

The White Paper also raised the prospect of merging some of the 43 territorial police forces across England and Wales, but there is no firm detail yet on whether Wales’ four forces could be affected.

The session will allow MPs to question the PCCs from Dyfed-Powys Police, South Wales Police, North Wales Police and Gwent Police about the likely impact of the proposed reforms.

Committee members are also expected to discuss wider policing issues affecting Wales, including violence against women and girls, the use of facial recognition technology, and whether policing should be devolved to the Welsh Government.

Ruth Jones MP, Chair of the Welsh Affairs Committee, said the session would be an important opportunity to examine what the reforms could mean for Welsh communities.

She said: “If PCCs are to be abolished, it is essential that any new arrangements ensure police forces in Wales remain clearly accountable to the public and that communities continue to have a strong voice in shaping policing priorities.

“We also want to explore views on the optimal number of forces for Wales and the importance of striking a balance between efficiency and preserving a strong understanding of local needs.”

Call for evidence

Ahead of the session, the committee is inviting written evidence from academic and policy experts.

It is asking how Welsh police forces should be held to account if PCCs are abolished, what lessons should be learned from the current model, and what the optimal number of police forces for Wales should be.

The committee also wants views on how other parts of the UK Government’s policing reforms could affect Wales, and the arguments for and against devolving policing to the Welsh Government.

The Welsh Affairs Committee is a House of Commons select committee. It scrutinises the work of the Wales Office and UK Government policies that affect Wales.