Carmarthenshire politician among those elevated to House of Lords

FORMER Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire MP Simon Hart has been appointed to the House of Lords in Rishi Sunak’s resignation honours list.

Mr Hart, who previously served as Secretary of State for Wales under Boris Johnson and later as Chief Whip for Mr Sunak, lost his seat at the general election in July 2024. The Conservatives were wiped out in Wales during that election.

Several other former ministers were also recognised. Michael Gove, who served as education secretary and housing secretary under different administrations, was granted a peerage. He is currently editor of The Spectator magazine.

Knighthoods were awarded to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, former foreign secretary James Cleverly, former defence secretary Grant Shapps, and former work and pensions secretary Mel Stride.

Outside politics, former England cricketer James Anderson was knighted after retiring from Test cricket in July. He holds the record for most wickets by a fast bowler in Test history.

Filmmaker Matthew Vaughn also received a knighthood for services to the creative industries. His credits include Layer Cake, Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class, and the Kingsman films.

CARDIGAN will be the place to be on Saturday, June 15, as entries continue to flood in for this year’s Welsh National Tractor Road Run (WNTRR).

The popular event is being organised by the North Pembrokeshire Tractor Enthusiasts – a group of like-minded friends led by Dai Rees of Cilgerran.

The Run will begin at Awenfryn, Glanrhyd – the farm of Keith and Kevin Evans – and take in stunning views across Cardigan Bay before heading inland towards Cwm Gwaun and the Preseli Mountains. The route will then return to Awenfryn.

This year’s event will raise money for three charities: the Wales Air Ambulance, Crymych First Responders, and Cardigan First Responders.

Entry is £20 until the closing date of Monday, May 20. Early entries will be listed in the official programme and guaranteed a commemorative souvenir. Entries will also be accepted on the day for £25, but late entrants will not be guaranteed a souvenir – a decision made by organisers to reduce disruption caused by last-minute arrivals.

Entry forms can be obtained from members of the local organising team – Dai Rees, Alun Owens, Keith Evans, Kevin Evans, Sion Morgan, and Peter Lewis – at various tractor events. Alternatively, forms can be requested by email from the WNTRR secretary at anne.trials@btinternet.com, or downloaded from the WNTRR Facebook page.

Online entry is also available:

• English entry form
• Welsh entry form

Anyone interested in sponsoring the event or advertising in the souvenir programme should contact the WNTRR secretary or Sion Morgan via sion@pantygarn.co.uk.

Spectators are welcome at the starting point and along the route. More details will be released closer to the date.

ANGLE RNLI’s volunteer lifeboat crew responded to four separate emergency call-outs this week, assisting stricken vessels across Pembrokeshire waters.

The first incident occurred at 6:33am on Saturday (April 5), when the All-Weather Lifeboat was launched to assist an 11-metre yacht fouled on a mooring buoy in Dale. The vessel, which had two people onboard, had become tangled overnight and lost its dinghy while attempting to free itself.

The lifeboat was on scene within ten minutes. A crew member was transferred to the yacht and, after several attempts, managed to cut the vessel free. The yacht had secured its bow to another mooring buoy, and once freed, the lifeboat’s inflatable Y-boat was launched to recover the drifting dinghy, reducing any risk to the crew. With all systems checked and working, the lifeboat stood down and was back alongside by 8:00am.

Later that same day, at 5:57pm, the lifeboat was paged again following multiple 999 calls reporting a jet skier clinging to the jetty piles at Hobbs Point. The lifeboat launched immediately but was stood down on arrival after the jet skier had self-recovered. A welfare check was carried out before the crew returned to station.

At 10:50am on Friday (April 11), the lifeboat was again launched to assist a 13-metre yacht fouled on fishing gear around seven miles south of St Ann’s Head. The yacht’s crew had been unable to free the vessel from the seabed. Two lifeboat crew members were transferred to the yacht and successfully cut it free after ten minutes. However, the yacht’s skipper soon reported steering failure, prompting the lifeboat to set up a tow to Neyland Marina, where the vessel could be lifted out the following day. Shortly into the tow, steering was restored, and the yacht continued under its own power. The lifeboat shadowed the vessel to confirm all was well before returning to base at 1:30pm.

The final call-out came on Saturday (April 13) at 9:17am, while the crew were already afloat on an exercise. They were alerted to a small angling vessel experiencing fuel issues in the channel off Milford Docks. A local pilot vessel was standing by and requested RNLI assistance. The lifeboat took the vessel under tow to Neyland Marina, where the marina workboat completed the recovery. The lifeboat then returned to its scheduled exercise.

A spokesperson for Angle RNLI praised the dedication and professionalism of the crew, who responded quickly and efficiently to all incidents.

Photo caption:
On call: Angle RNLI assisted four vessels in difficulty this week (Pic: RNLI/Herald).