News
Fire safety concerns over festive period strikes

PEMBROKESHIRE is braced for yet more fire crew strikes which are set to take place over the busy Christmas and New Year periods.
Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service has stated: “Robust contingency plans are in place and will continue to operate business as usual, as far as reasonably practicable, during all periods of strike action throughout the Christmas season”.
Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Derek Masson, pointed out that the general public could also take certain safety measures themselves.
He said: “Whilst we appreciate the concerns some of our staff have in respect of proposed government cuts to pensions, our number one priority is to ensure public safety by providing the best possible service throughout these periods of strike action.
“Our contingency planning is continuing to go well and we are fortunate to have a number of operational staff who are not affiliated with the Fire Brigades Union and will be working as usual during these periods of strike action.
“However, there is no avoiding the fact that our emergency response will be slightly reduced during this period. Fire associated risks increase significantly over Christmas, from the distractions of a crowded house while cooking, impaired reaction times from alcohol consumption, dangers of overloaded sockets, flammable decorations and unattended candles, so I would encourage everybody to take extra care by familiarising themselves with our Christmas safety advice which is available on our website and social media channels. In the event of an emergency, however, the public must still dial 999 and an emergency response will be provided.”
Fire Brigades Union, General Secretary Matt Wrack, sought to justify the purpose of the strike: “Firefighters provide a first-class standard of service 24-hours a day, 365 days a year, and these strikes will remind government just how reliant they are on our members’ professionalism, commitment and flexibility.
“However, there should be no need for industrial action and it’s absurd that firefighters’ concerns over pensions have not been addressed already. The government must stop claiming they are negotiating when they have refused to talk for two months and insist on forcing through proposals that are unaffordable, unworkable and unfair.
“By simply conceding common sense and allowing firefighters a fair deal, the Government could end this industrial action today.”
Strikes will take place between:
– 7pm and midnight on Tuesday 24 December 24
– 6.30pm on Tuesday, December 31 and 12.30am on Wednesday 1 January;
– 6.30am and 8.30am on Friday, January 3
Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service has published safety advice and guidance on its website: http://www.mawwfire.gov.uk/English/Newsroom/Industrial-Action/Safety_Advice_for_the_public/Pages/default.aspx
News
SpaceX rocket launch spotted in skies above Pembrokeshire

The people of Pembrokeshire were left scratching their heads last night (Monday, March 24), when an unexplained orb appeared in the skies at around 8pm.
The glow was captured by reader Ioan Ward in the skies above Rosemarket, however the spectre was widely visible in other parts of Wales and the UK.
The light, which appeared to be spiralling, prompted a flurry of speculation on social media with suggestions that it could have been urban fuel ejected from the SpaceX rocket launch in the US.

The Falcon 9 rocket from Elon Musk’s space company lifted off around 13:50 local time in Florida (17:50 GMT) on a classified US government mission.
After launching into space, it releases what is called its payload – whatever it is carrying, such as a satellite, to complete its mission – which continues its journey into space.
The rocket then turns back around towards Earth. As it does, it ejects any leftover fuel, which freezes instantly due to the altitude in a spiral pattern caused by the rocket’s movement.
Light is then reflected off the frozen fuel, making it visible on Earth.
SpaceX said on X that the launch was carried out on behalf of the US government National Reconnaissance Office mission. The Kennedy Space Center also said on X the launch was a classified mission for that office.
News
Woman found guilty of threatening neighbour on Pembrokeshire housing estate

A heated row between neighbours has reached the courts this week after a former Lamphey resident screamed at her neighbour to ‘f*** off back to England’.
“Hearing the foul language that she used towards me – language that everyone in the street could hear – was very distressing,” said the 70-year-old victim, Linda McCann as she gave evidence during the trial of Lisa Thomas.
“Lisa told me to f*** off back to England and I told her that she was being racist again. And that’s not nice.”
Matters came to a head at approximately 2 pm on August 2, 2024, after Mrs Linda McCann and her husband returned from a shopping trip to Iceland, Milford Haven. As the couple began unloading bags of frozen food into a freezer situated in their garden shed in Honeyhill Grove, Lamphey, they heard loud banging noises, followed by shouting, coming from Lisa Thomas’ next door property.
“I came outside to find out what it was, and thought my neighbor had possibly thrown a glass bottle or something at my shed,” Linda McCann told Haverfordwest magistrates during Monday’s trial.
“But then I could see that it was shingle that had been thrown from Lisa’s landing window. “Lisa then opened the window and shouted stuff out at me.”
CCTV footage captured by Mrs McCann’s motion sensored camera was played to the court, during which Thomas could be heard shouting “You want to stick your fingers up at my 11-year-old daughter, you stupid old c***? You stupid little nonce.
“F*** off back to Birmingham and f*** off back to England.”
But Thomas, 34, claimed it was Mrs McCann who had started the incident.
“I’d lived in that property for ten years and there had never been any issues, until the McCann’s arrived around three years ago,” she said.
“That afternoon I was in the living room and my daughter was upstairs in the landing window. My daughter was paranoid about the neighbours, and it could have been her that threw the stones or it could have been a bird. I didn’t see.
But it wasn’ me.”
She denied usually racially aggravated behaviour towards Mrs McCann, stating that her mother was a native of Yorkshire.
“And sometimes I speak myself, with a slight Yorkshire twang,” she said,
Lisa Thomas went on to say that she heard her daughter shouting that Linda McCann was making gestures at her from her garden.
“Then I heard Linda shout ‘When are you lot going to f*** off and move?’
“I’m no angel and I’m not portraying myself to be, but there was something that made me react in this way. I’m not allowing my daughter to be victimised, but that’s what was happening that day.
“I’ve begged Dyfed-Powys Police to serve notices on everybody, but it’s always just me. All my life I’ve been autistic and pushed to one side and it’s always me who’s been left to deal with stuff by myself.”
Thomas, of Plas Peregrine, Steynton, denied causing racially aggravated intentional harassment to Mrs McCann, and of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.
She pleaded guilty to a third charge of failing to comply with a community protection notice.
After considering the evidence, Thomas was found guilty of making threatening, abusive or insulting words like to cause harassment or distress. She was found not guilty of causing racially aggravated intentional harassment.
Magistrates adjourned sentencing to April 15 for a pre-sentence report to be prepared by the probation service. An interim restraining order was imposed, preventing Thomas from having any contact with Linda McCann.
News
World-class art exhibition opens at Pembrokeshire gallery

An exciting new art exhibition has opened in a major Pembrokeshire gallery, showcasing the work of some of the most outstanding contemporary Welsh and international artists.
The Wales Contemporary/Cymry Gyfoes exhibition, founded by Milford Haven’s ‘Waterfront Gallery in 2019 and sponsored by the Port of Milford Haven, has become a significant platform for artistic talent, featuring a stunning array of contemporary artworks from across the globe.
Now in its fifth year, Wales Contemporary/Cymru Gyfoes offers artists the opportunity to showcase their work in both central London and Milford Haven, through two and three-dimensional works. And this year, the total prize fund is a hefty £15,000.
After opening last month with a prize giving ceremony at the Garrison Chapel, Chelsea Barracks, London, the exhibition has now transferred to the Waterfront Gallery in Milford Haven, where selection is now open for the Welsh Public Choice Prize, which will be announced at a closing event on May 17. Visitors to the Waterfront Gallery are invited to vote for their favourite piece, and the most popular choice will receive a prize of £1,000.
This year’s competition saw an overwhelming 1,600 entries from over 800 artists, with works spanning painting, sculpture, drawing, print, ceramics, textiles and glass. An accomplished panel of judges, including painter Ian H Watkins, artist Kelvin Okafor and print maker Katherine Jones RA, shortlisted works for the exhibition and selected winners for the Graham Sutherland Prize, two dimensional, three-dimensional, Welsh and Pembrokeshire pieces.
“We’re delighted to sponsor the Wales Contemporary exhibition for the fifth year and celebrate our longstanding support of the Waterfront Gallery, to bring world-class artwork to Milford Haven,” said Lucy Wonnacott, who is head of communications and marketing at Port of Milford Haven.
“This year’s exhibition really is stunning, and we hope the entries continue to inspire local and aspiring artists to immerse themselves in the culture and creativity that is on display.”
The exhibition opened on March 21 and runs until May 17. The Waterfront Gallery is open between 10.30 am and 4 pm, Tuesday to Saturday, and admission is free.
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