News
Tragic death of university field trip student at Dale


West Dale Beach
AN INQUEST into the death of a 20-year-old man was held at Milford Haven Town Hall yesterday (Oct 27).
James Thomas Manto, of London, died on May 7 this year; he had been part of a university field trip to Pembrokeshire with Plymouth University. Family members were present at the inquest.
Mr Manto had been staying at Dale Fort; he was found face down and unresponsive on Dale Beach.
In his second year of a geology course, Mr Manto was described as having ‘no concerns and was looking forward to the future’. His mother had been in contact with him on social media while he was in Pembrokeshire; he had told her how he was ‘really enjoying the field trip’.
The night prior to Mr Manto’s death (May 6) marked the final night of the field trip – students and lecturers had arranged to go into the village of Dale for food and drinks.
Statements read by students and lecturers recalled that Mr Manto was ‘highly intoxicated’ on the night leading up to his death the following morning. Members of staff at The Griffin Inn had asked Mr Manto to leave the premises.
Mr Manto was last seen standing outside The Griffin Inn at around 2am (May 7).
By 8.30am that morning, lecturers informed staff at Dale Fort that they had a student missing; the police were also informed.
A search party was launched by police, with the help of RNLI lifeboats and a helicopter search party.
Mr Manto was found by members of the RNLI, with police reporting they had located a missing body at around 11.15am; Mr Manto had suffered severe lacerations.
RNLI crew members attempted to resuscitate Mr Manto for 20 minutes. This was followed by the arrival of a Coastguard vessel carrying a defibrillator, after which crew members attempted a further 10 minutes of CPR. The inquest also heard how ‘attempts were made to inject adrenaline into his groin’.
An Air Ambulance was also called to the scene. A statement by winch man and paramedic Austin Harley was read during the inquest.
Mr Harley recalled how he and other crew members had been ‘instructed to respond’ to the incident following a training exercise; little information had been given other than ‘male with head injury’.
When Mr Harley arrived at the scene, he recalled how several emergency services were already present.
An ambulance had been waiting on the shoreline; however, Mr Harley made the decision that Mr Manto needed to be airlifted to hospital.
He recalled: “On three occasions we were instructed to shock the patient, which we did.”
Mr Manto was later pronounced dead in hospital.
The post mortem report was also read during the inquest, described by Coroner Gareth Lewis as ‘difficult reading’, and therefore only provided relevant details of the report.
The post mortem labelled Mr Manto’s death as ‘unnatural’, adding that he had suffered several injuries included ‘blunt head trauma’ and ‘left rib fractures’, as well as ‘multiple injuries to the head and chest’.
It also suggested that such injuries ‘may have been caused by a fall from height’, and concluded that ‘the cause of death was multiple injuries’.
Mr Matthew Watkinson, a lecturer on the field trip who had known Mr Manto since the start of his course, was called to give a statement during the inquest.
He described Mr Manto as ‘in a group and highly intoxicated’ on the night of May 6.
He recalled: “I saw James leave the pub but didn’t see where he went.”
Coroner Lewis went on to ask Mr Watkinson if the university had learned any lessons for future field trips: “Has the university implemented any procedures?”
Mr Watkinson said how the university had held several meetings between senior staff.
He said: “We looked particularly at how to further encourage students to be responsible regarding alcohol intake.”
Mr Watkinson also added the students would be reminded of their ‘responsibility to one another’.
He added: “I’d specifically briefed the students that afternoon about responsibility and being mindful of the local people.
“In my heart, I wish I’d come across him and was able to bring him home.”
Following his statement, Mr Manto’s mother questioned Mr Watkinson as to why her son had not been escorted home, given his intoxicated state.
Mr Watkinson replied: “My view of James at the time was he was with a large group of students.”
He added: “I didn’t think it was a situation where he’d be a danger to himself.”
Several statements by other students on the field trip were also read. They described Mr Manto as ‘swaying’ and ‘unsteady on his feet’. Commenting on Mr Manto’s character more generally, it was said he was found to be ‘very quiet’ and ‘shy’.
In his concluding statement, Coroner Lewis said: “We can only speculate as to what happened in those last few moments.”
With reference to Mr Manto’s injuries being consistent to those of a heavy fall, Mr Lewis stated the death was ‘accidental’, adding: “James Manto died as a result of an accident.”
News
Anger at plans to turn Little Haven shed into holiday let

PLANS to convert a garden shed to a holiday let at a Pembrokeshire seaside village with the highest rates of second homes and holiday lets in the county have been turned down.
In an application before Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, Shabnam Banihashem of 19a Wesley Road, Little Haven sought permission to convert a rear garden shed, already replace with a summerhouse, to holiday let accommodation.
Local community council The Havens had objected to the scheme, saying it has concerns over parking and highway access arrangements, and concerns about impact on Highway traffic safety-related matters.
The park’s building conservation officer had recommended the plans be refused despite it being a “relatively hidden and constricted site” with a likely low impact on the conservation area, saying there “is likely to be an impact on character due to extra traffic – and the potential for setting a worrying development”.
An officer report recommending refusal said: “The Authority has concerns in connection with the proposal due to the impact upon the residential amenity of the host dwelling, and its immediate neighbours, the impact upon the character of the Little Haven Conservation Area due to the potential for additional traffic, and due to the proposed summerhouse being unsuitable in terms of size for the use of holiday letting.
“Ordinarily, when a proposal would result in the creation of a single residential unit, a financial contribution towards the provision of off-site affordable housing would be required [in accordance with policy].
“However, in this particular case, the unit being proposed would not be suitable for long term residential use due to the limited size of the unit. As such, had the proposal been deemed acceptable, the Authority would have imposed a condition restricting the use of the unit to C6 – short term holiday let.
“Given that it would not have then been possible for the unit to benefit from current permitted development rights between C3, C5 and C6 uses, a commuted sum would not have been sought.
“Overall, it is considered that the proposed development would have an unacceptable impact upon residential amenity, and upon the character of the Little Haven Conservation Area.”
The application was refused on grounds including “introducing a significantly greater level of noise and disturbance than the current situation, to the detriment of the residential amenity of neighbouring properties,” and impact on the conservation area.
A previous national park report, based on the second homes council tax premium payable to Pembrokeshire County Council, has said nearly two-thirds of properties in Little Haven are either second homes or holiday lets.
For the main centres of settlements within the national park, second home rates, at the time of the 2023 report, were: Tenby 28.07 per cent, Saundersfoot 29.35 per cent, St Davids 20.86 per cent and Newport 30.6 per cent.
For smaller communities within the national park, some of the figures were even higher: Amroth 47.37 per cent, Broad Haven 36.58 per cent, Dale 39.47 per cent, Lawrenny 28.57 per cent, Marloes 29.66 per cent, Moylegrove 22.64 per cent, and Wisemans Bridge 35.71 per cent.
Topping the list, by a large margin, were: Nolton Haven 60 per cent, and 62.96 per cent Little Haven.
Community
Stena Nordica sailings remain disrupted due to technical fault

Passengers diverted as Fishguard-Rosslare service still affected
FISHGUARD ferry services have faced another day of disruption, with early hopes of a return to normal sailings dashed again this morning (Tuesday, April 8).
The 1:30am sailing of the Stena Nordica was once again cancelled, marking several consecutive days without service on the Fishguard-Rosslare route. The vessel has not sailed since the early hours of Saturday (April 5).
Stena Line has blamed a combination of adverse weather and an ongoing technical issue for the disruption, which began when Saturday’s 2:00pm sailing was delayed and subsequently cancelled. This also resulted in the evening return crossing from Rosslare being called off.
Passengers affected by the cancellations were either transferred to the Holyhead-Dublin route or remained on board in the hope of a later departure.
Among those onboard on Saturday was George Holland, a regular ferry passenger, who had planned a day trip. He reported that the ferry was busy, with 96 vehicles and many families travelling at the start of the Easter holidays.
Despite expectations that Sunday services might resume, sailings remained suspended, and affected passengers were rerouted via Irish Ferries’ Pembroke Dock to Rosslare service.
Hopes were again raised for a resumption of service on Monday (April 7), but that afternoon’s 2:00pm sailing and the corresponding evening return crossing were also cancelled.
A spokesperson for Stena Line said: “Due to a technical issue with Stena Nordica, sailings on the Rosslare-Fishguard route were cancelled over the weekend and on Monday, April 7. Engineers are working onboard to resolve the issue, and it is currently anticipated that sailings will resume at 1:30am on Tuesday, April 8.”
However, the scheduled early morning crossing did not take place, with Stena’s website again citing a technical issue. Passengers were again transferred to Irish Ferries.
At the time of writing, today’s 2:00pm departure from Fishguard and the 7:30pm return from Rosslare remain on the schedule.
Crime
Driver claims he took legal CBD after testing positive for THC

A HEMP user has appeared in court after claiming a legally purchased CBD product caused him to test positive for an illegal drug.
Daren Bradbury, 54, from Seven Steps Road in Sageston, told police he had taken cannabidiol (CBD), a substance derived from the hemp plant and sold legally in the UK. However, blood tests revealed that he had 2.3 micrograms of Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in his system — just over the legal limit of 2mcg.
THC is the psychoactive compound in cannabis that causes intoxication and remains a controlled substance under UK law.
“He received the CBD from the internet, believing it didn’t contain THC,” said Bradbury’s solicitor, Michael Kelleher, when the case was heard at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court this week.
“He handed the packet to the police and was surprised that the test came back positive — albeit only 0.3mcg over the limit.”
Bradbury was stopped by officers on December 4 while driving on the A477 at Milton. A roadside test proved positive, and subsequent analysis confirmed the presence of THC.
He pleaded guilty to the drug driving offence, but Mr Kelleher requested an adjournment to gather further evidence from the CBD supplier.
“We would like to raise a ‘special reasons’ argument as to why the defendant should not be disqualified from driving,” he said. “We hope to obtain proof from the vendor that the CBD should not have contained THC, as the defendant believed it was perfectly legal.”
Mr Kelleher added that CBD products can be legally purchased both online and in pharmacies.
Magistrates adjourned sentencing until May 1.
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Fiona Manto
October 30, 2016 at 11:48 am
Please amend your article. Mr Matthew Watkinson was the lead lecturer, and the witness called at the inquest. I would like his name correctly reported here, and permanently linked with James’ death.
Thank you.