News

Pembrokeshire put on fashion map

Published

10 years ago

March 1, 2016

Photos by Chris Floyd

LAST WEEK Esquire fashion magazine sent their style director to Pembrokeshire to see if he could find clothes he would sport on the streets of London, in the counties local shops.

Style director for the magazine, Teo van den Broeke came to “The nation’s least densely populated region with £200 and a simple instruction: go shopping.” The task brief out laid.

Teo set out to see if he could prove that it is possible for a young man to dress with style and finesse wherever they live in the UK, so to do this he chose to start in St Davids: “I was to spend a day in the middle of nowhere, scouring local shops for wearable, affordable and, yes, even fashionable clothing that I would willingly bring back to London and absorb into my everyday wardrobe.”

Starting in the nations smallest city, he visited a charity shop to find his first piece of clothing: “The charity shop is run by a pair of charming ladies, Grace Davies and Mary Trott. They told me that they’d recently dressed a 16-year-old local boy for a “do” for 50 pence.”

“In that spirit, I snapped up a chunky teal fishmerman’s jumper for the bargain price of four pounds.”

Motivated by the first purchase he continued, and asked Oliver Blakiston, the young manager of St Davids’ Cross Hotel,where he shops: “I never buy clothes from St Davids, ever. If I’m going away, or if I’m going to Cardiff, I go shopping there. If I need anything proper, I go to the bigger shops in Haverfordwest,”

Taking on board part of what Oliver said, Teo then took a trip to Haverfordwest where he met with Matthew Locke from Mathews Menswear where he was told that youngsters looking to get the latest trends of clothing have to shop further afield to get them.

He delved deeper into the Men’s outfitters and found a number of pieces he liked, but most out of budget he said: “With prices starting around £200 a pair they were beyond my budget, but still prove that Haverfordwest is by no means a dead loss in the style stakes.”

Visiting The Pines, further along the road, Teo spoke with store owner Kayleigh Rogers who he said: “shed some light on the way local men dress.”

She said: “It’s funny, when you go out you can tell who the younger lads are, because they’re the ones who get suited and booted. They want to dress like the Essex boys they see on TV,” she laughs. “But as guys get older they slowly morph back into the Pembrokeshire way and just wear scabby jeans and T-shirts out. My friend Adam is the only person I know who is into designer clothes, but he can only get that stuff in London. He even went up to Edinburgh to buy a coat last week. That’s how far you need to go for good stuff.”

After talking with these shop owners and not finding anything he himself would wear, he then headed back towards St Davids and stopped at Solva where he visited the wool mill, he explained: “Set on the edge of a tiny stream and enveloped by overgrown pine trees, the mill looked like the kind of place where your grandma would have bought clothes back in the day,”

He continued: “with walls made of wood, and woollen jumpers, scarves and blankets piled up to the (dangerously low) ceiling.”

At the wool mill he found a knitted wool tie, which he described as: “a snip at £14”, he also said that the tie: “wouldn’t have looked out of place on the shelves of Drake’s in Mayfair.

At the same mill Chris Floyd, Esquire photographer bought a knitted fisherman’s jumper for £40.

So he carried on: “With a more positive head on my wool-clad neck, I headed back to Haverfordwest on a lead that there was an army surplus store somewhere in town that I’d missed first time around.”

At Brewer Army Surplus on Bridge Street he found a number of pieces he liked and explained his thoughts when he began to search: “I felt what was left of the £200 start to burn a hole in my pocket.”

At Brewers he bought a cropped navy-blue RAF bomber jacket for £18, a ribbed, midnight blue jumper with elbow patches for £20, a pair of bleached denim Lee jeans which he described as costing less than a lunch from Whole Foods in London at only £14.

And finally he purchased an M65 jacket for £30 which he went on to explain: “the nip in the waist and density of fabric made me think of something I tried on in Saint Laurent a few years ago (though that jacket came in at around £800)”.

He compared many of the things he found to be similar to those in fashion shows he had recently attended, and said that despite a few panicked hours searching he thinks it is more than possible to dress well, even if you live in the back end of beyond.”

Crime

Man charged with attempted murder after Carmarthen park incident

Published

7 hours ago

February 4, 2026

Tom Sinclair

57-year-old due in court following alleged knife and stalking offences

A MAN has been charged with attempted murder following a serious incident in Carmarthen town centre last week.

Dyfed-Powys Police confirmed that James McKenna, aged 57, from Carmarthen, has been charged with attempted murder, possession of a bladed article in a public place, and stalking.

The charges relate to an incident in Carmarthen Park on Thursday (Jan 29), which prompted a significant emergency services response and caused concern among residents.

Police have not yet released full details of the circumstances, but officers were seen in and around the park area for several hours following the incident while enquiries were carried out.

McKenna is due to appear before Llanelli Magistrates Court on Thursday (Feb 5).

The Herald understands the case involves allegations of both violence and targeted behaviour towards an individual, with stalking listed among the charges.

Public concern

Carmarthen Park is a popular and busy public space used daily by families, dog walkers and joggers, and incidents of this severity are rare.

The news has prompted concern locally, particularly as the alleged offences include possession of a knife in a public place.

Residents have previously raised questions about safety in parks and open spaces across west Wales, especially during darker winter evenings.

Court proceedings

At this stage, the charges remain allegations and the case will now proceed through the courts.

Magistrates will decide whether the case is sent to Crown Court due to the seriousness of the attempted murder charge.

Further details are expected to emerge during Thursday’s hearing.

The Herald will be attending court and will provide updates as they become available.

Crime

Sex offender jailed after living off grid in Pembrokeshire and refusing to register

Published

8 hours ago

February 4, 2026

Court Reporter

Man walked into police station after months avoiding authorities

A CONVICTED sex offender who told police he intended to live “off grid” rather than comply with legal monitoring rules has been jailed after handing himself in at a Pembrokeshire police station.

Christopher Spelman, aged 66, of no fixed address, appeared for sentence at Swansea Crown Court after admitting breaching the notification requirements of the sex offenders register.

The court heard Spelman was released from prison in Dorset on July 4 last year but immediately refused to provide police with an address, despite being legally required to do so within three days.

Instead, he indicated he planned to buy a tent and live outdoors.

Prosecutor Brian Simpson said officers subsequently launched a nationwide search when Spelman failed to make contact with police. Public appeals were issued and his case featured on the television programme Crimewatch.

Detectives believed he had been travelling around the UK using public transport and staying at campsites. He was known to have links to several areas including Merseyside, Manchester, Devon, Cornwall and Hampshire.

His whereabouts remained unknown until January 3 this year, when he walked into Haverfordwest police station and was arrested. It is unclear how long he had been in Pembrokeshire.

Spelman previously served seven years in prison after being convicted in 2014 of 12 counts of sexually assaulting a girl under the age of 14. He was placed on the sex offenders register for life.

The court heard this was not the first time he had failed to comply with the rules. After an earlier release in 2016, he again failed to register his address and avoided police for around five years before being caught.

He has 11 previous convictions for 29 offences.

Defence barrister Andrew Evans described the case as unusual and said his client had long disputed his original conviction and had expressed a wish to live “outside society”.

However, he said Spelman had gradually accepted that he remained subject to court orders and now wanted more stable accommodation and a chance to rebuild his life. The defendant asked the court to impose a custodial sentence so arrangements could be made for his future release.

Judge Geraint Walters noted there were signs Spelman wished to change but warned that any further breaches would result in longer prison terms.

With credit for his guilty plea, Spelman was sentenced to 10 months in prison. He will serve up to half in custody before being released on licence.

Crime

Former Wales rugby star admits Christmas Day drink-driving offence

Published

14 hours ago

February 4, 2026

Sarah-Jane Absalom

Ex-Ospreys captain was almost twice over limit in Pembroke town centre

Former Wales back row Jonathan Thomas has admitted driving through Pembroke town centre on Christmas Day when he was almost twice over the drink-drive limit.

This week Haverfordwest magistrates heard that Thomas, 43, was stopped by officers as he drove his Mercedes CLA 220 along The Green, Pembroke, at around 5pm on Christmas Day.

“The officers were very concerned at the manner of his driving, as the car was being driven erratically and was swerving to the other side of the road,” said Crown Prosecutor Sian Vaughan.

“When Jonathan Thomas got out of the car, the officers could see that he was having difficulty standing and was unsteady on his feet.”

Subsequent breathalyser tests showed Thomas had 62 mcg of alcohol in his system, the legal limit being 35.

Thomas, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to the drink-drive charge and was represented in court by solicitor Jess Hill.

“He has family in the area and had travelled to spend time with them on Christmas Day,” she told the magistrates. “He’s very remorseful for his actions and hugely regrets his decision that day.”

Jess Hill concluded by saying that Thomas is currently “between jobs and living off his savings”.

Thomas, who gave his address as Main Road, Bredon, was disqualified from driving for a total of 18 months.

“The length of your disqualification reflects the fact that you were more than a little bit over the limit,” commented the presiding magistrates when imposing sentence.

He was fined £120 and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £48 court surcharge.

The former Wales back row left his role as Swansea RFC head coach at the beginning of December 2025 as a result of ongoing health concerns. He was forced to retire from playing in 2015 on medical advice after being diagnosed with epilepsy and is one of the 390 former rugby union players currently taking part in a concussion lawsuit against the sport’s authorities.

“Long-standing issues linked to the head trauma have caused me some concern recently and it has been impossible for me to give the role everything it needs,” he said in a previous interview with the BBC.

His rugby career started out with Pembroke RFC juniors before moving to Swansea RFC, which he captained when he was 19. He then joined the Ospreys where, over a ten-year period, he won four league titles and an Anglo-Welsh Cup. He was the youngest player to captain the Ospreys and, at the time of leaving, was the joint highest appearance holder, together with Andrew Bishop, on 188 appearances.

His international career saw him play for Wales at Under-16, Youth, Under-19, Under-21 and Sevens levels. He made his senior international debut against Australia in 2003, featured at the 2007 Rugby World Cup and was part of two Six Nations Grand Slam-winning sides in 2005 and 2008. Between 2004 and 2011, Thomas was included in every Wales Six Nations squad. In his appearances for Wales, he scored seven tries.