News

Police letter ending grants case raises new questions

Published

6 years ago

July 16, 2019

IN A LETTER to Council Chief Executive Ian Westley, Dyfed Powys Police have confirmed that NO prosecutions will take place in relation to the Commercial Property Grants scandal affecting Pembroke Dock.

The scandal revolved around the gross misuse of European grant money to build bedsits in Pembroke Dock instead of regenerating the town’s commercial centre, which was the schemes’ supposed intention.

The scandal came to light when Councillors Mike Williams and Mike Stoddart raised a series of inquiries into the scheme’s administration and the purposes to which it was being put. Cllr Stoddart and Pembrokeshire’s Best Magazine continued to pursue to the matter, uncovering a web of company ownership involving a single person, Cathal McCosker.

The magazine dubbed Mr McCosker ‘The Baron of the Bedsits’.

Mr McCosker and his companies had cornered the market in obtaining grants from the Council under the Commercial Property Grants Scheme. Suggestions of cosy links between Mr McCosker and prominent councillors and council officers were vigorously denied.

However, after a stormy Council meeting in December 2013 and a visit to locations in Pembroke Dock which had purportedly been the subject of extensive renovations using public money, it became clear that – at best – works claimed for had not been done. Had any inspection by council officers who signed off the works actually took place, the situation would have been obvious.

In one property, the former Chemists shop at 29 Dimond Street, it was obvious that no material changes had taken place in the commercial premises – even the original shop’s racking was still in place – and that grant money had been spent developing bedsits to the property’s rear.

An examination of documents by three councillors, current Council Leader David Simpson, Cllr Jacob Williams, and Cllr Mike Stoddart led to the discovery that different Bills of Quantities had been provided to different firms. Mr McCosker’s favoured construction partner received at least one significantly cheaper schedule of works for delivery than their tendering rivals.

Cllrs Williams and Stoddart reported what they found to senior officers, who shortly thereafter, in March 2014, referred the matter to the Police.

The Herald revealed that internal records had been doctored by an officer and we have confirmed that former Chief Executive Bryn Parry Jones interfered directly in efforts to discipline staff involved in handling the scheme. One employee, intimately concerned in the supervision of Cathal McCosker’s projects, was allowed to retire on ill-health grounds. A further member of staff fiddled the minutes of grants committee meetings to show that scrutiny took place when it had not.

Now – over five years later – and with Cathal McCosker having voluntarily repaid a large sum of money to the Council, the CPS has decided not to prosecute anyone.

One of the key reasons given for not prosecuting is that the evidence of council officers is inconsistent and contradictory, key documents have gone astray, and a piece of evidence contained on an officer’s hard drive no longer exists.

You can add to that the reality that it would be difficult for a court to rely on documents when there was clear evidence that some – at least – had been doctored by officers.

An effort to shift the blame on to an unnamed councillor operating a blog – which can refer only to Cllrs Williams and Stoddart – is fatally flawed.

The Police claim they asked the unnamed blogger to stop coverage of their Keystone Cops investigation: they approached neither Cllr Stoddart nor Cllr Williams with such a request.

The key questions are: which officers’ evidence is inconsistent and contradictory and why?

Crime

Man charged with strangulation and assault offences after October incident

Published

10 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Court Reporter

A MAN recorded in court as having no fixed abode has appeared before magistrates charged with intentional strangulation and two further assault offences.

Michael Sudbury, 50, whose address was not read out in court, but in Herald records is Glan Hafan, Llangwm, appeared before the bench facing multiple charges.

The charges relate to an incident on 22 October 2025 and include:

Intentional strangulation, contrary to section 75A of the Serious Crime Act 2015
Common assault
Assault by beating

No further details of the alleged incident were opened in court, and no plea was entered at this stage.

Sudbury was remanded on conditional bail, with the case listed to return to magistrates later this month.

Crime

Haverfordwest man sent to Crown Court on multiple serious charges

Published

11 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Court Reporter

Defendant remanded in custody

A HAVERFORDWEST man has been sent to Swansea Crown Court to stand trial on a series of A 49-year-old Haverfordwest resident has been committed to Swansea Crown Court to face trial on multiple serious charges deemed too grave for magistrates to handle.

David Guy, of Market Street, Haverfordwest, appeared before Haverfordwest magistrates facing a series of allegations stemming from a single case. The charges, which were not detailed in open court, include:

Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH)
A second count of assault
Criminal damage
An additional allegation of interpersonal violence
A public order offence

Magistrates declined jurisdiction, determining that the matters exceeded their sentencing powers, and sent the case in its entirety to Swansea Crown Court.

Guy was remanded in custody pending his next appearance. The court register notes: “Sent to Crown Court for trial in custody – next hearing at Swansea Crown Court.”

A date for the initial Crown Court hearing will be set administratively. Guy will remain in custody until then.

The Pembrokeshire Herald will provide further updates as the case progresses in the Crown Court.

Crime

Castlemartin man back before magistrates over multiple alleged assaults

Published

11 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Court Reporter

Defendant remanded on conditional bail ahead of further hearing

A CASTLEMARTIN man has appeared repeatedly before magistrates this month over a string A 40-year-old man from Castlemartin has made repeated appearances before magistrates this month in connection with a series of serious alleged offences, including assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH), intentional non-fatal strangulation, common assault, and criminal damage.

Anthony Alcock, of Pwll Street, Castlemartin, is facing six linked charges stemming from incidents said to have occurred earlier this year. These appear to relate to the same complainant in what is understood to be a single ongoing domestic abuse prosecution.

During recent administrative hearings at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court, Alcock did not enter pleas while matters of bail and case management were addressed.

Charges Include:

Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH)
Intentional non-fatal strangulation
Common assault on a woman
Criminal damage in a domestic context
Additional assault allegations involving the same complainant
Breach of bail conditions

Alcock was initially granted conditional bail but was subsequently brought before the court on two occasions for alleged breaches. On those instances, magistrates remanded him in custody ahead of further hearings. He was later re-granted conditional bail, subject to strict conditions such as no contact with the complainant and exclusion from specified locations.

Magistrates have now declined jurisdiction, ruling that the case—particularly the more serious charges involving non-fatal strangulation—is too grave for summary trial. It has been committed to Swansea Crown Court for plea, trial, or sentencing.

No detailed evidence has been presented in open court at this preliminary stage. Alcock remains on conditional bail pending his next appearance at the Crown Court.