News
Sea Empress disaster 20 years on

IT WAS one of the biggest environmental disasters ever to hit UK shores and now 20 years on from the Sea Empress disaster RSPCA staff are looking back at the role they played in helping to save hundreds of seabirds and mammals.
Early on the evening of 15 February, 1996 the Sea Empress, a single hull oil tanker, hit rocks on its way into the Cleddau Estuary and the ship’s cargo of 130,000 tonnes of crude North Sea oil started to spill into the waters off Pembrokeshire.
The RSPCA launched a massive rescue operation in response to the disaster in an effort to save the thousands of oiled and dying seabirds that were so badly affected by the slick.
Scores of volunteers helped open and run a makeshift animal hospital – set up in an old industrial unit – where more than 7,000 dead or oiled birds were taken – while inspectors, drivers and wildlife centre staff experts worked around the clock to nurse, clean and feed as many of the birds back to health as they could.
“The rescue operation took a massive team effort,” said RSPCA chief inspector for the south west Wales inspectorate group, Romain de Kerckhove, who held the same position 20 years ago.
“It quickly became apparent that this incident was of a scale that needed national resources, and a roster was arranged that invited colleagues from all over England and Wales to become involved,” he said.
“Officers would attend, for a limited period, and would work extremely long days, responding to calls from the public, and patrolling beaches to search for victims of the disaster.
“They were accommodated locally, and would be replaced by other colleagues in order to keep the team fresh and strong. Some officers would actually sleep on camp beds at the temporary bird rescue holding/cleaning facility, in order to ensure that there were people on site overseeing the welfare of the birds 24/7.
“This was a rescue that involved teams from across the entire RSPCA, as well as countless volunteers who would work with us, and assist the RSPCA teams both at the cleaning and rehab centre, as well as on the beaches.
“It was hard work, but everyone enjoyed the atmosphere and being involved in such a worthwhile and much needed rescue operation.”
Richard Abbott, who is now an RSPCA chief inspector, was the officer on duty the night the Sea Empress ran aground. “I recall speaking to a Brecon RCC (Brecon Regional Control Centre) tasker who said they had received a call saying a tanker had run aground at Milford Haven and was leaking 30,000 gallons of oil.
I recall thinking, no chance, that’s never going to have happened, not these days with twin hulled tankers. I asked the tasker to ring the Coastguard to double check as I was driving and enroute to an emergency at the time, about 10.30pm ish.
“She rang me back about five minutes later and said to my astonishment that the Coastguard had confirmed the report. I pulled over and rang the chief inspector Romain de Kerckhove at home and started the response.
“I got back in about 1am that night and by 7am I had the call that I was needed to help set up the emergency response centre. A few hours later chief inspector Romain de Kerckhove arrived and took over.
“It was incredibly stressful for those three to four weeks, as we dealt with thousands birds and managed many rescue organisations. It was a steep learning curve.”
RSPCA inspector Rohan Barker attended the day after the incident with chief inspector Romain de Kerckhove.
“We spent two days putting together our response working with several organisations with very few birds coming in during the initial couple of days – but then the onslaught started.
“We worked 15 hour shifts collecting birds, setting up the cleaning station at a local industrial estate building provided by the council.
“Birds were collected by inspectors, animal collection officers and members of the public, brought to the station, initially cleaned and shipped off to RSPCA West Hatch Wildlife Centre by a fleet of vans.”
Dermot Murphy, who is now assistant director of inspectorate at the RSPCA, was one of the convoy of ambulance drivers drafted in from across the country at the time of the disaster to help ship stricken birds from the Pembrokeshire coast to the makeshift hospital.
“I was an RSPCA Ambulance Driver in London then, with just over a year’s service. I was sent to Milford Haven with an Inspector for a week.
“I had never seen anything like it. So many birds covered in oil in a terrible state, they were still being washed up two weeks into the operation. The birds that stuck in my mind were the common scoter, which is a sea duck. There were so many of them, an incredible amount and in such a bad way too.
“We had a busy week and did a range of duties, from collecting food to feed staff, patrolling beaches looking for oiled birds and cutting up food to feed the birds. It was a massive cleaning operation.”
Inside the RSPCA West Hatch Wildlife Centre in Somerset Paul Oaten was one of the team at the ready to take in casualties as they arrived in their droves from the Welsh coastline.
“We took in around 1,200 oiled birds. at the time of the Sea Empress disaster. They were covered in thick oil. Most of the casualties were scoters, and they were very badly affected.
“Luckily we had a lot of volunteers that came in to help with the sheer volume of birds that were coming in through the doors every day. People were happy to come in and wash towels while others spent their days cutting up sprats (fish) for the birds to eat.
“Those that were tasked with washing the birds would be in teams of two. One would hold the birds, the other would clean it using Fairy liquid. They would have a pre-clean where we would try to get as much of the oil off as possible without stressing the birds out. It was so important to get the oil off their plumage, not just because of the feathers but so that we could try to prevent them from ingesting the oil and stop it from burning them too.
“A lot of the birds were emaciated because they could not feed so building their strength back up and increasing their weight was also an important part of the process.”
He added: “Every role was vital to ensure we could keep the steady flow of birds through the cleaning system and the sense of teamwork was immense. That is my overwhelming memory of that time. the teamwork. It was so uplifting. The days were long and it was hard work but we were all working towards a common goal of trying to save these poor stricken birds.”
WWF-UK Head of Marine Policy Dr Lyndsey Dodds said told The Herald: “20 years on from the Sea Empress, Welsh waters are busier than ever but management is still piecemeal.
“The forthcoming Welsh National Marine Plan offers the opportunity to strategically manage activities that can impact upon Wales’s natural assets and should include provisions to ensure that the risks to the most sensitive areas from both accidental and chronic pollution are minimised.”
Crime
Haverfordwest man faces strangulation and assault charges

A HAVERFORDWEST man has appeared in court accused of assaulting and strangling a woman on two separate occasions.
Ali Miah, aged 33, of Bush Row, appeared before Llanelli Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (Apr 16), facing three charges.
The court heard that Miah is accused of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and intentional strangulation during an incident in Haverfordwest on April 13. He also faces a further charge of intentional strangulation, alleged to have taken place on November 1, 2023, involving the same woman.
The case was sent to Swansea Crown Court, where Miah is due to appear to enter his pleas on May 16.
He was granted bail.
Community
Campaign launched to save Oriel y Parc art gallery

A PETITION has been launched to save Oriel y Parc, the landscape gallery in St Davids, amid fears that its future as a dedicated fine art space is under threat.
Concerned members of the community and supporters of the arts have rallied against proposals by the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority (PCNPA) to repurpose parts of the gallery, which currently houses important artworks including those by the renowned British artist Graham Sutherland.
Campaigners say that the authority’s plan to downgrade the Pembrokeshire Landscape Gallery and convert it into a National Park Discovery Centre represents a significant departure from its original purpose. The gallery was created using £3.3 million in public and EU funding and was designed specifically to showcase the landscape and art of Wales.
The petition, launched on Change.org by the Pembrokeshire Landscape Gallery Working Group, has already attracted 519 verified signatures. It calls on PCNPA to reinstate the full gallery space for continuous exhibitions from the National Collection and maintain the rotating display of Graham Sutherland’s works, a core feature of the gallery since its opening.
Dozens of people have signed the petition in recent hours, with local residents and visitors alike voicing their support. Notable recent signers include Joanna Burke, Anne Crowley, Joanne Miles, Phil Thomas, and Patricia Karen Rathbone.
Campaigners argue that the decline in visitor numbers in recent years is not due to public disinterest in art, but rather to the lack of high-profile exhibitions since 2018. They point to previous successes—such as exhibitions of works by Graham Sutherland and John Constable—that attracted tens of thousands of visitors, boosted the local economy, and enriched the cultural life of the region.
Speaking to BBC Wales Today on March 27, Tegryn Jones, Chief Executive of PCNPA, defended the changes, saying:
“The gallery has to change. You know, 15 years – all organisations evolve and develop; their audience tastes develop during that time. I think we would be rightly criticised if we hadn’t evolved and tried to meet the needs of current visitors and current residents.”
While campaigners acknowledge that change is necessary, they say that abandoning the gallery’s artistic mission would be a mistake.
“The building was purpose-built to house art,” the petition states. “Instead of abandoning its original purpose, we urge PCNPA to work with the National Museum of Wales and the wider arts community to restore and reinvigorate Oriel y Parc’s programme.”
The petition also stresses the gallery’s importance to schools, families, artists and tourists, and warns that converting it into a discovery centre would strip St Davids of one of its most valuable cultural assets.
Supporters are calling on the public to sign the petition and urge decision makers to protect the architectural integrity and artistic role of Oriel y Parc for future generations.
To sign the petition or learn more, visit Change.org and search “Save Oriel y Parc”.
Crime
Petition calling for justice for wrongfully convicted man passes 39,000 signatures

A CAMPAIGN to secure compensation for Brian Buckle – a man who spent over five years in prison before being cleared of all charges – has now gained more than 39,000 signatures.
Mr Buckle was convicted in 2017 of 16 counts of rape and sexual assault, but in 2022 the Court of Appeal quashed his conviction after new evidence emerged. At a retrial, it took a jury less than an hour to find him not guilty on all counts.
Despite this, the Ministry of Justice has refused to award Mr Buckle compensation for the time he spent in prison, citing a requirement to “prove innocence beyond reasonable doubt” – a standard which critics say is almost impossible to meet.
The petition, hosted on Change.org and backed by his legal team and supporters, has been signed by more than 39,000 people. Although widely shared and supported, the petition is not on the official UK Parliament petitions site and therefore cannot by itself trigger a debate in the House of Commons.
However, Mr Buckle’s case has already been raised in Parliament. On March 19, 2025, Ceredigion MP Ben Lake used a Westminster Hall debate on miscarriage of justice compensation to highlight the case, describing the situation as “a moral and legal failure”.
Mr Lake told fellow MPs: “Brian Buckle was imprisoned for over five years for crimes he did not commit. He lost his liberty, his livelihood, and missed key moments in his daughter’s life. He was cleared of all charges, and yet the Ministry of Justice says he has not proven his innocence enough to be compensated.”
Mr Buckle’s barrister, Stephen Vullo KC, said the current system is broken: “The bar is so high that hardly anyone can jump it. If the Court of Appeal quashes a conviction and a jury later finds a person not guilty on all counts, what more should be required?”
The Ministry of Justice acknowledged Mr Buckle’s acquittal, but insisted that his application did not meet the strict criteria under Section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. In a letter, the Ministry stated: “You are presumed to be and remain innocent of the charges brought against you. However, we do not consider that you have demonstrated this innocence beyond reasonable doubt.”
Mr Buckle said the process has left him feeling re-traumatised: “I’m not asking for millions. I just want the injustice I suffered to be acknowledged. The compensation wouldn’t even cover my lost wages, but it would help me start to rebuild my life.”
His family raised and spent significant funds to secure the evidence needed to clear his name – including selling his father-in-law’s house to pay for legal fees and investigations. Tragically, his father-in-law died before the retrial.
Campaigners are now calling for the law to be changed so that those who are cleared of serious crimes following a wrongful conviction are entitled to automatic compensation.
The Herald understands that while Mr Buckle’s Change.org petition cannot trigger a debate in Parliament, there remains the possibility that further political pressure could result in formal policy review or a government rethink.
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