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£400,000 to help with storm damage

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storm helpPEMBROKESHIRE is to receive £400,000 from the Welsh government to ensure that the county’s tourism industry can be open for business by Easter after the recent storms and flooding. It is part of a £1.6 million fund being allocated for projects in Ceredigion, Gwynedd, Anglesey, Swansea and Monmouth County Council areas.

Economy Minister Edwina Hart announced the new fund on Thursday as she and Finance Minister Jane Hutt visited Aberystwyth. This funding follows the additional £2million announced last week by Minister for Natural Resources Alun Davies to fund emergency repairs to flood defences that were damaged in the recent storms.

Announcing the fund, Mrs Hart said: “The Welsh Government is supporting the tourism industry in Wales to be strong and resilient and a crucial part of our economy. Tourism is already worth an estimated £5billion a year to Wales and we are determined to do everything we can to ensure the sector continues to grow.

“Latest figures revealed 2013 was a very successful year for tourism in Wales, with increases in visitor numbers and visitor spend well ahead of those for Britain as a whole. And this week Wales was voted by Rough Guide readers as one of the five top countries to visit in 2014 – this is all great news for the Welsh tourism industry as we head towards Easter and the traditional start of the main tourist season.

“Our new Visit Wales advertising campaign will be launched in March with a view to attracting even more visitors to Wales for the summer of 2014.

“This funding will help speed up repairs to damaged infrastructure that could have had a negative impact at the start of the tourism season in Wales. We want to ensure areas affected by the winter storms are fully open for business by Easter at the latest, and preferably by half term and that potential visitors are aware of this.”

Finance Minister Jane Hutt said: “We want to support communities who were hit by the recent bad weather in whatever way we can. We are already investing significantly in improving flood defences across Wales but we know there is more immediate work that needs urgent attention. By providing this extra funding now we can help the tourism industry get back on its feet ready for the peak seasons.”

Funding will be allocated to the following local authorities: Ceredigion £560,000; Gwynedd £400,000; Pembrokeshire £400,000; Anglesey £80,000; Swansea £80,000; and Monmouth £80,000.

The funding is anticipated to support tourism related infrastructure projects within local authorities and to promote the message that Wales is “open for business”.

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News

Welsh teenager jailed for creating 3D-printed gun at home

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A TEENAGER who assembled parts for a viable semi-automatic firearm using a 3D printer has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison.

Owain Roberts, 19, purchased nuts, bolts, steel barrels, and metal rods online, constructing components of an FGC-9 gun with the aid of a 3D printer.

Detectives said that this case marks the first of its kind in Gwent, where Roberts admitted to manufacturing a firearm component. He appeared at Cardiff Crown Court on Thursday (Nov 14).

In April, firearms officers executed warrants at two Newport addresses connected to Roberts. Seized items included a 3D printer, two laptops, six plastic reels, and parts for an FGC-9 firearm.

PC Tom Meazey, from Gwent Police’s East Serious Organised Crime team, stated: “Illegally-held firearms can lead to tragic consequences and devastate innocent people’s lives. To own a firearm, including a printable one, is illegal in the UK without a valid firearms certificate. Roberts’s reckless actions in buying items capable of manufacturing a firearm placed people at direct risk.”

This rare and complex investigation involved support from the National Crime Agency (NCA).

Roberts received a prison sentence of four years and nine months.

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Milford Haven man caught with indecent images of children spared jail

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A MILFORD HAVEN man, Gareth MacDonald, 23, has been sentenced after pleading guilty to downloading over 1,000 indecent images of children.

MacDonald, of Meyler Crescent, was arrested in March 2023 following a police search of his home. Acting on intelligence, officers seized multiple electronic devices, and MacDonald admitted to downloading the illegal images.

Swansea Crown Court heard that MacDonald accessed material spanning all severity categories, including images depicting the rape of pre-teen children.

He reportedly told police he had “become bored with legal pornography” roughly a year prior to his arrest.

Judge Geraint Walters sentenced MacDonald to eight months in prison, suspended for two years. As part of the sentence, MacDonald must:

  • Complete 20 rehabilitation activity days
  • Participate in the Horizon programme
  • Register as a sex offender for 10 years
  • Comply with a 10-year sexual harm prevention order

Judge Walters remarked that MacDonald had been accessing illegal content “for some considerable period of time” despite knowing it was wrong.

However, MacDonald, who has health problems, dodged being sent to jail and was able to leave the court a free man.

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Crime

Ceredigion man sentenced for selling £150,000 in illegal DVDs

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A CEREDIGION man has been sentenced for selling counterfeit DVDs worth £150,000 under major brand names without authorization.

David Robert Thomas, 47, from Sarnau, ran a sophisticated online operation, producing and selling fake DVDs labeled with brands like Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Sony, and Universal City Studios LLC. Thomas used seven different websites and managed multiple bank and PayPal accounts, including those of family members, to carry out his business.

Councillor Matthew Vaux, Ceredigion County Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Protection, said: “Counterfeiting is often thought of as a victimless crime, but it harms the local economy by undermining legitimate businesses that pay taxes and create real jobs. This result sends a clear message that counterfeit sales will not be tolerated, and we will act against offenders.”

Thomas pleaded guilty at Swansea Crown Court on Monday (Nov 11) and was sentenced to 20 months in prison, suspended for 18 months. His sentence includes a four-month curfew and fifteen Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days.

Under the Crime Act 2002, forfeiture proceedings will follow to reclaim the financial benefits from Thomas’s criminal activities. Judge Richards took into account the market value of equivalent genuine goods, the sophisticated setup of Thomas’s business, and his previously clean record in reaching the sentencing decision.

The case was brought forward successfully by Ceredigion County Council’s Trading Standards Service.

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