News

£10,000 raised in family’s eco home appeal

Published

5 years ago

January 5, 2018

OVER £10,000 has been donated to help a family whose house was totally destroyed in a fire on New Year’s Day (Jan 1).

A JustGiving campaign has been set up by a family friend of Simon and Jasmine Dale, who lived in Lammas eco village, near Crymych, with their two children.

The campaign has been running for just over a day and has raised £12,500 so far.

The family built their dream home for just £27,000 – which earned the house the nickname of the UK’s cheapest home – and was featured on Channel 4’s television show, Grand Designs.

The appeal on the JustGiving page reads: “Simon, Jasmine and their two children have been residents at Lammas eco village, Pembrokeshire, since the start of the project .

“They have been working on their family home for the last 6 years. This beautiful building was featured on Grand Designs last year.

“Sadly a fire started on New Years day and their beloved home was burned to the ground. Luckily no one was hurt but as you can imagine, the family are devastated. Here’s the link to their website where donations can also be made www.simondale.net

“For offers of practical help, please also contact them through their website.

“Thanks for your generosity. However small, it is much appreciated!”

The family decided on building an eco house to live an outdoor lifestyle. They said on the Channel 4 show they were happy to survive off the land.

The home was built by excavated 12 feet into the hillside, with a retaining wall built from sandbags and earth.

Rammed earth, oil, timber poles and reclaimed glass were also used in the construction.

The project started in 2012 and was completed 2014.

The fire burned for six hours and totally destroyed the property. Firefighters were able to stop the flames from spreading to a nearby greenhouse.

A spokesperson for Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service said: “It’s utterly heartbreaking for the crews seeing how much workmanship has gone into these frames.

“Each piece of this building is bespoke, it’s done to a beautifully high standard and to see it damaged by fire is just heartbreaking.”

The evo village, which consists of nine houses, was set up to promote sustainable and responsible living.

You can donate to the cause here: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/jane-wells-2

News

Concerns in Camrose as person with drone spotted ‘spying on properties’

Published

29 mins ago

June 4, 2023

Tom Sinclair

CAMROSE COMMUNITY CENTRE posted a warning to residents on Sunday afternoon (Jun 4), after a person with a drone was spotted acting suspiciously.

The post on the Community Centre’s Facebook page said that a man with a large black van was spotted in the area using the drone to look into houses and gardens.

The Herald has asked the police for a comment

MORE TO FOLLOW ON THIS BREAKING STORY

News

Charles Street closed off as cladding falls off commercial building

Published

1 hour ago

June 4, 2023

Tom Sinclair

FIRE FIGHTERS and police responded late on Sunday morning (Jun 4) to an incident involving cladding falling off the the top of the second floor of a commercial building.

Traffic was diverted away from the affected area whilst emergency services made sure the structure was safe.

A ladder tender from Haverfordwest Fire Station was called upon to assist in the incident.

Initial reports stated that no person was injured by the falling debris.

One passer by said “It is lucky this happened on a Sunday when most of the shops were closed, the outcome could have been rather different if this happened on a week day.”

The police confirmed the incident happened at West Wales Properties building, 89A Charles Street, Milford Haven.

(Photos: Tracy Hobbs Stinton/Facebook and David Lee/Herald Photographer)

Entertainment

Galactic Triumph! Heritage Centre transforms for epic Falcon Fun Day

Published

3 hours ago

June 4, 2023

Tom Sinclair

THE TOWERING figure of Chewbacca made a grand first time entry to Pembrokeshire on Bank Holiday Monday, starring in the second Falcon Fun Day at Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre.

The famous Star Wars character joined other re-enactors, including Darth Vader, Stormtroopers and Luke Skywalker, posing for countless photographs with the many hundreds of visitors who flocked to the centre in bright sunshine.

Starring inside the centre was R2-D2, the legendary droid from the Star Wars films. Re-enactors, from the 501st UK Garrison costuming group, travelled from across Wales and as far away as Milton Keynes to join in an event which is already becoming a firm favourite for Star Wars fans of all ages from a very wide area.
The Heritage Centre features a permanent exhibition telling the story of how the ‘Millennium Falcon’ spaceship was built in secret in a former RAF hangar in the 1970s for the Star Wars film ‘The Empire Strikes Back’.

Mark Williams, leader of the Falcon project, said: “The lightsaber training proved very popular all day and the virtual reality experience was a huge success. We are grateful to all the visitors for their support and patience as there were, at times, long queues. We shall be back again next year.”