News

£10m Lifeboat Station months from completion

Published

10 years ago

February 29, 2016

St Davids’ new station (foreground): And old station (background)

ST DAVIDS’ RNLI new Lifeboat Station at St Justinian’s head is now only months away from being completed. Held up by a windy Winter, momentum is building.

The city currently has two stations and operate two All-weather life boats the Tyne-Class and their new Tamar-class lifeboat. The oldest of the two stations has been running for 140 years with the most recent for the last century.

Station Coxwain, Dai John, explained that the two lifeboats are currently needed as the new high-tech Tamar vessel, which is currently being modified in Poole, can only be moored up off the coast, which when conditions are exceptionally rough could see the lifeboat become untethered and destroyed on the cliffs.

The current set up for the North County station is to, move the ship into safer harbours further south like Milford Haven and Neyland when bad weather is forecast. To keep the station going 24/7 they were allowed to keep housing the 28-year veteran Tyne class.

The new station will permanently house the Tamar boat as well as many other state-of-the-art facilities. St Davids RNLI was the last of those in Pembrokeshire to receive a newly constructed or upgraded station.

Undertaken by Bam Nuttall, work on the station was started in June 2014, with many members of contracted staff having worked on previous similar jobs across the country with the company.

Site manager Rhodri Jenkins, who tallies St Davids as his 4th station said: “This was one of the more awkward sites to work on, we’ve had to squeeze the station into a very narrow space.”

Rhodri used the cliff line as an example showing the sheeted rock. he explained: “That sort of rock can easily collapse or slide, so we had to put up this netting and cross-anchor the rock to prevent it happening.”

The site has already had the concrete station foundation stilts laid, the base level put in place and the steel slip stilts bored and placed which are now supporting the extra long slip.

The new slipway, extends further than the current one which will tackle the current issue St Davids’ RNLI faces of retrieving their vessel once launched. Although their current set up and launch 24/7 Dai explained: The issue is once we have returned, at low tide we have to wait a couple of hours before we can winch the boat up.”

The new station has been built with laminated-layered wooden beams which will be exposed upon completion and will last for over 100 years, Rhodri said: “Over the life of the station this style is very cost effective over steel, which others use, that are constantly fighting the elements needing parts cutting out and replaced.”

“With a mixture of the exposed beams and the under floor heating the station will have a very ambient atmosphere.”

The station utilises a method of harnessing sea water to create heat, Rhodri described how the system sucks water through pipework into the station at around 12 degrees with goes through a system which takes maybe four degrees and deposits the 8 degree water back.

“This sustainable heating is an alternative to having a large bore hole to create heat, which is often used.” He said.

The new premises will have full disability access including an internal lift, toilets and a tram system from headland to the front door following the steps.

The station will also join the ranks of few other stations which harbours their in-shore life boat within the same building. With its own indoor garage the in-shore rib, can be lowered to sea level via crane 24/7 to immediately attend incidents within a closer proximity that the all-weather boat needn’t be called out to attend.

Dai noted that all 26 volunteers live within a very short drive of St Justinian’s, which is vital to the rapid response they provide he said: “Our volunteers need to be able to get here in time for launch, which currently is about 10 minutes on the rib and 12 to release the all-weather boat”

According to Dai one of the major benefits will be to the crew facilities for the 28 team members of which two are permanent and 26 are volunteer, he stated: “At the moment we have meeting in the top of the station which has no wall space and is built into the roof so it’s all curved.”

The new design has a large crew designated room which will allow in house training and meetings to take place, he said: “We are lucky that St Davids fire department are letting us use their training room at the moment while we are running day and evening first aid courses.”

Rhodri explained that the whole project at St Davids will cost just shy of £10m by the time it is completed and also said that he expects the usable floor space to be three or four times more than they currently have.

In response to what might happen with the old site, which neighbours the new-build, Dai said: “It was put on the market a little time a go to see if there was any interest, but the future of the station is unclear at the moment.”

The work being done on the new station is heavily dependant on the large crane which is being used to move goods between the mainland and the stilted site, which according to Rhodri has had some trouble with the Winter weather.

Rhodri stated: “The crane cannot operate when winds are 30mph of above so since November lots of the work has been mopping up rather than moving forward.”

“We have been lucky enough to get days where we can move large quantities of what we’re going to need down onto the station which does make up for bad weather that follows.”

Despite the weather, the station’s shape can be already seen, and from the ground floor of the station which will be used solely for crew, the true size of the facility can be appreciated. Rhodri expects completion to be only months away.

Dai said the crew has pencilled in launch tests for June 2016, and they expect the site to be fully transitioned by September this year.

The RNLI rely almost solely on donations from the public as at present only 2% of their total funding comes from government sources.

The work they do has already saved over 140,000 lives nation wide, and the service they provide is made more vital in our county due to Pembrokeshire’s peninsula formation as well as the growing popularity of water sports and the 186mile coastal path.

Dai added: “We are so appreciative of the national and local support for the RNLI, last year we launched a fund raiser in St Davids which had fantastic response.”

For more details on the RNLI, the work they do, and how to donate go to:www.rnli.org

News

Flooding fuels rise in rail delays across Wales

Published

2 hours ago

April 6, 2026

Tom Sinclair

New analysis links worsening disruption to heavier rainfall and repeated trouble spots on the network

RAIL passengers in Wales are facing growing delays and cancellations as flooding increasingly hits the network, according to new analysis based on Network Rail data.

Figures obtained through the Freedom of Information Act suggest flood-related disruption affecting services in Wales has risen by around 256 per cent compared with the mid-2010s.

Between 2022 and 23 December 2025, services affecting passengers in Wales generated an average of around 2,366 passenger delay minutes a year due to flooding. That compares with an average of 664 a year between 2014 and 2017.

The analysis, carried out by climate not-for-profit Round Our Way, says train operators serving towns and cities across Wales, including Great Western Railway, CrossCountry, Transport for Wales and Avanti West Coast, have all been affected.

The worst disruption has been concentrated around a number of repeat trouble spots on the rail network, including Machynlleth, Cardiff Central, Bridgend, Bangor and Pontyclun, where flooding has repeatedly interrupted services.

Round Our Way said its analysis of Network Rail cancellation data suggests flood-related disruption is placing increasing strain on the rail network as periods of extreme rainfall become more common.

The group said the figures show not only more major disruption events, but also a worsening day-to-day baseline, with even quieter periods now causing more passenger delay than in previous years.

Gemma Plumb, a meteorologist at Weather Change, said: “It’s clear that train users are seeing more and more disruption to their journeys as a result of heavy rain and flooding, which is hugely frustrating for people who rely on the train network to get around.

“We know that climate change is leading to more extreme weather, including more intense rainfall. This is because a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, so when it rains, it rains more.”

Sofie Jenkinson, co-director at Round Our Way, said the rail network appeared to be under “persistent weather stress” as climate change began to have more regular effects.

She said: “This causes significantly more delays to train passengers. But it is also a problem for rail operators, particularly the large inter-city train operators running services into regions of the country that are worst hit by flooding, like the South West, Scotland and Wales.

“The significant rise in delays shows the increased impact of extreme weather caused by climate change, raising concerns about safety beneath the surface of our creaking rail infrastructure for passengers and operators alike.”

Round Our Way said Britain was not adequately prepared for the effects of climate change on everyday infrastructure and called for long-term investment to make the rail network more resilient.

The group pointed to wider warnings from climate experts that rising global temperatures are likely to increase the intensity of rainfall, putting more pressure on ageing transport systems.

Network Rail data used in the study covers the period from 1 April 2014 to 23 December 2025 and relates to incidents classed as flood-related disruption.

A train is recorded as cancelled if it fails to stop at one or more planned stations. Full cancellations are classed as trains that completed less than half of their intended journey, while part cancellations are those that ran at least half, but not the full route, or missed one or more planned stops.

News

Diesel nears £2 a litre in Pembrokeshire as drivers scramble for cheaper fuel

Published

3 hours ago

April 6, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Johnston forecourt hits 194.9p while wide price gaps and rush to fill up pile pressure on motorists across the county

DIESEL prices in Pembrokeshire are edging dangerously close to £2 a litre, with the BP forecourt in Johnston on the A4076 displaying 194.9p per litre.

The latest surge has sparked a rush at some filling stations across the county, as motorists hunt for pumps that have not yet caught up with the steep increases. The Herald understands some forecourts have temporarily run dry as drivers fill up early to avoid paying even more, rather than because of any wider supply issue. That picture fits with national comments from the AA, which said it had seen no evidence of widespread shortages or any increase in breakdowns caused by vehicles running out of fuel.

Pictures sent to The Herald show just how sharply prices now vary across Pembrokeshire.

At Johnston, diesel was 194.9p per litre and petrol 157.9p. At Robeston Wathen, diesel was 187.9p and petrol 155.9p. At Square and Compass, diesel was 183.7p and unleaded 151.7p. In Milford Haven, the Gulf station on North Road was displaying diesel at 179.7p and petrol at 148.7p, while Tesco Milford Haven showed diesel at 181.9p and unleaded at 149.9p. In St Davids, Ocean Haze was also showing diesel at 187.9p, with petrol at 155.9p.

Based on those prices, there is a 15.2p-per-litre gap between the highest and lowest diesel prices pictured — a difference of more than £9 on a 60-litre fill.

The local spike reflects a sharp rise across the UK. RAC data showed average petrol prices reached 152.01p a litre on March 30 — the highest level in 28 months — while diesel climbed to 181.2p, its highest point since December 2022. The RAC said that, compared with the start of the Iran conflict, it was costing £10.55 more to fill a typical family petrol car and £21.35 more for a comparable diesel vehicle.

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said the “financial strain” on motorists “continues to build”, while RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding warned prices at the pumps appeared to be on a “one way trajectory”.

The AA’s latest weekly update, based on government data, put average UK petrol at 148.78p a litre and diesel at 176.42p, up from 144.16p and 166.88p the previous week.

The pressure is being felt well beyond private motorists. In West Wales, the wider rural economy is especially exposed because so many people rely on vehicles for work, deliveries and day-to-day life.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales said rising fuel and heating oil prices were placing “additional pressure on rural communities” and increasing the risk of theft. In a March statement, the union said red diesel had risen from about 67p a litre in February to around 109p in mid-March, while heating oil had in many cases more than doubled from around 60p to about £1.30 a litre. It also noted that 74 per cent of homes in Ceredigion are off the gas grid, leaving many households particularly vulnerable to sudden price shocks.

The haulage sector has also warned of the knock-on effect. Swansea Bay News reported that Llanelli-based Owens Group said soaring diesel costs had added around £64,000 a week to its fuel bill. Founder Huw Owen said: “We felt it as a company straight away. With a fleet our size, we burn a tanker of fuel a day. We used to order fuel a week or even a fortnight in advance — now we’re negotiating prices day by day.”

The same report quoted Road Haulage Association representative Geraint Davies warning that higher transport costs would feed through into prices more widely because “everything we buy is moved by road at some point.”

For households, tradespeople, delivery drivers and rural businesses in Pembrokeshire, the latest rise is another heavy blow. In a county where so many people depend on their vehicles every day, sharp increases at the pumps are felt quickly and widely.

One thing is clear: drivers are shopping around harder than ever, and when prices are moving this fast, delaying a fill-up by even a day can come at a cost.

Photo caption:

Johnston prices: Diesel reached 194.9p per litre at the BP forecourt on the A4076 (Pic: Herald)

Crime

Sex offender remanded over seven alleged prevention order breaches

Published

3 hours ago

April 6, 2026

Court Reporter

Man accused of multiple breaches of Sexual Harm Prevention Order after hearing at Aberystwyth Magistrates’ Court

A SEX offender has been remanded in custody after appearing in court accused of breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order on seven separate occasions.

Stewart Alderton, aged 44, currently of HMP & YOI Parc, Bridgend, appeared before Aberystwyth Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (Mar 31).

The charges allege that Alderton breached a Sexual Harm Prevention Order imposed at Mold Crown Court on November 17, 2021.

It is alleged that at an address in Wylcwm Close, Knighton, on June 18, 2025, and again on December 14, 2025, he deleted TikTok chat strings, phone applications, web artefacts and web history, and also carried out a factory reset on a device, all said to be contrary to the terms of the order.

A further allegation states that on February 16, 2026, at Bronglais Hospital, he failed to notify police of an internet-enabled device within the required three days.

No pleas were entered.

The case was adjourned for a plea hearing at Aberystwyth Magistrates’ Court at 2:00pm on Wednesday (Apr 1).

Alderton was remanded in custody.