Crime

Father says his two-year-old son was ‘1cm from death’ from dog bite injuries to head

Published

2 years ago

May 16, 2022

A MILFORD HAVEN man has been ordered to carry out 120 hours of community service after he admitted losing control of a dog, which went on to seriously injure a toddler.

Stephen George, 48, of Howarth Close was in charge of a border collie called Roxie when the dog was off its lead. On May 30, 2021, the dog jumped over a garden wall and knocked a two-year-old boy to the floor and started biting his face.

The identify of the boy is protected by a court order.

The boy’s father was there in moments and got between his son and the dog, receiving bites to his thumb and index finger in the process. He picked up his boy, whose face was covered in blood – and an ambulance was called.

He said that the other kids thought his son was dead.
The court heard that examination of the boy’s injuries revealed a deep gash to the forehead, and a year later the wound has healed but left a ‘Harry Potter’ type scar on the boy’s forehead. The most serious wound was to the side of the head, where the dog had bitten through to the bone.

The court also heard that the toddler, now 3, fears noises such as fire alarms following the incident. He is hesitant to play in the sandpit, the court heard. There had also been a disruption to the boy’s sleeping patters because of the incident, is father said in a victim impact statement.

He added: “None of the children want to go out and play in the street anymore – the kids think dogs kill babies.”

The father told The Herald that medics had said that the dog bites had been “one centimetre from killing his son.”

Speaking for George, defence solicitor Mike Kelleher said that his client could not apologise enough. He said that the dog had been a pet which had grown up around kids on the estate and there had never been any problems like this before.
“My client is living with the thought every day that if he had kept the dog on the lead then this would never have happened.”

Mr Kelleher added: “He cannot apologise enough.”
“He thought that the dog should have been allowed to run along free briefly but mulling it over now he things it should have been on the lead.
“To the credit of the boy’s father he remains friends with Mr. George and is present in court today.
“Mr. George has not got any previous convictions and is very remorseful.
“The dog is not his, it belongs to his wife. My client is a farm labourer who works three days per week. He works only three days a week because he has a twelve-year-old son who has autism,
“His wages are topped up with state benefits.”

Mr Kelleher said that his client was not a wealthy man, but the victim’s father could apply for compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority as Mr. George is guilty of the offence.
Mr Kelleher said that his client could serve a community sentence “as long as it did not interfere with his difficult family commitments”, he said.
After a brief period of deliberation, the two-man justices bench decided on sentence.
The chairman of the bench told George that he would have to serve 120 hours of community service, pay £1000 compensation for the injuries to the 2-year-old boy and pay £85 costs and £95 victim’s surcharge.
A payment order was made for £12 per fortnight.

Crime

Recycling company brought before Judge after JCB crushes employee

Published

2 days ago

April 17, 2024

Court Reporter

A PEMBROKESHIRE-BASED recycling company has been brought before a district judge after an employee was seriously injured by a JCB loading shovel.

TBS Recycling and Skip Hire appeared before Judge Mark Layton at Haverfordwest magistrates court earlier this week when company director, Steven Thomas, pleaded guilty to failing to discharge general health, safety and welfare duties to an employee.

The incident occurred on March 31, 2021, at the TBS recycling and skip hire unit which is situated at the Waterston Industrial Estate, between Neyland and Milford Haven.

“An employee of the company was working on the site when he spotted something caught in the wheel of a four-ton JCB,” commented a lawyer for the Health and Safety Executive.

“He went to clear it and the person who was in the [JCB] driving seat knew he was doing it. But he was distracted and believed the other employee had left. So he lowered the shovel, but it crushed him.”

As a result, the employee sustained crushed ribs and damage to his lungs and breathing.

“But he’s since made a good recovery,” said the Health and Safety Executive lawyer.

Steven Thomas, of Cross Farm, Walwyns Castle Road, Ties Cross, will be sentenced by Judge Layton when he sits at Llanelli Magistrates Court on June 6.

Crime

Pembrokeshire car salesman caught driving on cocaine

Published

2 days ago

April 17, 2024

Court Reporter

A PEMBROKESHIRE car salesman has appeared before a District Judge after being caught driving a cream BMW through Kilgetty after taking cocaine.

Fraser Finlay was stopped by police officers on the night of October 3, 2023, as he drove the vehicle along Clayford Road in Wooden.

The officers’ suspicions had been aroused when the trade insurance which covered his vehicle failed to show up on their system.

A roadside breath test was carried out which proved positive and Finlay, 25, was conveyed to a police custody suite where further blood tests were carried out for analysis.

These showed he had 20ug/L of cocaine in his system; the legal threshold limit is 10. He was also found to have 800 ug/L of the cocaine derivative benzoylecgonine in his system; the legal limit is 50.

“This conviction means that my client is most likely to see an end to his job,” his solicitor, David Williams, informed District Judge Mark Layton sitting at Haverfordwest magistrates court earlier this week.

“This is because he works as a car salesman.”

Finlay was disqualified from driving for 17 months. He was fined £450 and ordered to pay a £180 court surcharge and £85 costs.

Crime

Tenby man admits defecating on floor of mother’s property

Published

3 days ago

April 17, 2024

Court Reporter

A COURT has heard how a Tenby mother feared for her safety after her son threatened to kill her before defecating on the floor outside her bathroom.

Daniel Preston, 37, arrived at Rhian Thomas’ property on the evening of March 26.

“He was heavily intoxicated and told his mother to f* off and called her a c*,” Crown Prosecutor Abigail Jackson told Haverfordwest magistrates this week.

“A few hours later she was in her bedroom and he tried to enter, kicking the door saying “I will f kill you.”

At this point Preston’s mother began fearing for her safety.

“She became scared and called the police, but the defendant then came into her bedroom and tried to grab her,” continued Ms Jackson. “She screamed at him to stop but he tried to grab the phone off her.

“During her phone call to the officers, the police advised her to find a safe place so she went downstairs to the bathroom and locked the door. “

But Preston tried to gain access to the bathroom by repeatedly kicking the door.

“I thought it was going to break,” Rhian Thomas, told the police during her interview.

Ms Jackson said the defendant then proceeded to defecate on the floor outside the bathroom, before smearing the faeces onto the bathroom door.

“This has left me scared,” Ms Thomas said in a victim impact statement that was read out to the court.

“I can’t live like this anymore. When he comes home he takes over everything, and I’m scared that he will blame me and attack me when he’s released [from custody].”

When police officers arrived at the property they discovered Preston slumped on the floor.

“He then became aggressive and abusive and was making threats to harm himself,” said Ms Jackson. “They officers tried to restrain him but he began shouting and reached out with his right hand, attempting to strike one of the officers [Pc Barry] with his open hand which she managed to block.”

Preston pleaded guilty to the common assault of an emergency worker, the common assault of Rhian Thimas and causing criminal damage to his mother’s property by defecating on the floor. He appeared before Haverfordwest magistrates via a video link from Swansea prison where he has been remanded in custody since the offences were committed last month.

“You have caused your mother a great deal of fear,” commented District Judge Mark Layton when imposing sentence.

Preston was sentenced to eight weeks in custody by District Judge Mark Layton, half of which will be served in prison, the remainder on a post-sentence supervision.

A two-year restraining order was imposed preventing him from having any contact with his mother, not entering her property and not going within 100 metres of her address. He was ordered to pay £85 court costs and a £154 surcharge.