News

Saundersfoot: Owner of fouling dog owned by mystery man with camera

Published

10 years ago

October 25, 2015

Tom Sinclair

Mystery dog owner: You have no idea who you are talking to (Pic: YouTube)

A MEMBER of the public has uploaded a video to YouTube of himself criticising a dog owner for not picking up dog mess.

The video has started to go viral around Pembrokeshire on Facebook.

In the film the mystery uploader, who calls himself The Leveller, says: “This gentleman’s dog has done a poo, and I have asked him to pick it up, and he is quite reluctant, he wants to argue. I am just going to stand here and wait for him do it.”

He adds: “You have a public responsibility, and it is law now, you have got to pick it up.”

The reaction of the man with the dog has become a subject of debate on Facebook with many people saying they are angry at his attitude, “You have no idea who you are talking to” he says.

‘IT WAS A SET UP’, SAYS DOG OWNER

The Herald tracked down the dog owner. His name is Toby Olford.

Mr Olford told the Herald: “I was walking my dog on the beach, when I walked passed a man metal detecting. He stopped me and asked if the dog was mine. When I told him the dog was, he said he had just seen it fouling and marched me 50yds up the beach to point it out.

“I found this very strange as I had just picked up my dog’s poo 5 minutes earlier and you can see in the video that I was carrying bags for this use.”

Mr Olford went on to explain that this was the point the filming began but he couldn’t really understand why.

He feels that he was set up but confirmed that he does not know the filmmaker.

After the filming started, Mr Oldfield said he felt intimidated into ‘picking up dog mess that did not belong to his dog by a very confrontational person’ and claims that the video has been heavily edited of the foul language that the filmmaker used, he also told the Herald that the conversation on film lasted around 3 minutes.

Mr Olford added: “I said in the video, ‘You don’t know who I am’ – I did not mean this in an arrogant way, and I do not think for one minute that I am above the law, the reason I said this is due to the fact that my family and I have very strong connections with this beach and it means a lot to us and our livelihood, the people who know me know I would not let this happen.”

Mr Olford’s father told our reporter that he and his family are “often cleaning up dog poo from the beach” and also a huge amount of horse poo so for his son to let his own dog do this would go against their beliefs in keeping the beach in prime condition.

The family are very disappointed to have been “painted in a bad light” and do not wish to start a war with the filmmaker, all they are interested in, hey say, is airing their side of the story without inflaming the matter any further.

The Herald understands that the family own the beach from the mean high-water line to the beach head.

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24 Comments

Welshman23

October 25, 2015 at 5:13 pm

Spot on who the hell is the person with the dog, he seems to think he is above the law
John

October 26, 2015 at 5:18 am

Has he been in X factor??
pinkcat

October 26, 2015 at 7:28 am

The amount of people not clearing up after their dogs is unbelievable. I have been to saundersfoot Coppice Hall side many time and witnessed dog owners letting their dogs foul in the stream area whilst little children are paddling. Absolutely disgusting. Don’t they realise that some poor kid is going to pick up the dog poo as it is amongst the sand. Dog poo can cause blindness, this matter should not be taken lightly.
Em mizsei

October 26, 2015 at 9:43 am

Who is he?!
PooFighters

October 26, 2015 at 10:50 am

Is he Ronnie Pickering?
barbara

October 26, 2015 at 12:13 pm

shame on him i dont give a monkeys who he is pick up the pooo you muppet,well done for pulling him up on this, if i see anyone walking away i always offer them a bag to pick it up
OMG

October 26, 2015 at 2:14 pm

How do we know he wasn’t going to pick it up? Sorry just an patronising idiot with a camera!
JP

October 26, 2015 at 4:05 pm

@ OMG:
Because he didnt have any bags with him to pick it up, he had to have the bags off the ‘patronising idiot’ with a camera??
Www

October 26, 2015 at 4:28 pm

@ JP:
He did have his own bags tho, the man just offered some. He used his own bags
Elina

October 26, 2015 at 4:55 pm

Hello, just to clear this up a bit. I am the girl in the video. I don‘t know how we got pulled into this mess, but this is not the whole video.
That day we were heading to the beach to walk the dog and our dog had done hiss business, which we cleaned up maybe 5-10 minutes before we stumbled upon this man with a metal detector. Our dog was just enjoying his run on the beach as we were keeping an eye on him. And then this man comes up to us saying that he‘s seen our dog making a mess just now, as we were passing by with the dog. So we argued, that it wasn‘t our dogs mess, but he was certain he‘d seen it (while metal detecting). We gave in for the sake of the argument and because it in fact IS in our interest to keep the beach clean. So that‘s the reason for being reluctant.
And then to our surprise he takes out his phone and starts filming us. That is certainly not the kind of reaction one would expect after trying to settle an argument. But we thought that he was just a bit strange and laughed it off. We didn‘t expect AT ALL, that it would turn out like this. We did have our own poo bags. And this man is just accusing us for nothing, he was metal detecting and looking at the ground with his German sheppard just a few feet away.
I am all for cleaning after your own pet, it‘s just that there was no need at all for him to get so agressive with us.
JP

October 26, 2015 at 5:55 pm

@ Www:
The lady in the video takes a bag off him and picks the poo up when he says ‘you’ve missed a bit’@ Www:
JP

October 26, 2015 at 5:57 pm

@ Elina:
The real question that everyone is wondering is, who is he??
Famous footballer? Film star? Lord mayor of Saundersfoot?
Mag

October 26, 2015 at 6:26 pm

@ Elina:
I’m dying to know Elina, who is he because he didn’t seem to know who he was?
Kieran

October 26, 2015 at 6:29 pm

@ Elina:

SO AS YOUR MALE SAYS DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM
WELL FOLKS ON HERE WANT TO KNOW
WHO IS HE
Bryn

October 26, 2015 at 7:07 pm

I know this gentleman and I can assure everyone if it was his dog he would clean it up he carries doggy poo bags wherever he goes he is the most responsible dog owners I know. People want to see the mess humans leave behind on the beach in the summer months and the stones and rocks that metal detector users dig up and leave for people to trip over or children stub toes or cut feet on or even the holes they leave I have twisted my ankle a couple of times in but no body worries about that.
Sam

October 26, 2015 at 7:26 pm

Was he Ronnie Pickering??
OMG

October 26, 2015 at 7:30 pm

@ JP:
If you look he has a bag in hands at the start of the video. The fact is we don’t know the full story from watching a short video clip. “When it comes to privacy and accountability, people always demand the former for themselves and the latter for everyone else.” – David Brin
elaine Ashby

October 26, 2015 at 9:54 pm

@ Elina:
Why did he keep saying you dont know who you are speaking to? Who is he anyway? Perhaps you should respond with this explanation on Facebook. The guy with the camera was pretty determined. And put you on you tube. And now all over Facebook. Not fair if he was in the wrong.
John

October 26, 2015 at 10:07 pm

Well done, it like baby poop, no one likes dealing with someone else’s child’s mess….

I could see you were doing the right thing – most people do, but I just loved the ‘don’t you know who I am’ type comment because frankly, no I don’t (should I?) and moreover it shouldn’t make any difference….
TenbyLifeboater

October 26, 2015 at 10:11 pm

I was actually on the beach when all this happened, and the video is a bit of a distortion of the actual facts I believe.
In fact, there was an Alsatian n the beach at the same time who i saw poo on the sand, around the same spot where it has been dug up, and the fog was unattended.
I think this couple have been portrayed in a bad light, and there is the potential that the person who filmed this video may have even asked this couple to clean up his OWN dog’s mess, without him realising it. I’d be more than happy to have this published for the record as a witness to the facts.
It’s so frustrating nowadays when you only get half truths.
Elina

October 27, 2015 at 8:35 pm

@ TenbyLifeboater:
Thank You so much for Your support.
James Henry

October 27, 2015 at 11:33 pm

i quite often see this metal detector chap having a cheeky wee on the beach particularly in the winter, should he then take his mess home?
Theres some strange folk about 😉
Helen Carp

October 29, 2015 at 5:46 pm

@ Elina:
people money big money rom these videos especially when they go viral as this one did. i expect he is laughing all the way to the bank. it’s a shame people get sucked in.
Helen Carp

October 29, 2015 at 5:47 pm

@ Elina:
people make money big money rom these videos especially when they go viral as this one did. i expect he is laughing all the way to the bank. it’s a shame people get sucked in.@ Elina:

News

Lib Dems call for emergency VAT cut for hospitality as families ‘priced out’

Published

6 hours ago

November 12, 2025

Tom Sinclair

THE WELSH LIBERAL DEMOCRATS are calling for an emergency 5% VAT cut for pubs, restaurants and other hospitality and entertainment businesses in next week’s Budget — part of a bold £12 billion plan to tackle the cost-of-living crisis that has made “going out an unaffordable luxury” for many families.

Under the proposals, VAT would be reduced from 20% to 15% on hospitality, accommodation and visitor attractions. The move would boost struggling high streets and bring down prices for hard-pressed families across Wales.

The plan forms part of a two-pronged “cost of living and cost of doing business rescue package,” which also calls on the Chancellor to cut household energy bills by scrapping the current renewables obligation levy. Together, these measures — to remain in place until April 2027 — would save a typical family around £270 over the next 18 months.

Funding would come from a new windfall tax on big banks, originally proposed by the IPPR think tank. The tax could raise an estimated £30 billion between now and 2030, with less than half of that needed to cover the cost of the VAT cut (£7.5bn) and the removal of the renewables obligation levy (£4.5bn).

The Liberal Democrats say their proposals would give a vital boost to Welsh pubs, restaurants and entertainment venues currently struggling under the “double whammy” of high taxes and falling customer spending.

Recent research by More in Common found that almost two in three Britons (59%) believe restaurant meals are now unaffordable for most people, while over half (51%) said the same about a night out at the pub, and 45% about a trip to the cinema.

David Chadwick, Welsh Liberal Democrat Westminster Spokesperson, said: “People are working with their nose to the grindstone all month and have next to nothing left over after sky-high bills and spiralling food prices.

In years gone by, people could look forward to fish and chips on a Friday or a weekend trip to the cinema. Now those small joys – the ones that make life worth living – are becoming an unaffordable luxury for too many.

High street businesses have been hammered by Labour’s jobs tax, so it’s no wonder so many treasured pubs, restaurants and cafés are closing their doors, taking with them vital jobs and community spaces.

It doesn’t have to be that way. With a new voting system in the Senedd, every single vote for the Welsh Liberal Democrats will count and deliver change with fairness at its heart.

Our plans to cut VAT on hospitality and energy bills would put £270 back into people’s pockets, making it easier to heat their homes and spend a little more locally. This would help restore our high streets, drive economic growth and give the country a much-needed morale boost.”

Crime

Haverfordwest man fined for damaging car wing mirror

Published

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November 12, 2025

Court Reporter

Victim later retracted statement, court hears

A HAVERFORDWEST man has been fined after admitting to damaging a car wing mirror belonging to a woman in the town earlier this year.

Luke Owen, 33, of Wayside Close, Simpson Cross, appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (Nov 12), where he pleaded guilty to criminal damage.

The court heard that on May 7, 2025, Owen damaged the wing mirror of a black Peugeot 2008.

Prosecutor Sian Vaughan said the damage was minor, and a victim personal statement was not presented to the court as the complainant had since retracted it.

Owen, represented by Mike Kelleher of Welch & Co Solicitors, was fined £40.

He was also ordered to pay £20 in compensation, £85 in prosecution costs, and a £16 victim surcharge.

Magistrates allowed the fine to be deducted from Owen’s benefits.

Crime

Whitland woman’s no-insurance charge discontinued

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A WHITLAND woman accused of aiding another person to drive without insurance has had her case discontinued at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court.

Louise Mary Hook, 52, of Compton House, Llanfallteg, was alleged to have aided and abetted Christopher Rone in using a Fiat Ducato van without insurance on High Street, Narberth, on May 15.

The prosecution claimed that Hook had encouraged or permitted Rone to drive the vehicle when no valid insurance policy was in force.

However, when the case came before magistrates on Tuesday (Nov 12), the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed that the matter had been discontinued and no further action would be taken.