A 24.5-METRE survey vessel, the MTS Terramare, found itself in a precarious situation after becoming stranded on Newgale Beach on Tuesday (Jan 14). The vessel, reportedly involved in cable work, sparked curiosity and concern among locals as it remained grounded throughout the day and into the evening.

The boat arrived at approximately 7:00am but by nightfall, its predicament had worsened. Witnesses reported seeing the vessel broadside onto the beach, with waves pounding its deck and flashes of electrical arcing visible on board. Concerned onlookers gathered on the shingle ridge to watch as the drama unfolded.

At 6:28pm, HM Coastguard called on St Davids RNLI for assistance. The all-weather lifeboat Norah Wortley launched at 6:40pm, navigating through the darkness to reach Newgale. Sea conditions were challenging, with three-to-five-foot surf waves crashing onto the pebble bank at high tide. Upon arrival, the lifeboat’s daughter boat was deployed to assess the situation.

The vessel, weighing 100 tonnes and suffering from an engine failure, was unable to maintain its position and had been driven onto the pebbles. With water inundating the deck, the RNLI team considered various options to assist. Efforts to use salvage pumps and set up a towline were deemed unfeasible due to the vessel’s size, weight, and the dangers posed to the lifeboats and volunteer crews.

The crew of the MTS Terramare safely disembarked onto the beach, and with no lives at risk, the RNLI teams stood down. The Norah Wortley returned to station by 8:20pm, ready for its next call-out.

RNLI Coxswain Will Chant explained the decision to leave the vessel: “The RNLI mission is to save lives at sea, and we endeavour to save boats if possible. However, it is beyond our remit to salvage. In this instance, the size of the vessel and its position broadside to the beach compromised a tow. Once assured the crew were safe ashore, there was nothing further our lifeboats could do.”

The incident has drawn attention from the local community, with a dozen spectators gathering to witness the stranded vessel. Questions remain about how the MTS Terramare will be recovered and what led to its grounding.

The Herald will continue to provide updates on this developing story.

Brave effort: St Davids RNLI battled challenging conditions to assist the stranded vessel (Pic: The Pembrokeshire Herald).

FRESH allegations have surfaced about Bridgend’s Parc Prison, with claims of widespread mismanagement and failures in inmate care sparking renewed outrage. The facility, already under intense scrutiny, is now at the centre of a series of alarming events.

Over the weekend, a suicide attempt was reportedly made by a prisoner who had previously suffered a violent beating. According to sources, the inmate was transferred to a wing where threats against his life had been made, prompting questions about the prison’s decision-making processes and duty of care.

Separate incidents also highlighted the deteriorating conditions within the jail. On Saturday, a fire was deliberately set in a cell, prompting emergency services to attend as a precaution. G4S, the private firm that operates the prison, downplayed the event, describing it as a “small fire” that was quickly extinguished.

The prison also saw another inmate rushed to hospital after a suspected drug overdose, though he was later returned to custody. Meanwhile, South Wales Police confirmed they are investigating an alleged assault on a female officer, with reports suggesting that tensions among inmates and staff are escalating.

Parc Prison has become a lightning rod for criticism, with recent years marked by disturbing trends. Staff assaults reportedly rose by over 100% last year, and the prison has recorded 17 deaths in an 11-month period, including suicides and unexplained fatalities.

A G4S spokesperson addressed concerns about visitor safety after an incident on Saturday, where a family member experiencing a panic attack was allegedly left locked in a room for an hour. The firm defended its practices, stating: “Parc is a prison. We aim to provide a positive visiting experience but acknowledge that being in a secure environment can be difficult for some visitors.”

These incidents come on the heels of damning revelations about the prison’s operations. Sources allege that senior management instructed staff to falsify welfare checks in an effort to conceal procedural failures linked to an inmate’s death. Campaigners have branded this as symptomatic of a toxic culture within Parc, accusing G4S of prioritising damage control over meaningful reform.

Calls for accountability have intensified, with campaigners urging authorities to take immediate action to address the systemic issues plaguing the facility. While G4S insists it is committed to the welfare of inmates and staff, critics argue that these assurances are falling short in the face of mounting evidence of neglect and mismanagement.

With pressure mounting, Parc Prison is rapidly becoming a symbol of the challenges facing the UK’s privatized prison system. As investigations continue, the spotlight remains firmly on Bridgend’s embattled facility.

SENIOR Pembrokeshire councillors have backed a near-£12m ‘levelling up’ project to rejuvenate parts of Pembroke, with £1.2m of council funds.

At the January 13 meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet members backed the signing of a memorandum of understanding for a UK Government Levelling Up Fund 3 award for the £11,715,141 Pembroke town Westgate to Eastgate project.

The project attracted a grant award of £10,543,627, with a commitment of £1,171,514 match-funding from the council to comply with the grant offer requirements, some 10 per cent.

Applications for ‘levelling-up’ funding for this part of Pembroke have a history going back several years, with a June 2022 bid for the second round of levelling up funding unsuccessful; a third-round bid based on an amended version of that scheme getting the thumbs-up last year.

The project delivery period is planned to run from April 2025 until March 2028, consisting of three works packages, Cabinet members heard in a presentation by Deputy Leader Cllr Paul Miller.

The three planned works packages consist of, firstly, connecting The Commons to Westgate and Main Street, including an improved pedestrian connection into the town centre running from Common Road, via the Parade to Long Entry and exiting onto Westgate Hill and public realm improvements, improved lighting and public art.

The second package, Eastgate, is described as “both the principal investment and the critical path to the overall programme,” with the works seeing “selective demolition and making good to the elements of the school building, which encroach, onto [a] projected highway corridor, and for construction new retaining walls as necessary,” along with “An enabling contract to ready East End School for development to shell and core, readied for development for currently undetermined use”.

The third work  package, ‘Connecting Townscape, Landscape and Soundscape’ includes: “Pembroke’s network of public realm and green infrastructure will be enhanced along Main Street and connect through underused route ways to its flanking green space of The Commons and the Upper and Lower Mill Pond”.

Cllr Miller warned that inflationary pressures since the original proposal would lead to some adaptions to the scheme, the value of the funding being less than it was in 2022.

Seconding Cllr Miller’s proposal the scheme be backed, Leader Cllr Jon Harvey, county councillor for the Pembroke St Mary North ward, said: “I’m extremely pleased about the levelling-up money coming into this town; Pembroke is a wonderful town, but it is underperforming, with businesses struggling.”

He stressed a need for collaborative work on the project: “Community ‘buy-in’ is very important, we need to work closely with the community and the town.”

Members backed a recommendation to approve the scheme and the match-funding element, along with the signing of the memorandum.