RISING soul star Olivia Dean has revealed how a quiet camping trip in Pembrokeshire turned into the call of a lifetime after she received a FaceTime from music legend Sir Elton John.

The 26-year-old singer told BBC’s The Graham Norton Show that she was cooking “sausages and beans” on a small gas stove when her phone rang and Sir Elton’s name appeared on the screen.

Dean said her team had warned her the star might get in touch, but she panicked when the moment arrived and initially declined the video call.

“It rang and it was a FaceTime and I said ‘no – I’m not ready’,” she told the audience, as the studio erupted with laughter.

Realising what she had done, Dean said she immediately regretted it and feared she had missed her chance — but Sir Elton called back moments later.

The Your Song hitmaker then offered words of encouragement, telling her he was proud of her and that it looked like she had worked hard and was “ready now”.

Dean said she managed a quick thank you before collapsing on the ground “like a starfish”.

The light-hearted story has once again shone a spotlight on Pembrokeshire’s reputation as a place to switch off and recharge, with its beaches, coastal paths and campsites offering a peaceful escape from busy city life.

Dean, who is London-born and has Jamaican-Guyanese heritage, has previously spoken fondly about the county’s coastline and the appeal of getting away from the spotlight.

Her surprise call from Sir Elton also reflects his well-known habit of supporting fellow artists, with host Graham Norton joking that the music icon “loves the phone” during the segment.

A short clip of the moment has since been shared online, with viewers praising both Dean’s down-to-earth reaction and the county she chose for her downtime.

FUNDING has been secured to repair a key piece of flood infrastructure at Monkton Bridge in Pembroke, with work due to start on Monday, February 16, and last around three weeks.

Local county councillors Jonathan Grimes and Aaron Carey said the money had been obtained from the Welsh Government’s Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) Emergency Capital funding stream, following a Notice of Motion raised at the council in response to recent flooding on the Commons.

According to Cllr Carey, the funding will be used to repair the trash screen by Monkton Bridge — designed to catch debris and help manage water flow — and to create a safe access platform so the screen can be cleared more safely during periods of poor weather.

Cllr Grimes said the announcement was “great news” following the motion brought to council, while Cllr Carey described it as “good news” for the area after residents raised concerns about flooding.

The Herald understands the work is intended to improve both the reliability of the trash screen and the safety of the crews tasked with keeping it clear when conditions are at their worst.

Residents are being advised to expect activity on site from Feb 16, with works scheduled to run for approximately three weeks.

A MAN from Laugharne who sent sexually explicit messages to what he believed was a 13-year-old girl has avoided an immediate jail term after being caught in a paedophile hunter sting.

Swansea Crown Court heard that William John, 59, of Orchard Park, made contact with a Facebook profile in October 2021 which he believed belonged to a young teenage girl. In fact, the account was a decoy run by a paedophile hunter group.

Prosecutor Matthew Murphy told the court the profile made clear the girl was 13 “from the outset”. During their exchanges, the decoy discussed school life and told John she would be turning 14 in November.

Despite this, John went on to “cultivate an online relationship” with the account between October 11 and November 3, 2021.

The court heard the messages quickly became sexual. John explained what masturbation was, asked whether he could show the child his genitals, requested photographs of her body and repeatedly told her he was aroused.

After sending the messages, John deleted them and asked the decoy to do the same. However, screenshots of the conversations had already been captured by the group.

In one exchange, John admitted he knew what he was doing was wrong.

The group later used a second decoy account, posing as an adult woman, to arrange a meeting at the Travelodge in Carmarthen. A local group confronted John at the hotel before police arrived and took possession of evidence, the court was told.

Officers seized John’s mobile phone and recovered the conversations.

When interviewed, John claimed he did not truly believe the girl was 13 and said he had been trying to expose whoever was behind the profile as “scammers”.

However, on the day his trial was due to begin, he changed his plea and admitted attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child. The court heard he had no previous convictions.

Defence solicitor Ian Ibrahim said John’s guilty plea was among his strongest points in mitigation. He told the court the defendant had not reoffended in the more than four years since the offence and was dealing with several physical health problems.

Mr Ibrahim also said John had been “humiliated” after the paedophile hunter group posted footage of the confrontation online, making him “the subject of ridicule” locally.

Sentencing, Judge Catherine Richards said it was conduct like this that made the internet a more dangerous place for children.

John was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to complete 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

He must sign the sex offenders register for 10 years and was made subject to a sexual harm prevention order for the same period.