News

Ex-lecturer in dock over car park sex acts

Published

10 years ago

January 29, 2016

m&scar A FORMER college lecturer was twice caught masturbating in supermarket car parks in west Wales, it was alleged on Monday (Jan 25).
And after police arrested Anthony George Rundle, aged 51, it was discovered he had made four films of women using the bathroom of a caravan.
Rundle, of Glebelands, Johnston, denies two charges of exposure and four of voyeurism and has gone on trial today at Swansea Crown Court.
Carina Hughes, prosecuting, said on March 12, 2014, a woman shopper visiting the Tesco store in Cardigan saw Rundle drive slowly past with his trousers around his knees and his genitals exposed.
She noticed Rundle drive around the car park and stopping twice before leaving.
In May, 2014, a female employee at the Marks and Spencer store at Withybush, Haverfordwest, saw Rundle with his right hand on the steering wheel and his left hand on his penis while his jeans were around his knees.
Police arrested Rundle ten days later and removed his computers.
Miss Hughes said on one of the machines experts found four different videos. Each had been taken by a camera focussed on what was clearly the bathroom of a caravan.
Two of the films showed women removing their clothes before taking showers, she added, and in all four videos the private parts of the women could be seen.
The frosted nature of the glass, she said, would have made it clear to anyone that the room behind was a bathroom.
Miss Hughes said that in relation to the incidents in the car parks Rundle told police he suffered from a medical condition and at the time he had been preparing to urinate.
And his explanation for the videos was that the women involved had been exhibitionists and he had intended, as a joke, to film them and put the footage on the internet. But he had later changed his mind.
Miss Hughes told the jury that the prosecution accepted that Rundle had a medical condition that affected urination but maintained that he had been motivated by sexual gratification, as he had when making the films.
In a statement a Pembrokeshire College spokesperson said: “We can confirm that Mr Rundle is a former employee of Pembrokeshire College whoworked part-time in a dual role as lecturer in essential skills and a learning and teaching mentor. Upon receiving notification of his arrest in May 2014, immediate steps were taken to suspend him in accordance with the College’s staff disciplinary policy. Mr Rundle has not worked for the College since May 2014, his employment was terminated in January 2015.
“Prior to his appointment at the College thorough background checks were undertaken for Mr Rundle, as we do for all our staff, including a satisfactory enhanced DBS disclosure. As a College the safeguarding of our learners is our highest priority. We operate strictly in accordance with the All Wales Child Protection procedures and protocols and liaise with all statutory authorities as necessary.”

News

Wales inactivity rate rises as opposition warns economy is ‘flatlining’

Published

1 hour ago

June 25, 2026

Tom Sinclair

ALMOST one in four working-age people in Wales are economically inactive, according to the latest labour market figures.

The Welsh Government’s June labour market overview shows the economic inactivity rate in Wales was 24.8% for people aged 16 to 64.

That is down 0.6 percentage points on the previous quarter, but up 0.6 percentage points over the year. The UK rate stood at 21.0%.

Economic inactivity refers to people who are not in work and are not classed as unemployed because they are not actively seeking work or are not available to start.

The figures have prompted criticism from the Welsh Conservatives, who said Wales’ economy was failing to grow strongly enough.

Janet Finch-Saunders MS, Shadow Minister for Enterprise, Connectivity and Energy, said: “These latest figures show the Welsh economy has continued to flatline with too many people economically inactive.

“We urgently need welfare reform to get people off benefits and into work, where they can pay their taxes and help generate more revenue to invest in better public services.

“The new Plaid Cymru government needs to focus relentlessly on creating the conditions for businesses to start up and expand because this is the only way to grow the Welsh economy and make Wales more prosperous.”

The latest statistics also show Wales’ unemployment rate was 3.8%, up 0.3 percentage points on the quarter but down 0.9 percentage points over the year. The UK unemployment rate was 4.9%.

The Welsh Government said evidence from a range of sources suggested the Welsh labour market was following a similar trend to the UK as a whole.

It also said Cabinet Minister for Enterprise, Connectivity and Energy Adam Price was keen to meet the Office for National Statistics to discuss the reliability of labour market data for Wales.

The issue is likely to remain politically significant because economic inactivity affects the size of the workforce, business recruitment, tax receipts and pressure on public services.

Across Wales, inactivity can include people out of work because of long-term illness, caring responsibilities, study, early retirement or other reasons. For rural and coastal areas, including Pembrokeshire, the challenge is often linked to the availability of suitable jobs, transport, skills and seasonal work.

Health

Nursing leaders demand urgent action to end corridor care in Welsh hospitals

Published

2 hours ago

June 25, 2026

Tom Sinclair

RCN Wales joins doctors, patient groups and charities in call for national reporting before summer recess

NURSING leaders, doctors, patient groups and charities have called on the Welsh Government to take urgent action to end corridor care in Welsh hospitals.

A joint letter signed by Age Cymru, BMA Cymru Wales, Carers Wales, Llais, Marie Curie Cymru, Royal College of Nursing Wales, Royal College of Emergency Medicine Wales, Royal College of Pharmacy and Royal College of Physicians sets out a series of steps ministers are being urged to take immediately.

The organisations want the Welsh Government to publish a formal definition of corridor care, introduce national reporting, monitor the issue as a patient safety indicator, and require health boards to produce local plans focused on the most vulnerable patients.

They have also called for a coordinated approach across health and social care, warning that the problem cannot be tackled properly unless it is measured consistently across Wales.

The groups want a public commitment from the Welsh Government before the Senedd’s final sitting day before the summer recess on July 17.

‘Unsafe and unacceptable’

Corridor care refers to patients being assessed, treated or cared for in inappropriate areas such as corridors, waiting rooms, ambulance bays or other spaces not designed for clinical care.

Health bodies have repeatedly warned that the practice can put patients at risk, reduce privacy and dignity, and leave staff unable to provide the level of care they know patients need.

RCN Wales Executive Director Nicola Williams said corridor care was still happening every day across most hospitals in Wales.

She said: “Earlier this month, we welcomed the Cabinet Minister for Health and Care’s determination to address corridor care following England’s first publication of corridor care statistics.

“I have also been encouraged by the verbal commitments I have received from Welsh Government officials that echo our priorities of a clear, consistent definition of corridor care across Wales, and the development of a data set for use across NHS Wales for public reporting.

“Corridor care continues to happen every day across most hospitals in Wales, putting patients’ wellbeing and lives at risk and affecting the morale of nursing staff who cannot give the care that patients deserve.

“We must be able to quantify this problem if we are to eliminate it.”

Ms Williams added that the RCN must be involved in efforts to eradicate corridor care because nurses are “at the forefront of this crisis and a vital part of the solution.”

Wales behind England

The call comes after NHS England began publishing national corridor care data, giving a clearer picture of how often patients are being treated in inappropriate settings.

In Wales, there is still no formal national definition of corridor care and no routine public reporting.

RCN Wales has argued that without consistent data by health board, it is impossible to know the true scale of the problem, identify trends or hold the system properly accountable.

The issue has been raised repeatedly by nursing and medical bodies in recent months. In January, RCN Wales published a briefing calling for care delivered to a patient in a chair for more than 24 hours to be treated as a “never event.”

The RCN and BMA Cymru Wales have also called for reductions in hospital beds to be paused, for capacity to be reviewed nationally, and for greater investment in community and social care so patients who are medically fit to leave hospital can be discharged safely.

Healthcare Inspectorate Wales has also warned that corridor care should not become normalised, saying care in non-clinical spaces can compromise patient safety, dignity and the quality of care.

West Wales concerns

The issue is particularly relevant in west Wales, where hospital capacity, ambulance handover delays and the future of local services remain politically sensitive.

Hywel Dda University Health Board has faced repeated criticism over pressures at Withybush, Glangwili, Bronglais and Prince Philip hospitals, with patients in rural areas often facing long journeys for emergency treatment.

The call from nursing and medical bodies comes days after the Senedd backed a motion calling on the Welsh Government to rule out hospital closures and service downgrades during the current Senedd term, with patient safety prioritised.

That debate was dominated by concerns over Withybush Hospital, where changes to emergency general surgery mean some patients who need emergency operations will be transferred to Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen.

Campaigners argue that distance is itself a patient safety issue in rural Wales, particularly when emergency departments and ambulance services are already under pressure.

Wider NHS pressure

Corridor care is widely seen as a symptom of wider problems across the NHS, including delayed discharges, lack of social care capacity, pressure on emergency departments, workforce shortages and too few available beds.

Doctors and nurses say patients can end up stuck in emergency departments because hospital wards are full, while patients on wards cannot leave because care packages or community support are not available.

The result is a system where pressure builds at the hospital front door, leading to long waits, ambulance queues and patients being cared for in unsuitable spaces.

The Welsh Government has previously said it recognises the seriousness of the issue and is committed to improving urgent and emergency care.

But professional bodies say recognition is no longer enough and that Wales now needs clear national data, local health board plans and public accountability.

The joint letter places fresh pressure on ministers to act before the Senedd breaks for summer.

For patients and staff, the message from Wales’ leading health organisations is blunt: corridor care cannot be ended until Wales properly defines it, measures it and treats it as a major patient safety issue.