News

Farmer’s suspended jail sentence for horse cruelty

Published

12 years ago

October 28, 2013

A PEMBROKESHIRE farmer has narrowly avoided a custodial sentence after admitting cruelty to animals.
Gwilym Gilmour Thomas, 42, of Lodor Fach, Maenclochog, sat with his head bowed, as the three charges of causing unnecessary suffering under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 were read out.
Thomas pleaded guilty at the first opportunity to failing to adequately care for a Palomino Stallion, a Strawberry Roan mare and a Strawberry Roan horse.
There were emotional scenes in the court room as the defendant, from the dock, and his wife, from the public gallery, sobbed uncontrollably throughout the proceedings. His wife was comforted by a member of court staff.
Prosecutor Jon Tarrant told Haverfordwest Magistrates that this was the worst case of neglect of horses that the informing RSPCA officer, Mr. Abbott, had ever come across in all his years of experience.
Jon Tarrant told the court: “On April 11 the RSPCA visited a parcel of land in the vicinity of Rosebush, south of the Preseli’s. An officer photographed and videoed three horses, and a pony.”
“One animal had already died, while another was close to death, and the other two were severely malnourished; being 50-60% underweight” he added.
John Tarrant continued: “The first field the officer entered was extremely bare, and there appeared to be an area where a bail of hay had been put out previously. In that field the officer saw one horse which was struggling to lift its head and looking disorientated”
“He also found an empty bath tub which had barbed wire in the bottom of it, which had previously been used for water for the animals” he said.
John Tarrant continued: “On attempts to recover the surviving animals, one of those horses tried to evade capture – but it had to stop every so often as a result of its poor condition.”
“The fourth horse, found in another field, was estimated to have died 24 to 48 hours previously.
In a recorded interview with RSPCA officers, Thomas simply said: “I’ve failed them, I can’t forgive myself – I never realised they were struggling, I failed them.”
Defence solicitor Richard Griffiths asked “whose responsibility is it in the main to look after the horses?”
Mr Thomas’ father owns the field and the horses but generally asks his son to feed the animals.
In interview, Thomas senior said: “If I had any idea they were going down, I would have done something”.
Defending, Richard Griffiths, told the court: “My client has admitted his guilt. In interviews he was extremely sorry for what had happened to the horses.
“However, whilst admitting responsibility, you will notice from the bundle that there were two people interviewed under caution,” he said.
Mr Griffiths continued: “The defendant’s father also admitted he was at fault, but because of his age and ill health, it was decided not to be in the public interest to prosecute him.”
Mr Griffiths read out extracts of the interview between the RSPCA and the defendant’s father, Thomas senior. Mr Griffiths told the court: “It seems that the defendant’s duty was to bring food to the horses on an ‘as and when’ basis, on the instructions of his father.”
“His father suffered from chest pains and was unable to walk the length of the paddocks,” he added.
“A lady, who also had horses in the paddock, had been helping as well with the care of the animals,” he said.
“Once the lady had taken her horses away Thomas senior had forgotten to inform anyone including the defendant. This is the reason why the animals became malnourished,” Mr Griffiths explained.
“Despite viewing the animals daily, Thomas senior could only do so from a distance because he was unable to walk far. It seems that the majority of the responsibility rests with someone who is not before the court, and the defendant only played a minor role,” he said.
Mr Griffiths went on to say: “In fact, the defendant is in charge of a thousand livestock and has an excellent record.
“Last winter, one of the worst on record, he did not lose a single animal. This is testament to his attention and care of the animals he is fully responsible for.
‘’My client lives in a static caravan with his wife on the farm,” he said.
“He shares the facilities of the main house, but only receives £25 per week allowance from the business, despite working up to 17-hour days,” he told the court.
The clerk of the court told the magistrates: “This is an offence where you have to impose a custodial sentence. You have to follow your guidelines, you have no option
“However, it is within your powers to suspend the sentence,” he added.
Thomas was given a one year suspended jail sentence, ordered to undertake 300 hours of unpaid work and was disqualified from keeping horses for five years. He was ordered to pay prosecution costs of £1102.60.
Speaking after the hearing Richard Abbot said “The decision to prosecute Gwilym Thomas was one which was made by a case management officer at RSPCA headquarters.”
“It is my view that he should not have been prosecuted without his father being before the court as well.”
“Animals have suffered over a long period of time. Usually in cases like this people deserve to go to prison.
I was however, worried in court that William Thomas would get a prison sentence as this is not what he deserves.”
Speaking to The Herald, John Tarrant said: “The RSPCA is stuck between a rock and a hard place. They would be criticised for prosecuting and they would have been criticised for not prosecuting this case.”

CAPTION: One of the surviving horses, two died. Some of the photos are too shocking to publish.

Crime

Swansea man dies weeks after release from troubled HMP Parc: Investigation launched

Published

3 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Tom Sinclair

A SWANSEA man has died just weeks after being released from HMP Parc, the Bridgend prison now at the centre of a national crisis over inmate deaths and post-release failures.

Darren Thomas, aged 52, died on 13 November 2025 — less than a month after leaving custody. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) has confirmed an independent investigation into his death, which is currently listed as “in progress”.

Born on 9 April 1973, Mr Thomas had been under post-release supervision following a period at HMP/YOI Parc, the G4S-run prison that recorded seventeen deaths in custody in 2024 — the highest in the UK.

His last known legal appearance was at Swansea Crown Court in October 2024, where he stood trial accused of making a threatening phone call and two counts of criminal damage. During the hearing, reported by The Pembrokeshire Herald at the time, the court heard he made threats during a heated call on 5 October 2023.

Mr Thomas denied the allegations but was found guilty on all counts. He was sentenced to a custodial term, which led to his imprisonment at HMP Parc.

Parc: A prison in breakdown

HMP Parc has faced sustained criticism throughout 2024 and 2025. A damning unannounced inspection in January found:

Severe self-harm incidents up 190%
Violence against staff up 109%
Synthetic drugs “easily accessible” across wings
Overcrowding at 108% capacity

In the first three months of 2024 alone, ten men died at Parc — part of a wider cluster of twenty PPO-investigated deaths since 2022. Six occurred within three weeks, all linked to synthetic drug use.

Leaked staff messages in 2025 exposed a culture of indifference, including one officer writing: “Let’s push him to go tomorrow so we can drop him.”

Six G4S employees have been arrested since 2023 in connection with alleged assaults and misconduct.

The danger after release

Deaths shortly after release from custody are a growing national concern. Ministry of Justice data shows 620 people died while under community supervision in 2024–2025, with 62 deaths occurring within 14 days of release.

Short sentences — common at Parc — leave little time for effective rehabilitation or release planning. Homelessness, loss of drug tolerance and untreated mental-health conditions create a high-risk environment for those newly released.

The PPO investigates all such deaths to determine whether prisons or probation failed in their duties. Reports often take 6–12 months and can lead to recommendations.

A system at breaking point

The crisis at Parc reflects wider failures across UK prisons and probation. A July 2025 House of Lords report described the service as “not fit for purpose”. More than 500 people die in custody annually, with campaigners warning that private prisons such as Parc prioritise cost-cutting over care.

The PPO investigation into the death of Darren Thomas continues.

Crime

Woman stabbed partner in Haverfordwest before handing herself in

Published

3 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Court Reporter

A WOMAN who stabbed her partner during a drug-fuelled episode walked straight into Haverfordwest Police Station and told officers what she had done, Swansea Crown Court has heard.

Amy Woolston, 22, of Dartmouth Street in Milford Haven, arrived at the station at around 8:00pm on June 13 and said: “I stabbed my ex-partner earlier… he’s alright and he let me walk off,” prosecutor Tom Scapens told the court.

The pair had taken acid together earlier in the day, and Woolston claimed she believed she could feel “stab marks in her back” before the incident.

Police find victim with four wounds

Officers went to the victim’s home to check on him. He was not there at first, but returned shortly afterwards. He appeared sober and told police: “Just a couple of things,” before pointing to injuries on his back.

He had three stab or puncture wounds to his back and another to his bicep.

The victim said that when he arrived home from the shop, Woolston was acting “a bit shifty”. After asking if she was alright, she grabbed something from the windowsill — described as either a knife or a shard of glass — and stabbed him.

He told officers he had “had worse from her before”, did not support a prosecution, and refused to go to hospital.

Defendant has long history of violence

Woolston pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding. The court heard she had amassed 20 previous convictions from 10 court appearances, including assaults, battery, and offences against emergency workers.

Defending, Dyfed Thomas said Woolston had longstanding mental health problems and had been off medication prescribed for paranoid schizophrenia at the time.
“She’s had a difficult upbringing,” he added, saying she was remorseful and now compliant with treatment.

Woolston was jailed for 12 months, but the court heard she has already served the equivalent time on remand and will be released imminently on a 12-month licence.

News

BBC apologises to Herald’s editor for inaccurate story

Published

5 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Staff Writer

THE BBC has issued a formal apology and amended a six-year-old article written by BBC Wales Business Correspondent Huw Thomas after its Executive Complaints Unit ruled that the original headline and wording gave an “incorrect impression” that Herald editor Tom Sinclair was personally liable for tens of thousands of pounds in debt.

The 2019 report, originally headlined “Herald newspaper editor Tom Sinclair has £70,000 debts”, has now been changed.

The ECU found: “The wording of the article and its headline could have led readers to form the incorrect impression that the debt was Mr Sinclair’s personal responsibility… In that respect the article failed to meet the BBC’s standards of due accuracy.”

Mr Sinclair said: “I’m grateful to the ECU for the apology and for correcting the personal-liability impression that caused real harm for six years. However, the article still links the debts to ‘the group which publishes The Herald’ when in fact they related to printing companies that were dissolved two years before the Herald was founded in 2013. I have asked the BBC to add that final clarification so the record is completely accurate.”

A formal apology and correction of this kind from the BBC is extremely rare, especially for a story more than six years old.