News

Home Office must be accountable for lack of planning for asylum seekers accommodation

Published

2 years ago

October 11, 2023

Police and Crime Commissioner Dafydd Llywelyn has today insisted that the Home Office need to be held accountable for their lack of strategic planning around housing asylum seekers.

The Home Office’s accommodation provider Clearsprings Ready Homes have been working on the site of the Stradey Park Hotel in Llanelli since April 2023, and had been expected to have asylum seeking families moving on to the site during July.

However, today (10.10.23), the Home Office have written to Dyfed-Powys Police and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner to notify them that due to ‘a number of practical and logistical challenges’ – they are no longer proceeding with plans to use the Hotel as a site for asylum accommodation.

Police and Crime Commissioner Dafydd Llywelyn said; “While I welcome the decision to halt the plans to use the hotel as a site for housing asylum seekers, it is imperative that the Home Office now be held accountable for their decision-making processes and their lack of strategic planning. Who made the decision in the first instance, where was the business case and the surrounding due diligence in ensuing that the decision was feasible and realistic?

“Tensions around the site have been growing in recent weeks, requiring frontline officers and staff to continually work in challenging circumstances which on occasions has compromised our positive relationship with communities.

“The position has been untenable at times, and the costs associated with policing this site are significant and have been rising continually over recent weeks. Add to that, costs incurred by other service providers such as the Fire Service and the Local Authority, and as importantly, how much have the Home Office themselves spent on the site over recent months? Questions need to be asked, and our taxpayers need answers. The Home Office must provide a clear explanation for their lack of foresight and the significant pressure they have placed on local service providers in Carmarthenshire and beyond.

“This is the second time in only a matter of couple of years where local communities and service providers in Dyfed-Powys have been put under unnecessary pressures due to the Home Office’s lack of strategic planning and local engagement. It is obvious to me that no lessons have been learnt from past experiences, and once again we have been left to pick up the pieces on a local level.

“I would reiterate from the letters I have written to the Home Office, my support for the Welsh Government’s strategy, which is to house people in a dispersed model. This is sustainable in offering a longer-term solution for asylum seekers within the Dyfed-Powys area. It is a model that the people of Wales support, have embraced and have successfully delivered to re-settle Syrian, Afghan, Ukrainian and general asylum seekers in recent years.

“The decisions made by the Home Office are in direct conflict with this.”

Crime

Man charged with strangulation and assault offences after October incident

Published

11 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Court Reporter

A MAN recorded in court as having no fixed abode has appeared before magistrates charged with intentional strangulation and two further assault offences.

Michael Sudbury, 50, whose address was not read out in court, but in Herald records is Glan Hafan, Llangwm, appeared before the bench facing multiple charges.

The charges relate to an incident on 22 October 2025 and include:

Intentional strangulation, contrary to section 75A of the Serious Crime Act 2015
Common assault
Assault by beating

No further details of the alleged incident were opened in court, and no plea was entered at this stage.

Sudbury was remanded on conditional bail, with the case listed to return to magistrates later this month.

Crime

Haverfordwest man sent to Crown Court on multiple serious charges

Published

11 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Court Reporter

Defendant remanded in custody

A HAVERFORDWEST man has been sent to Swansea Crown Court to stand trial on a series of A 49-year-old Haverfordwest resident has been committed to Swansea Crown Court to face trial on multiple serious charges deemed too grave for magistrates to handle.

David Guy, of Market Street, Haverfordwest, appeared before Haverfordwest magistrates facing a series of allegations stemming from a single case. The charges, which were not detailed in open court, include:

Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH)
A second count of assault
Criminal damage
An additional allegation of interpersonal violence
A public order offence

Magistrates declined jurisdiction, determining that the matters exceeded their sentencing powers, and sent the case in its entirety to Swansea Crown Court.

Guy was remanded in custody pending his next appearance. The court register notes: “Sent to Crown Court for trial in custody – next hearing at Swansea Crown Court.”

A date for the initial Crown Court hearing will be set administratively. Guy will remain in custody until then.

The Pembrokeshire Herald will provide further updates as the case progresses in the Crown Court.

Crime

Castlemartin man back before magistrates over multiple alleged assaults

Published

11 hours 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 A 40-year-old man from Castlemartin has made repeated appearances before magistrates this month in connection with a series of serious alleged offences, including assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH), intentional non-fatal strangulation, common assault, and criminal damage.

Anthony Alcock, of Pwll Street, Castlemartin, is facing six linked charges stemming from incidents said to have occurred earlier this year. These appear to relate to the same complainant in what is understood to be a single ongoing domestic abuse prosecution.

During recent administrative hearings at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court, Alcock did not enter pleas while matters of bail and case management were addressed.

Charges Include:

Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH)
Intentional non-fatal strangulation
Common assault on a woman
Criminal damage in a domestic context
Additional assault allegations involving the same complainant
Breach of bail conditions

Alcock was initially granted conditional bail but was subsequently brought before the court on two occasions for alleged breaches. On those instances, magistrates remanded him in custody ahead of further hearings. He was later re-granted conditional bail, subject to strict conditions such as no contact with the complainant and exclusion from specified locations.

Magistrates have now declined jurisdiction, ruling that the case—particularly the more serious charges involving non-fatal strangulation—is too grave for summary trial. It has been committed to Swansea Crown Court for plea, trial, or sentencing.

No detailed evidence has been presented in open court at this preliminary stage. Alcock remains on conditional bail pending his next appearance at the Crown Court.