SOME of the images that Ben Giles has confronted over the past three decades have been stomach-churning.

He’s seen the brutality of murders, corpses left to rot for weeks on end, young children who have been mauled to death by dogs, victims of fatal car crashes, and an ever-increasing number of tragic suicides.

As he tackled each new scene as founder and director of Ultima Cleaning, Ben’s sole focus was on ensuring that the job was executed professionally. But it was only when he began working on his recently published book The Life of a Crime Scene Cleaner, that the true extent of those harrowing experiences began to hit home.

“Arriving at a crime scene, my main drive was to get the job done properly, but this meant not really thinking about what had happened,” Ben told The Pembrokeshire Herald.

“It was only when I began working on the book and started going over some of the scenes I’d confronted that I began to realise what some of those families had gone through.

“Yes, some of the things I’ve seen have been horrific.”

One image that will never leave Ben is that of a middle-aged woman who had been bludgeoned to death by her husband at their home in Birmingham.

“It made me realise that people sometimes die in ways that we don’t think possible,” he said. “I’d recently got married, and I just couldn’t accept how anything like this could happen between a husband and his wife.”

The woman had survived for three days on the kitchen floor but sadly died as she was being taken to hospital by ambulance. The entire room in which she’d been murdered was covered by a fine mist of blood, and bloody handprints and fingerprints were all over the kitchen units. The drawers had blood inside them and their runners, while the washing machine had so much blood on it that it had seeped into the door and into the seal.

“In a few hours, we’d completely cleaned the room and were travelling back home to our own wives and families. But the emotion that we were all feeling as a team will never leave me.”

Dealing with the unimaginable

On another occasion, Ben and his team were asked to attend a property in Penrhiwllan, near Newcastle Emlyn, where a man had lain dead for eight weeks.

“The smell was horrendous,” recalls Ben. “His face and legs had been eaten by his dog, and the man had begun decomposing through the carpet. His body fat had gone into the concrete. There were swarms of bluebottles everywhere.

“This was one of the very first biohazard cleaning jobs I’d ever done, so obviously the expectations were considerable. And in those days, we didn’t have Google to refer to, so it was a question of using our own knowledge and initiative to ensure the job was done well.”

Building a business from scratch

In many ways, this strong sense of self-belief has been the undercurrent of Ben’s life journey.

He left school at the age of 16 with a handful of GCSEs and no inclination to pursue further education.

“I knew I wanted to carry on living here in west Wales but I also knew that the qualifications I had weren’t going to get me the job or the salary I wanted,” explains Ben.

And so he set up his own window cleaning business.

“I managed to make a success of it,” he explains. “By the time I was 17, I was earning more money than my schoolteachers, and when I was 18, I was able to buy my first house and car.”

That same year, Ben decided to diversify into different methods of cleaning, focusing on offices and schools. By the time he was 23, he had a workforce of 20 people.

His first job came courtesy of a client who worked with the Aberystwyth branch of Age Concern.

“She told me that a warden-assisted flat hadn’t been cleaned for ten years. The bath was full to the brim with human faeces, as was the toilet, and the place was crawling with flies. Both the flats on either side were empty because of the smell.

“We cleaned the property that same day for a fee of £2,000, and I knew that by deodorising it and doing everything possible to clean it, we’d created an opportunity for the other flats to be let out too.”

A business built on expertise

Under Ben’s directorship, Ultima has been split into three categories:

• Ultima Cleaning, specialising in crime scene and biohazard cleaning;
• Ultima Academy, which offers specialist biohazard training to organisations such as police and prison officers, British Aerospace, and immigration officers;
• Ultima’s Environmental Network, facilitated by some 400 operatives throughout the UK.

The company has also worked closely with leading pharmaceutical companies to develop pioneering cleaning materials for severe cleanup operations, while a mental health specialist is always on hand to support any staff members affected by their work.

Ultima remains the sole British company that can offer a two-hour call-out, operating from its centre in Newport, Gwent.

Selling Ultima Cleaning

In 2022, Ben made the difficult decision to sell Ultima Cleaning.

“When COVID hit, I was going to bed at 3am and waking up at 6, when there’d be 20 jobs already in, waiting to be sanitised. We were absolutely everywhere, and it nearly exhausted me and the team.

“So I suppose it was this that made me take stock of where I am today.

“Over the years, it’s become obvious that people love hearing about the work we do as loads of people love crime, and the most popular question I get asked has to be ‘What’s the worst thing you’ve ever had to clean up?’

“But people are also interested in my own personal journey.

“And this is why I decided to write the book. OK, so I’m a much better cleaner than I am a writer, but I’ve always kept a diary of my jobs, and this has helped me to select between 30 and 40 of the most interesting ones for the book.

“At the end of the day, I’m a normal guy from Cardigan who’s worked hard, who’s had a firm belief in everything I’ve done, and who’s succeeded.

“But the business has made me appreciate my life, my family, the wonderful people around me, and my home near Cardigan.

“Ultima has taught me a great deal about life, but perhaps the greatest thing is to forget the word ‘no’. If I’d said no to so many of those jobs over the years, there’s no way I’d be where I am today.”

The Life of a Crime Scene Cleaner is available from Amazon on Kindle (£7.99) and paperback (£15.99).

A HISTORIC chapel in Newport, Pembrokeshire, is set to become a vibrant hub for Welsh heritage, culture, and the arts. Bethlehem Baptist Chapel, now transformed into Canolfan Bethlehem, will celebrate and preserve the rich history and language of the local area, known as Trefdraeth.

The ambitious project was made possible by the dedication and generosity of local residents and investors, who raised an impressive £145,000 in just 14 days. Following the successful auction purchase in October 2024, the management group has been working behind the scenes to develop its vision, secure further funding, and plan a series of cultural events.

Preserving Welsh heritage

Chapels have historically played a crucial role in preserving the Welsh language, serving as community hubs throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. At a time when English dominated official and educational settings, chapels became strongholds of Welsh identity, fostering literacy, music, and cultural continuity. Today, Canolfan Bethlehem continues this tradition, ensuring that Welsh heritage remains at the heart of the community.

Upcoming Events at Canolfan Bethlehem

The centre is preparing to launch a programme of events celebrating Welsh history and culture. The first of these include:

• February 26, 7:00pm – Historian Angela V. John presents Becoming Visible: Statues and Plaques of Welsh Women, exploring the stories behind commemorations of influential Welsh women.
• March 1, 10:30am – As part of the Bore Coffi Dewi (St David’s Day Coffee Morning), Hefin Wyn will give a talk on Pembrokeshire Radicals, highlighting the region’s history of activism and change. Attendees can enjoy a traditional Welshcake and sing-song.
• March 21 – Emyr Phillips will deliver a fascinating talk on the history of the Cardi Bach Railway.

For more information, visit Canolfan Bethlehem’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/canolfanbethlehem or email [email protected].

A NEW 10-week course which will help people understand and cope with their trauma is launching in Haverfordwest on March 19^th.

The Trauma Toolkit Workshops will help participants try out practical techniques, skills and ideas about managing the impact of trauma.

The workshops are run by Pathway Counselling, a local mental health charity which is part of PATH (Pembrokeshire Action for The Homeless).

There will be two group sessions held every Wednesday from March 19th, the first for women at 10am – 12pm, and then a second for men at 2pm – 4pm.

The sessions will take place at The Green Shed, Old Hakin Road, SA61 1XF.

The workshops will be led by Meriel Goss, who has been offering practical sessions to cope with the impact of trauma for 10 years.

She trained at The Trauma Centre, Justice Resource Centre, Boston where Dr Bessel van De Kolk, author of The Body Keep the Score researched trauma therapies and approaches.

Meriel is also an Adlerian counsellor at Pathway Counselling and a regular at their offices at 19 Market Street, Haverfordwest.

Meriel said about the workshops: “Trauma is something that can impact any and every aspect of your life, so having a safe environment to learn more about it, and how to cope with it, is so important.

“Pathway Counselling ran a shorter trauma course last year which was extremely popular, so the need for another, bigger course was clear.

“The sessions aren’t a processing space for sharing your stories, and it’s perfect for people who maybe don’t feel like they are ready for counselling sessions.

“When you sign up the workshops, I always have a discovery call with you beforehand, which lay rest to any nerves.”

The sessions are free for anyone who is low income or on benefits.

The low cost sessions are available for £58 (standard) / £28 (concessionary).

To book, call Pathway Counselling on 01437 765335, email [email protected] or visit www.pathwaycounselling.co.uk