Rhys Wheeler failed to attend unpaid work and probation appointments after being handed a suspended sentence

A HAVERFORDWEST man has been warned he faces prison if he breaches a court order again after failing to attend unpaid work and rehabilitation appointments.

Rhys Wheeler, 24, was convicted in July 2025 of aggravated vehicle taking, causing more than £5,000 worth of damage, and a string of driving offences including drug-driving, driving without a licence and driving without insurance.

He was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to complete ten rehabilitation activity requirement days and 200 hours of unpaid work.

But this week Haverfordwest magistrates were told that Wheeler, of Penycwm, Haverfordwest, had breached the order for a second time.

Probation officer Julie Norman said Wheeler had failed to attend unpaid work and had also stopped engaging with probation.

“It’s disappointing that he’s here for a second time,” she told the court.

“He appeared before this court in February for an identical breach. The last time he attended his probation appointments was on May 6. Since then, he’s completely disengaged.”

Wheeler admitted failing to comply with the order and was represented in court by solicitor Tom Lloyd.

“The defendant has done a fair chunk of the hours, and he’s motivated to complete them,” said Mr Lloyd.

“He’s nearly there, so it would be a real disaster if he was sent to prison after getting as far as this.”

Magistrates ordered Wheeler to complete an additional ten hours of unpaid work, leaving him with 79 hours still to complete. His order was also extended until January 2027.

He must pay £60 prosecution costs.

“Any further breaches will leave the court with no option but to send you to prison,” the presiding magistrate told him.

Lucy Pope told police she had drunk alcohol earlier that evening after officers stopped her car in Haverfordwest.

A YOUNG Pembrokeshire dairy farmer has been banned from the road after being caught driving while over the drink-drive limit.

Lucy Pope, 22, pleaded guilty to the offence when she appeared before Haverfordwest magistrates this week.

The court heard that Pope was arrested in the early hours of March 7 after police stopped her Volkswagen T-Roc in Dew Street, Haverfordwest.

“At around 1.30am, police received a call from a member of the public who suspected the defendant may have been driving after consuming alcohol,” Crown Prosecutor Sian Vaughan told the court.

“Her car was located and, when officers spoke to Lucy Pope, she confirmed she had consumed alcohol at around 9pm that evening.”

A subsequent blood test showed Pope had 103 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit is 80.

Pope, of Fronhaul, Hermon, Glogue, was represented by solicitor Aled Owen, who said the offence was “very much at odds” with her character.

“This is a woman who is very much part of the community,” he said.

“She works as a dairy farmer and also keeps her own heifers. She had spent the day watching a Six Nations rugby international with friends.

“She believed she had eaten enough during the day and thought she was under the limit. But this was a miscalculation which has been devastating.”

Magistrates disqualified Pope from driving for 12 months and fined her £115. She was also ordered to pay £85 costs and a £46 surcharge.

Alexander Campbell and Jonathan Garland admitted sending a menacing message after claiming they knew people in jail who could kill James Kershaw

A COURT has heard how two men left a threatening voice message in which they claimed they knew people in prison who could kill a man’s son.

Alexander Campbell and Jonathan Garland made the call to Robert Kershaw in the early hours of December 21, 2024.

Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court heard that the pair told Mr Kershaw they knew which prison his son, James, was in and claimed they had contacts who could arrange for him to be killed.

In the voice message, which was played to the court, the men could be heard saying: “Are you a paedophile, Mr Kershaw?

“I know exactly who your son is. I know everything.

“Are you crying? I know people in jail who will kill your son. I know exactly which prison he’s in. He’s going to get killed.”

Crown prosecutor Sian Vaughan said Mr Kershaw had received two earlier calls that night.

The first came from a withheld number and claimed his son was critically ill in prison. When Mr Kershaw contacted the prison, he was told his son was in good health.

Minutes later, he received another call in which a voice said: “Please help me.”

“He knew it wasn’t his son,” said Ms Vaughan.

“When he received the third call, he recorded it and contacted his son, who recognised the voices as those of the defendants.”

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mr Kershaw said the incident had caused him “extreme anxiety”.

“While these people are at large, I don’t feel safe in my own home,” he said.

Campbell, 30, who is currently serving a custodial sentence for assaulting a woman and two police officers, and Garland, 36, of Coombs Road, Milford Haven, both pleaded guilty to sending an offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing message by a public communication network.

Campbell was represented by Michael Kelleher, who told the court his client had been struggling with alcohol at the time of the offence.

“Both defendants egged each other on, and things were said that would never have been carried out,” he said.

“But he accepts what they said would have caused anxiety, concern and worry.”

Mr Kelleher said Campbell was making progress in tackling his alcohol issues while in custody.

“He has now had time to reflect and he wants to turn his life around when he gets out,” he said.

“He realises alcohol has been a problem throughout his life and he has lost years of his life as a result of his alcohol abuse. He is hoping that, upon release, his sobriety will continue.”

Garland’s solicitor, Tom Lloyd, described his client’s actions as “a moment of madness”.

“This is a man of completely clean character who has never before appeared before a court,” he said.

“Alexander Campbell was far more involved and my client’s level of involvement was considerably less.

“He is remorseful for what took place. This was a moment of madness and he was in a bad place at the time.”

Probation officer Julie Norman told the court that Garland had been under the influence of alcohol when the call was made.

“At the time of this offence, the defendant was associating with the co-defendant and they both made the telephone call while under the influence of alcohol,” she said.

“Since that day, he hasn’t consumed alcohol and he doesn’t use drugs.”

Campbell was sentenced to ten weeks in custody, to run concurrently with his existing prison sentence. He was ordered to pay an £85 contribution towards prosecution costs and a £15 surcharge.

Garland was fined £200 and ordered to pay £85 costs and an £80 surcharge.

A restraining order was imposed on both defendants, preventing them from having any direct or indirect contact with Robert Kershaw.

The order also prevents them from entering the victim’s home address and from entering any data relating directly or indirectly to the victim on any electronic device.

James Kershaw has been released from prison but is now facing new charges including an allegation of rape. He will appear at Swansea Crown Court next month. In addition, he is to appear at the same crown court later this year on separate charges of alleged online sexual activity with a child.