News

A cunning plan to pinch the Pembrokeshire puffin?

Published

10 years ago

May 10, 2016

PLASTIC puffins were placed on the Calf of Man last week as part of a project seeking to attract the bird back to Manx shores.

But this has left some puffin watchers in Pembrokeshire wondering if our favourite bird would now decline in numbers in west Wales due to the scheme. Puffin lover Rachel Jenkins contacted The Herald this week to ask if there would be an impact if birds were being ‘diverted’ to other areas.

plastic puffins Volunteers from the Manx Wildlife Trust, with support from Manx National Heritage technicians and volunteers, planted 100 decoys as part of their project to encourage puffins to nest on the Calf again. The Calf of Man is a 618-acre island off the southwest coast of the Isle of Man

According to the trust, global puffin numbers have been declining dramatically in recent years and are listed on the amber list of birds of conservation concerns in the UK and Ireland and more recently they have been added to the red list for endangered species.

Puffins were once numerous around the Calf of Man, with historic reports identifying more than 800 individuals seen in coastal waters in 1996, an exceptional year.

But numbers declined in recent years, with records of fewer than 10 birds observed each year.

The scheme could work.

In Pembrokeshire wardens used decoy puffins to lure the real birds back to Ramsey Island in 2011.

Around 200 look-alike models were placed on the island’s cliffs in a bid to persuade puffins that it is a safe place to breed.

Puffins disappeared from the island in the 1890s, easy prey for brown rats which arrived on ships.

Speaking to the BBC at the time, Lisa Morgan, Assistant Warden to Ramsey Island said: “The local boatman here thought that we had gone completely bonkers when we started putting plastic puffins on our cliffs, but actually it has worked elsewhere.

“There are several islands in Scotland where they have successfully used decoy Puffins. They were in a similar position to us.

“They had Puffins previously, and had lost them due to rats. But it worked, and Puffins returned to these island. So actually, it works. It’s a cheap and effective way of putting the ‘for sale’ up and attracting puffins back.”

Pembrokeshire County Council biodiversity officer, Trevor Theobald, said he did not think the Isle of Man project would have any great effect on the county’s puffin numbers.

He added: “Our puffin population here in Pembrokeshire is ok at the moment though puffins are having a hard time of it in Scotland and the east coast as a result of what some claim is over-fishing.

“Indeed it may lead to greater resilience for the species. One of the factors that is a necessity for puffins to breed is a rat-free environment so I would imagine they will have catered for that on the Isle of Man.

News

BBC apologises to Herald’s editor for inaccurate story

Published

9 minutes ago

December 4, 2025

Tom Sinclair

THE BBC has issued a formal apology and amended a six-year-old article written by BBC Wales Business Correspondent Huw Thomas after its Executive Complaints Unit ruled that the original headline and wording gave an “incorrect impression” that Herald editor Tom Sinclair was personally liable for tens of thousands of pounds in debt.

The 2019 report, originally headlined “Herald newspaper editor Tom Sinclair has £70,000 debts”, has now been changed.

The ECU found: “The wording of the article and its headline could have led readers to form the incorrect impression that the debt was Mr Sinclair’s personal responsibility… In that respect the article failed to meet the BBC’s standards of due accuracy.”

Mr Sinclair said: “I’m grateful to the ECU for the apology and for correcting the personal-liability impression that caused real harm for six years. However, the article still links the debts to ‘the group which publishes The Herald’ when in fact they related to printing companies that were dissolved two years before the Herald was founded in 2013. I have asked the BBC to add that final clarification so the record is completely accurate.”

A formal apology and correction of this kind from the BBC is extremely rare, especially for a story more than six years old.

Business

First wind turbine components arrive as LNG project moves ahead

Published

3 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Tom Sinclair

THE FIRST ship carrying major components for Dragon LNG’s new onshore wind turbines
docked at Pembroke Port yesterday afternoonlast week, marking the start of physical
deliveries for the multi-million-pound renewable energy project.

The Maltese-registered general cargo vessel Peak Bergen berthed at Pembroke Dock on
shortly after 4pm on Wednesday 26 th November, bringing tower sections and other heavy
components for the three Enercon turbines that will eventually stand on land adjacent to the
existing gas terminal at Waterston.

A second vessel, the Irish-flagged Wilson Flex IV, has arrived in Pembroke Port today is
due to arrive in the early hours of this morning (Thursday) carrying the giant rotor blades.
The deliveries follow a successful trial convoy on 25 November, when police-escorted low-
loader trailers carried dummy loads along the planned route from the port through
Pembroke, past Waterloo roundabout and up the A477 to the Dragon LNG site.

Dragon LNG’s Community and Social Performance Officer, Lynette Round, confirmed the
latest movements in emails to the Herald.

“The Peak Bergen arrived last week yesterday with the first components,” she said. “We are
expecting another delivery tomorrow (Thursday) onboard the Wilson Flex IV. This will be
blades and is currently showing an ETA of approximately 03:30.”

The £14.3 million project, approved by Welsh Ministers last year, will see three turbines with
a combined capacity of up to 13.5 MW erected on company-owned land next to the LNG
terminal. Once operational – expected in late 2026 – they will generate enough electricity to
power the entire site, significantly reducing its carbon footprint.

Port of Milford Haven shipping movements showed the Peak Bergen approaching the Haven
throughout Wednesday morning before finally tying up at the cargo berth in Pembroke Dock.

Cranes began unloading operations yesterday evening.

The Weather conditions are currently were favourable for this morning’s the arrival of
the Wilson Flex IV, which was tracking south of the Smalls at midnight.

The abnormal-load convoys carrying the components from the port to Waterston are
expected to begin early next weekyear, subject to final police and highway approvals.

A community benefit fund linked to the project will provide training opportunities and energy-
bill support for residents in nearby Waterston, Llanstadwell and Neyland.
Further updates will be issued by Dragon LNG as the Port of Milford Haven as the delivery
programme continues.

Photo: Martin Cavaney

Crime

Banned for 40 months after driving with cocaine breakdown product in blood

Published

3 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Sarah-Jane Absalom

A MILFORD HAVEN woman has been handed a lengthy driving ban after admitting driving with a controlled drug in her system more than ten times over the legal limit.

SENTENCED AT HAVERFORDWEST

Sally Allen, 43, of Wentworth Close, Hubberston, appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (Dec 4) for sentencing, having pleaded guilty on November 25 to driving with a proportion of a specified controlled drug above the prescribed limit.

The court heard that Allen was stopped on August 25 on the Old Hakin Road at Tiers Cross while driving an Audi A3. Blood analysis showed 509µg/l of Benzoylecgonine, a breakdown product of cocaine. The legal limit is 50µg/l.

COMMUNITY ORDER AND REHABILITATION

Magistrates imposed a 40-month driving ban, backdated to her interim disqualification which began on November 25.

Allen was also handed a 12-month community order, requiring her to complete 10 days of rehabilitation activities as directed by the Probation Service.

She was fined £120, ordered to pay £85 prosecution costs and a £114 surcharge. Her financial penalties will be paid in £25 monthly instalments from January 1, 2026.

The bench—Mrs H Roberts, Mr M Shankland and Mrs J Morris—said her guilty plea had been taken into account when passing sentence.