News
Chip shop owner claims wife’s death was accident
SWANSEA CROWN COURT has heard that a chip shop owner burned his wife to death by scolding her with chip fat following a domestic dispute.
But Geoffrey Bran, 71, says that the death of his wife of 30 years in October 2018 was an accident. The court heard that her injuries were caused when she threw ‘spoilt fish’ at him causing superficial injuries and bruises to his head and forearms, before pulling a deep fat fryer over herself causing 41% burns, from which she later died in hospital.
Geoffrey and Mavis Bran ran the Chipoteria business in Hermon, near the Pembrokeshire Carmarthenshire border. The burger van and wooden shack business had not been open for long – perhaps a year – when the incident happened.
The jury, of five men and seven women was told that Mrs Bran was constantly nagging her husband over trivial or silly matters and that the relationship was ‘argumentative’ and ‘loud’
The court further heard that the relationship had deteriorated further in the months before her death. At the time of the incident, Mr Bran was arrested by police on suspicion of assault but later released.
Chipoteria – the snack shack in Hemon is now closed
After suffering the burns, Mrs Bran was transferred to Morrison hospital in Swansea where she died of her wounds six days later. Bran was re-arrested in November 2018.
But Mr Lewis prosecuting said that the terrible burns were not the result of an accident, but by her husband deliberately pushing or throwing a deep fat fryer which contained boiling oil over her.
He said that people who know the couple knew that they both had short tempers.
On Tuesday, October 23 last year, both the Brans were at work in the Chip shop, while their friend Mr Gareth Davies was in their house.
Mr Davies heard Mrs Bran come into the house, naked from the waist up, shouting ‘I’ve been burned… I’ve had boiling fat all over me.
Mr Davies described Mrs Bran’s upper body as a “crimson colour” and said that her skin was peeling off at the wrists.
Mrs Bran then told Mr Davies, who at that point had a cut above his eye, to fetch more fish for customers – she initially declined an ambulance.
Bran told Mr Davies that his wife had slipped and grabbed the fryer, causing it to come out of the holder and spill onto her.
However, a friend of Mrs Bran, Miss Caroline Morgan, received a call from her at around 1.15pm, she said that Mrs Bran screamed down the phone at her saying: “Geoff has thrown boiling oil over me. Please get here, I need you now, help!”
The court heard that on arrival to the house Miss Morgan found that Mrs Bran in shock, saying: “I was nagging him – and then he flipped”
Bran denies murder and the trial continues.
Accused: Geoff Bran (Pic S4C)
EMERGENCY services were called after a car crashed into a house on Nun Street in St Davids on Thursday (Apr 24).
Dyfed-Powys Police and Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service attended the scene at around 4:35pm following reports of a single-vehicle collision.
On arrival, they found that a car had collided with a residential property. Fortunately, no injuries were reported.
The road remained open while the vehicle was recovered.
A spokesperson for Dyfed-Powys Police said: “Dyfed-Powys Police attended a report of a single-vehicle road traffic collision where a car collided with a property on Nun Street, St Davids, at around 4:35pm yesterday. No injuries were reported, and the road remained open while the vehicle was recovered.”
POLICE are appealing for information to help locate a 54-year-old man who has been reported missing from the Milford Haven area.
Neil is described as being around 6ft 2in tall with a shaved head. He has tattoos on his arms and one of his fingers, and sometimes wears glasses.
He was last seen on Friday afternoon (Apr 26) wearing a black Superdry hoodie, ripped jeans, and orange and black Nike Air trainers. Neil is believed to be on foot.
Anyone with information that could help is urged to contact Dyfed-Powys Police: 
| Online portal
| 101@dyfed-powys.police.uk
| Call 101, quoting reference 262 of April 26.
Wales joins UK’s largest firefighting aid convoy
MID and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service (MAWWFRS) has taken part in the UK’s largest ever convoy delivering vital firefighting equipment to Ukraine, joining 17 other Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs) from across the country.
The convoy, coordinated by FIRE AID and supported by the UK Government, left the UK in early April. It travelled through France, Germany and Poland, delivering over 30 fire service vehicles and more than 15,000 items of equipment to support Ukrainian firefighters on the front line of the ongoing war.
Since the Russian invasion in 2022, UK fire services have donated 119 vehicles and over 200,000 pieces of equipment to Ukraine. Each participating service ensured local needs were met before donating surplus kit.
Watch Manager Rob Kershaw represented MAWWFRS on the convoy. He said:
“It’s been a privilege to be part of this convoy and to represent both FIRE AID and Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service.
We received invaluable support and assistance from fire and police services across every country we passed through. Their help in coordinating, escorting, and hosting the convoy was outstanding.”
Chief Fire Officer Roger Thomas KFSM added:
“MAWWFRS is proud to support our colleagues in Ukraine by donating and delivering essential equipment.
The events in Ukraine have deeply affected the fire and rescue community, and this convoy is a demonstration of our ongoing commitment to helping those still working under extreme conditions.”
The donated equipment will support firefighters in Ukraine who continue to operate in war zones to save lives and protect property—often at great personal risk. Since the conflict began, 100 Ukrainian firefighters have been killed and 431 injured. A total of 411 fire stations and 1,700 firefighting vehicles have been destroyed.
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