News

Health Board’s vaccination priorities questioned

Published

5 years ago

January 22, 2021

THE HEALTH BOARD has denied claims that the wait for Covid vaccinations has been ‘queue-jumped’ by Council employees and other non-front line workers.

On Thursday evening, a member of the public contacted The Herald via our Facebook page and asked us:

‘Can you please investigate and shine a light on the Pembrokeshire council employees, (some of whom are office staff who have been working from home since March, some are repair and maintenance guys.)

‘They have had phone calls to book and are booking appointments to have their vaccines done at the new vaccination centre in Haverfordwest at the records office run by the council. Some have been for jabs today and others have appointments for the weekend. They are definitely not in any of the first few priority groups and are taking vaccines away from those who need it more.”

When we put the issue to the local authority, Ros Jervis, Director of Public Health at Hywel Dda University Health Board said: “The decision was made this week to extend the vaccine invitation to staff groups critical to the COVID response, without which we would not be able to run essential COVID response services.

“Many of these staff are currently redeployed from frontline and patient facing roles and employed by the health board, social care services, independent or third sector care services and fall within the JCVI’s priority group 2.

“The invitation was only extended once we were absolutely certain frontline staff had been provided ample opportunity to receive a vaccine and once all stand-by reserve lists were exhausted. This approach has led us to having one of the lowest vaccine wastage figures, despite the challenges of our rural location.

“I’d like to reassure the public that vaccinating this essential group of staff has in no way delayed our rollout to the wider population and I can confirm the first invitations for members of the public to attend our mass vaccination centres will be issued this week.”

The Welsh Government’s strategy is to inoculate frontline staff and then Over 80s – that is its First Priority. Other people fall into different Priority Groups. With so many unvaccinated in the First Priority Group – over 80s – the question goes begging as to the basis upon which their claims to the vaccine were bypassed in favour of those in the Second Priority Group.

Preseli Pembrokeshire MP Stephen Crabb told us: “I am very concerned about the claims being made of vaccine queue jumping. From the explanation given by Hywel Dda University Health Board, it looks like the priority list drawn up by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has now been ripped up and lots of other people are being invited to get vaccinated who are not in the priority groups.

“The whole reason for the priority list, which was agreed to by all four Chief Medical Officers from across the UK, was to save the greatest number of lives by vaccinating the most vulnerable people first.

“I have consistently raised concerns about the slow rollout in Wales. We are not where we should be by now especially when it comes to vaccinating the over 80s. There is limited supply of vaccines and the Health Board should be using these for the most vulnerable people in our community. It’s important for building confidence in the roll-out that people can see there is a clear plan being followed. I’m afraid situations like this undermine that confidence.”

The Welsh Government faced increasing criticism this week about its management of Wales’ vaccine distribution. On Monday, there was outrage about the First Minister’s remarks on Wales’ strategy which the Welsh Government spent the next four days trying to stem.

On Tuesday, Vaughan Gething, Wales Health Minister, claimed that 70% of over 80s would receive their first vaccine dose by this weekend. On Wednesday evening, figures released by Public Health Wales showed less than a quarter of over 80s had got their first shot.

Mr Gething later claimed he’d made “an innocent mistake”, saying: “There was a minor amount of confusion about the difference between care home residents, where we had vaccinated a majority, and over 80s.”

Crime

Castlemartin man back before magistrates over multiple alleged assaults

Published

2 minutes 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 of alleged offences including assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH), non-fatal strangulation, common assault, and criminal damage.

Anthony Alcock, 40, of Pwll Street, Castlemartin, faces six linked charges arising from incidents reported to have taken place earlier this year. Alcock, who did not enter pleas during the administrative hearings, appeared on several occasions as the court dealt with bail issues and case management.

Multiple assault allegations
The charges listed before magistrates include:
Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH)
Intentional strangulation
Common assault of a woman
Criminal damage relating to a domestic incident
Further assault allegations linked to the same complainant
A breach of bail conditions

The court heard that Alcock had previously been granted conditional bail. However, he was brought back before magistrates twice during the same reporting period for alleged breaches of those conditions, resulting in updated bail decisions.

Bail breached — defendant remanded

On two separate entries in the court register, Alcock was listed as having breached his bail, leading magistrates to remand him into custody pending the next hearing. On other dates within the same week, he was again re-released on conditional bail, with strict terms imposed, including restrictions on contact with the complainant and exclusions from certain locations.

He is now remanded on conditional bail with his next appearance set for Swansea Crown Court, where the more serious matters — including the alleged non-fatal strangulation — will be dealt with.

Case sent to Crown Court

Magistrates directed that the case is too serious to be heard locally and must proceed to the Crown Court for trial or sentence.

The Herald understands that all listed charges fall under the same prosecution reference, indicating they form part of a single ongoing domestic abuse prosecution. No further details were opened in court at this stage.

Crime

Rogue roofer conned homeowner out of thousands

Published

18 minutes ago

December 14, 2025

Court Reporter

Caerphilly investigation leads to court conviction

A ROGUE trader from Pembroke has been ordered to pay more than £6,000 after duping a homeowner into handing over thousands for unnecessary roofing work.

Douggie Whitbread, aged twenty-five and living at Coldwell Terrace, Pembroke, persuaded his victim that he “probably needed a new roof” before charging £4,350 for work that was either unnecessary or not carried out properly.

Whitbread admitted two counts of fraud relating to a property on Griffiths Street, Ystrad Mynach, with the offences taking place between August 12 and October 16, 2023.

He appeared before Cwmbran Magistrates’ Court, where he was ordered to pay a total of £6,130. That includes £4,350 in compensation, £1,500 in prosecution costs, a £200 fine, and an £80 victim surcharge.

The case was brought following an investigation by Caerphilly Trading Standards, who urged residents to be cautious of unsolicited offers of home maintenance work.

News

South Pembrokeshire Short Mat Bowls Association – Week Twelve results

Published

36 minutes ago

December 14, 2025

Herald Sport

A PACKET week of fixtures in the South Pembrokeshire Short Mat Bowls Association’s Friendly League saw key wins at both ends of the table as teams continue to jostle for position going into the second half of the season.

Match results (Week 12):

Hundleton 10–0 Lamphey
Badgers 2–8 St Johns
Reynalton 0–10 Carew
Kilgetty 8–2 East Williamston
Cosheston v Llanteg – postponed
St Twynnells – bye week

A previously postponed fixture was also completed, with St Twynnells drawing 5–5 with Reynaltón.

League table (after Week 12):
East Williamston remain top, having played 10 and won eight, with a strong shots difference of +125. Reynaltón sit second after 11 games with 58 points, while St Johns and Hundleton follow closely behind on 54 points each.

At the mid-table mark, Carew (49 points), St Twynnells (48) and Kilgetty (46) remain tightly grouped. Badgers, Lamphey, Llanteg and Cosheston make up the lower order, though the number of games played varies, leaving room for movement in the coming weeks.

Full standings:

Team	P	W	D	L	S/D	Points
East Williamston	10	8	0	2	+125	72
Reynaltón	11	5	2	4	+35	58
St Johns	10	5	1	4	+32	54
Hundleton	10	5	1	4	-2	54
Carew	9	5	0	4	-25	49
St Twynnells	10	4	2	4	-34	48
Kilgetty	11	5	0	6	-44	46
Badgers	11	3	1	7	-59	45
Lamphey	11	5	0	6	-10	44
Llanteg	8	4	0	4	-5	41
Cosheston	9	3	1	5	-13	40