News

Widower fights bank to save his home

Published

10 years ago

August 1, 2014

A MILFORD HAVEN widower is being forced by Lloyds Bank to sell his house, after he discovered his dying wife re-mortgaged the family home for £48,000. Lenny Walters discovered his wife Joyce had forged his signature on two separate occasions before she was diagnosed with lung cancer. Mr Walters had decided to inform Lloyds Bank after his wife was diagnosed with lung cancer, as they had a joint account. However, on his way to the bank, he received a text from Joyce, one where she admitted her deceit to her husband, before she fled to Surrey to live with her niece. Fishmonger Lenny was married to Joyce for 29 years, and believed they had nearly finished paying off their original £30,000 mortgage. However, one bombshell text from his dying wife changed all that. Mr Walters told a national newspaper: “Words cannot describe the pain I felt when the full scale of her betrayal unfolded. Even as she was dying I couldn’t accept her apology. It was the worst moment of my life. Joyce was well loved in our community and I trusted her implicitly. To think she could do this to me was beyond comprehension. We had been together for 33 years, but when she dropped the bombshell about what she had been up to at the bank, I was crushed. She text me and confessed to re-mortgaging the property. She told me she wouldn?t be coming back – that was it. She was dying and I would have to fix this mess.” Lenny, who has a daughter Katy with Joyce, was showed statements that proved the property had been remortgaged in 2004 – adding a loan of £18,000. Then in May 2007, just six months before she was diagnosed with cancer, she arranged a further £30,000 loan with Lloyds, secured against the value of the property. In April 2012, Lloyds Bank, then Lloyds TSB, took Lenny to court in order to try to repossess the house. He argued that he should not face penalisation because of his wife’s actions because the bank should have been more vigilant in their checks. But despite accepting that he had nothing to do with the fraudulent activity, the bank will not accept any liability in the matter and are determined to recoup the money by forcing him to sell his property. He added “They want me to put the house up for auction with a reserve price of £45,000 for a quick sale. I have already spent £10,000 of savings in legal fees but I’ll fight them to the bitter end to keep my home.”

Community

Festive celebrations at St Davids Cathedral this weekend

Published

33 mins ago

December 21, 2024

Tom Sinclair

ST DAVIDS Cathedral is set to host two special events on Sunday (Dec 22), offering a blend of joyful participation and traditional carol singing to mark the Christmas season.

In the morning, families are invited to the Scratch Nativity at 11:00am. Attendees are encouraged to come dressed as wise men, angels, sheep, or shepherds and take part in an unrehearsed retelling of the Christmas story. Canon Leigh described the event as: “Complete, wonderful chaos for an hour… but with some poignant, thought-provoking moments to centre ourselves on the real meaning of Christmas.”

Later in the evening, the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols by Candlelight will take place at 7:00pm, featuring the Cathedral Choir. The event, steeped in tradition, will see the cathedral bathed in candlelight as carols and scripture readings fill the historic space.

Doors will open at 5:45pm for those seeking unreserved seating, and a large turnout is expected for this beloved Christmas celebration.

Crime

Three men from London admit their guilt over illegal cannabis farm

Published

59 mins ago

December 21, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THREE men admit their guilt after police discover over 700 cannabis plants during a raid on a former school building in Llandysul.

Officers from Dyfed-Powys Police executed a warrant at the former Ysgol Gynradd Llandysul on Heol Llyn Y Fran on November 15. Inside, they found 737 cannabis plants spread across multiple rooms.

Armeld Troksi, 29, and Njazi Gjana, 27, both from Empire Avenue in Edmonton, London, along with Ervin Gjana, 24, from Durham Avenue in Romford, were arrested at the scene and later charged with producing cannabis.

The three men appeared before Swansea Crown Court, where they admitted their involvement in the illegal operation. Defence solicitor Joshua Scouller requested a pre-sentence report for Ervin Gjana, which was granted by Judge Geraint Walters.

Sentencing is scheduled for January 20.

A Dyfed-Powys Police spokesperson said: “Following a warrant executed at the former school on Heol Llyn Y Fran, officers discovered a significant cannabis grow containing 737 plants.

“We are grateful to the local community for their continued support and cooperation. Officers will remain in the area while the site is secured.

“Our commitment remains firm in disrupting drug production and supply networks across our force area.

“We encourage residents to report any suspicious activity, no matter how small it may seem. Every piece of information can make a difference, and reports can easily be submitted through our website.”

News

Protest in Lampeter to save Wales’ oldest university

Published

1 hour ago

December 21, 2024

Tom Sinclair

CAMPAIGNERS fighting to save Wales’ oldest university staged a march and demonstration last Friday (Dec 20) in a bid to highlight the plight of the Lampeter campus.

The protest, organised by the Lampeter Society, brought together former and current students, along with local residents, to oppose plans by the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) to relocate humanities courses to Carmarthen next September.

The rally began at Lampeter Rugby Club at 10:30am, with demonstrators marching to the university campus. Despite the timing—on a weekday and so close to Christmas—organisers reported a strong turnout.

Ieuan Davies, one of the organisers and a Lampeter alumnus from the 1980s, said: “We wanted to show support for the students whose education is being directly affected by these plans, and to remind decision-makers of the devastating impact this will have on the local economy and culture.”

Established in 1822, Lampeter is Wales’ oldest higher education institution. In 2009, it merged with Trinity College Carmarthen and later joined with Swansea Metropolitan University to form UWTSD.

The proposed relocation of the humanities faculty has sparked concerns about the long-term sustainability of higher education in Lampeter. Campaigners argue that losing the faculty would mark the end of over 200 years of academic heritage in the town.

The Lampeter Society has also launched a petition calling on the university and the Welsh Government to create a ‘viable, sustainable plan’ for the campus’s future. The petition requires 10,000 signatures to trigger a debate in the Senedd and can be accessed at https://petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/246410.