News

Ollie Cole leaving Radio Pembrokeshire after ‘sad’ changes

Published

9 years ago

October 19, 2016

Tom Sinclair

Ollie Cole: Leaving Radio Pembrokeshire due to ‘sad’ changes

OLLIE COLE has announced that after “4 years of fun” working on Radio Pembrokeshire, he’s off to pastures new.

In a blog post on his website, Ollie cites changes to Nation Broadcasting’s services as a large deciding factor for the move.

He said: “You’ll probably want to know why I’m leaving West Wales. I’ll spare you too much detail, but as you may have seen in local news reports etc, the way that Nation Broadcasting’s West Wales services (Radio Pembrokeshire/Carmarthenshire/Ceredigion) are delivered is changing. The main daytime presentation of the stations will soon be coming from studios at St Hilary, in the Vale of Glamorgan.

“Though I fully understand the reasons behind this change, personally I do feel this is a sad change for local radio across West Wales and within the industry itself. Networking definitely does have massive benefits to presenters & listeners, but I do feel these counties will miss out greatly on the knowledge and experience of presenters who know their patch inside and out. Something which is hard to replace, and yet should be the true lifeblood of a local station.

“Despite this, I wish the team well – there are some superb people there who I’ve had the great privilege to work with & I’m sure will continue making some great radio for the counties. The group has given me so much in the way of experience and happy memories and I’ll always be thankful for that. These stations have changed my life.”

Last month news broke that Nation Broadcasting was in talks over the future of its west Wales studios.

At the time Martin Mumford, who is the Group Managing Director, said: “At Nation Broadcasting we are investing in technology and resources and looking to improve our business all the time.

“At the moment we’re discussing proposals around the future technical delivery of our West Wales services and until that process is complete it would be inappropriate to comment in detail.

“However, I can confirm that there are no plans to re-brand any of the market-leading services in West Wales or diminish the specific local information we provide to thousands of listeners across the area every day.”

One of the original DJs for the station, Simon Williams, said: “As someone who was one of the original DJs on Radio Pembrokeshire, after it was trialled as Haven FM, I am deeply saddened to read that the station that was given the licence to broadcast permanently, on the basis that it remained firmly locally based, locally focused and run by local people, is now set to be farmed out of the county, indeed totally out of the area, to be potentially run from Cardiff.

“We were always told by the original CEO of Radio Pembrokeshire, Keri Jones, to mention local places, local names, local events etc in every show, as regularly as possible. It sometimes has the feel of a slightly amateurish station, as it did from the beginning, yet this is part of the charm and aesthetic sound of the station.

“Removing broadcasting to Cardiff and sharing programming with other South Wales stations such as Bridge FM and Nation will remove it’s Pembrokeshire identity to an extent that all the promise and initial foundations on which it was granted it’s broadcasting license will be betrayed.

“Pembrokeshire was one of the last parts of the U.K. to get its own, dedicated local radio station, and it looks like the Nation Broadcasting Group will cause it to be one of the first to have lost it’s own, purely devoted station.”

Crime

Man charged with strangulation and assault offences after October incident

Published

5 minutes ago

December 14, 2025

Court Reporter

A MAN recorded in court as having no fixed abode has appeared before magistrates charged with intentional strangulation and two further assault offences.

Michael Sudbury, 50, whose address was not read out in court, but in Herald records is Glan Hafan, Llangwm, appeared before the bench facing multiple charges.

The charges relate to an incident on 22 October 2025 and include:

Intentional strangulation, contrary to section 75A of the Serious Crime Act 2015
Common assault
Assault by beating

No further details of the alleged incident were opened in court, and no plea was entered at this stage.

Sudbury was remanded on conditional bail, with the case listed to return to magistrates later this month.

Crime

Haverfordwest man sent to Crown Court on multiple serious charges

Published

28 minutes ago

December 14, 2025

Court Reporter

Defendant remanded in custody

A HAVERFORDWEST man has been sent to Swansea Crown Court to stand trial on a series of A 49-year-old Haverfordwest resident has been committed to Swansea Crown Court to face trial on multiple serious charges deemed too grave for magistrates to handle.

David Guy, of Market Street, Haverfordwest, appeared before Haverfordwest magistrates facing a series of allegations stemming from a single case. The charges, which were not detailed in open court, include:

Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH)
A second count of assault
Criminal damage
An additional allegation of interpersonal violence
A public order offence

Magistrates declined jurisdiction, determining that the matters exceeded their sentencing powers, and sent the case in its entirety to Swansea Crown Court.

Guy was remanded in custody pending his next appearance. The court register notes: “Sent to Crown Court for trial in custody – next hearing at Swansea Crown Court.”

A date for the initial Crown Court hearing will be set administratively. Guy will remain in custody until then.

The Pembrokeshire Herald will provide further updates as the case progresses in the Crown Court.

Crime

Castlemartin man back before magistrates over multiple alleged assaults

Published

34 minutes ago

December 14, 2025

Court Reporter

Defendant remanded on conditional bail ahead of further hearing

A CASTLEMARTIN man has appeared repeatedly before magistrates this month over a string A 40-year-old man from Castlemartin has made repeated appearances before magistrates this month in connection with a series of serious alleged offences, including assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH), intentional non-fatal strangulation, common assault, and criminal damage.

Anthony Alcock, of Pwll Street, Castlemartin, is facing six linked charges stemming from incidents said to have occurred earlier this year. These appear to relate to the same complainant in what is understood to be a single ongoing domestic abuse prosecution.

During recent administrative hearings at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court, Alcock did not enter pleas while matters of bail and case management were addressed.

Charges Include:

Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH)
Intentional non-fatal strangulation
Common assault on a woman
Criminal damage in a domestic context
Additional assault allegations involving the same complainant
Breach of bail conditions

Alcock was initially granted conditional bail but was subsequently brought before the court on two occasions for alleged breaches. On those instances, magistrates remanded him in custody ahead of further hearings. He was later re-granted conditional bail, subject to strict conditions such as no contact with the complainant and exclusion from specified locations.

Magistrates have now declined jurisdiction, ruling that the case—particularly the more serious charges involving non-fatal strangulation—is too grave for summary trial. It has been committed to Swansea Crown Court for plea, trial, or sentencing.

No detailed evidence has been presented in open court at this preliminary stage. Alcock remains on conditional bail pending his next appearance at the Crown Court.