News

Cabinet supports a trust despite concerns

Published

10 years ago

November 2, 2016

Pembrokeshire County Council: New education ‘Vision’ revealed
PEMBROKESHIRE County Council’s Cabinet has agreed, in principle, to support the formation of a charitable trust to run its cultural and leisure services despite members expressing concerns over the proposed new model.

The option to go with a charitable trust was the preferred option of consultancy firm Winckworth Sherwood which drew up five options for the future delivery of the services.

Among those options was to retain the status quo and that appeared as one of the favourites from the public consultation.

However, Cabinet were concerned that if they went with the status quo, there would be more cuts to services in the future.

UNISON also submitted a petition to the Council which was entitled ‘Stop the Outsourcing of Council Services’ in order to try and sway the Cabinet’s decision.

Cabinet ignored the views of UNISON and the public and voted unanimously to support, in principle, the preferred option of a trust.

Further work will now be undertaken to establish governance of the trust, financial and staff arrangements.

Speaking at the Cabinet meeting on Monday (Oct 31) Council Leader Jamie Adams said that the Council were at the end of the road in terms of protecting service users from the effects of savings and added they would need to look at different methods of providing the services.

Cllr Elwyn Morse, Cabinet member for Culture, Sport and Leisure, spoke of the savings that had been achieved since 2012/13 stating that Cultural services had saved over £747,000 due to a number of measures.

Leisure services had also increased its income by £432,000 since the same year and added that further rises in charges would risk losing membership and future visits.

Cllr Morse added: “The consideration of an alternative model of service delivery has to be a better alternative than the almost inevitable loss of services.”

Cllr Keith Lewis spoke of the consultation period and how keeping services in house was the preferred option but said: “It is up to Cabinet to decide whether we can do nothing and maintain it as it is.”

Cllr Adams asked about the performance of trusts elsewhere and he was told that many other authorities had gone down this route and that they were generally successful.

He went on to say that he was keen to ensure a county wide leisure service moving forward.

Mr Phillip Hodgson, Interim Director of Social Services and Leisure, said that every effort would be made to mitigate the threat of future cuts.

Cllr Simon Hancock said: “In an ideal world, it would be nice to have things kept in house but the paper makes it abundantly clear that doing nothing is not an option. People who use the archives, leisure services, libraries, when they use that service they are not going to ask themselves, what’s the governance model? They want to make sure the service is kept.

“This journey has been taken by lots of different authorities so it is a national solution to what is a national problem.

“If we close services it will have a very detrimental impact on the wellbeing of Pembrokeshire residents. Access to culture, leisure is central to people’s sense of wellbeing if we do nothing. Keeping the service open is the most important objective of this whole exercise.”

Cllr David Lloyd said: “I speak on behalf of a community that knows what it is like to lose one of these particular assets which is the St David’s Swimming Pool. In June 2009 that pool was closed for financial reasons and it is still bitterly regretted, we have an elderly population that underpin their quality of life by swimming which they can no longer do so any possible way that can be found to protect services in the rest of Pembrokeshire I would absolutely support.

“We’ve been working to replace that pool for seven years and optimistically we are trying to replace and hopefully this model will help us and make that a viable proposition.”

Cllr Rob Lewis spoke of the need to secure services for the future and that it would hang on the strength of the contract that will be drawn up.

He also added that the contract would need to be fit for purpose and that the trust would not happen until everyone was satisfied with it.

Cllr Huw George said he was not convinced about the new model and asked where the voice of the people and staff would be should they not be happy with how things are going.

A task and finish group will also be set up to deliver the recommendation in a timely manner and Cllr Adams asked that this be delegated to himself and the Chief Executive to do so.

Summing up, Cllr Keith Lewis urged that the matter should not turn into a never-ending debate and said there was a need for the council to be pro-active.

Community

84-year-old man rescued after falling overboard near Tenby

Published

4 hours ago

July 18, 2026

Tom Sinclair

A MAYDAY call sparked a major nighttime rescue after an 84-year-old man fell from a tender and was swept towards rocks near St Catherine’s Island in Tenby.

Both Tenby RNLI lifeboats were requested to launch shortly before 10.30pm on Friday, July 17, after the Coastguard received a distress call from a yacht anchored in North Bay.

The yacht’s crew reported seeing an elderly man who appeared to be in difficulty while attempting to return to his vessel in a small tender after spending time ashore in Tenby.

The all-weather lifeboat began searching between St Catherine’s Island and the North Highcliffe buoy, while the inshore lifeboat searched the waters beneath the Esplanade.

During the operation, the inshore lifeboat crew fired a white parachute flare to illuminate the area. The improved visibility allowed them to spot the tender, but when they reached it, they discovered it was empty.

The crew could then hear cries for help coming from the water.

A member of the public, Josh Dean, had rushed to the lifeboat station after seeing the tender being carried by the current into the cave beneath St Catherine’s Island.

Using the information he provided, the lifeboat crews quickly located the man clinging to rocks at the island after he had fallen overboard in the strong current.

He was immediately taken aboard the lifeboat, warmed up and assessed for any urgent medical problems before being taken into Tenby Harbour.

The casualty was handed into the care of the Tenby Coastguard Rescue Team while an ambulance was requested. Due to high demand on the Welsh Ambulance Service, he was later taken into the lifeboat station to wait in warmth and safety.

Tenby RNLI said the information provided by Josh had saved valuable time during the search and helped crews locate the casualty more quickly.

A spokesperson said: “We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Josh Dean, who came to the lifeboat station to report seeing the casualty being carried by the current into the cave beneath St Catherine’s.

“The information Josh provided was invaluable. It undoubtedly saved valuable time during the search, helping our crews locate the casualty more quickly and ultimately contributing to saving his life.”

Crime

Drug-driver sent vehicles airborne in terrifying M4 collision

Published

9 hours ago

July 18, 2026

Court Reporter

Motorist suffered head wounds and post-traumatic stress after van repeatedly swerved across motorway

A VAN driver who had cocaine, a cocaine by-product and Valium in his system sent two vehicles airborne after crashing into the back of a car on the M4.

Joseph Williams had been driving erratically along the westbound carriageway when his van struck a Kia Picanto travelling at around 64mph.

The collision left the Kia’s driver with wounds to the back of her head, extensive bruising and suspected bruising to her lungs.

Swansea Crown Court heard that the woman has since required trauma therapy and counselling and is continuing to struggle with the psychological effects of the crash.

Williams, aged 33, of Eaton Road, Brynhyfryd, Swansea, had previously admitted dangerous driving, three drug-driving offences and failing to surrender to court bail.

The court heard that police received several calls from members of the public on the night of September 5, 2025, reporting a van being driven dangerously between junction 37 at Pyle and junction 36 at Sarn.

Prosecutor Joseph Hocquard said the van repeatedly moved across all three lanes of the motorway, while its speed fluctuated between approximately 30mph and more than 80mph.

One witness, who had been travelling steadily at between 60mph and 65mph, reported being overtaken by Williams four times as he repeatedly accelerated and slowed down.

Williams was then seen moving from lane one across to lane three before returning to lane one and crashing into the rear of the Kia.

A motorist following the van described both vehicles being thrown into the air by the force of the impact.

Williams’ van overturned and came to rest on its side, leaving him trapped inside. Firefighters were called to release him from the vehicle.

A roadside drug test produced a positive result for cocaine, and further blood tests were carried out after Williams was taken to hospital.

The results showed he was almost five times the legal driving limit for benzoylecgonine, the main substance produced when cocaine is broken down by the body.

He was also above the legal limits for cocaine and diazepam, commonly known by the brand name Valium.

The driver of the Kia suffered two significant wounds to the back of her head as well as bruising across her body.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, she said she was receiving counselling and trauma therapy and faced the challenge of rebuilding her life each day.

Williams told the court he was “very sorry” for his behaviour and the impact it had caused. He said he had a seven-year-old daughter and was now subjected to weekly drug testing through his employment.

The court also heard that Williams failed to attend an initial hearing at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court, leading to a warrant being issued for his arrest. He later missed a further hearing at Swansea Magistrates’ Court.

Judge Catherine Richards said Williams had been highly impaired by drugs while carrying out a prolonged period of dangerous driving.

She said his selfish behaviour had subjected the other motorist to a terrifying experience and had caused a significant and lasting impact on her life.

Williams received an 11-month prison term for the driving offences and a consecutive one-week term for failing to surrender.

The custodial sentence was suspended for 12 months.

He was also ordered to complete a rehabilitation programme and carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.

Williams was disqualified from driving for three years and will have to pass an extended driving test before being allowed back on the road.

News

Record 34 candidates to contest Clacton by-election triggered by Farage

Published

1 day ago

July 17, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Nigel Farage will face an extraordinary field of 33 opponents when voters in Clacton return to the polls next month

A RECORD 34 candidates have been confirmed for the Clacton parliamentary by-election, which will take place on Thursday, August 13.

The contest was triggered after Mr Farage resigned as the constituency’s MP before announcing that he would stand again for Reform UK.

He said the election would allow local voters to judge his conduct following intense scrutiny of his financial backing and two inquiries by Parliament’s standards commissioner.

Mr Farage has denied wrongdoing and maintains that gifts and other support he received were personal and did not need to be registered under parliamentary rules. He has described the by-election as a contest between the public and the political establishment.

Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party are among the larger parties that have declined to field candidates.

Their absence has left political satirist Count Binface and Reclaim Party leader Laurence Fox among the best-known names challenging Mr Farage.

The ballot paper will also feature three candidates from the Official Monster Raving Loony Party, several representatives of smaller political parties and a large number of independents.

Tendring District Council confirmed the final list after nominations closed on Friday.

The council said the field of 34 is believed to be the largest ever assembled for a UK parliamentary election.

The previous record is understood to have been 26 candidates at the Haltemprice and Howden by-election in July 2008. That election was called after Conservative MP David Davis resigned and stood again to campaign over civil liberties.

Full list of Clacton candidates

The candidates standing on August 13 are:

Joseph 77, Independent
Adham Alkhatip, The Forward Party
Count Binface, Count Binface Party
Nick The Incredible Flying Brick, Official Monster Raving Loony Party
Tony Cane, Independent
Woke Trump Carrzee, Independent
William Stuart James Clouston, Social Democratic Party
Rees Cowne, Independent
Glenn Charles Cummings, Independent
Martin Davies, Freedom Alliance – Real People, Real Alternative!
Andy Erlam, Independent
Nigel Farage, Reform UK
Attieh Fard, Independent
Laurence Fox, The Reclaim Party
Tony Francis, Independent
Robin Green, Independent
Abi Hookway, Independent
Howling Laud Hope, Official Monster Raving Loony Party
Stephen Richard Ingram, Independent
Amy Morris, Independent
Derrick Norbert Morris, Independent
Michael Noel O’Keeffe, Independent
Martyn OBrien, Independent
Nick Pelas, Independent
Ketankumar Pipaliya, UK VOICE safer and stronger UK
Daniel Pocock, Independent
James Ransley, Consensus Party Candidate
Gerry Smith, Independent
Kai Stephens, British Democrats
John Stevens, Rejoin EU
Baron Von Thunderclap, Official Monster Raving Loony Party
Pamela Walford, Independent
Marcus White, Everyone is God Party
Marc Wilkinson, Independent

Almost 80,000 people are eligible to vote across the constituency’s 51 polling stations.

Residents who are not already registered must apply by July 28. The deadline for postal vote applications is 5pm on July 29, while applications for proxy votes and free Voter Authority Certificates must be submitted by 5pm on August 5.

Mr Farage first won Clacton for Reform UK at the 2024 general election, receiving 21,225 votes and securing a majority of 8,405 over the Conservatives.

The seat has officially been vacant since July 8 following his resignation.