News

Bluetits team to compete in Winter Swimming World Championships

Published

2 years ago

January 31, 2024

IN a true “Eddie the Eagle” effort, 60 members of The Bluetits Chill Swimmers are travelling to Tallinn in Estonia to compete in the Winter Swimming World Championship 2024 from March 4-10.

It will be the second year running that a Bluetits team has entered the event, following their trip to last year’s championship in Slovenia, where the excellent turnout from the Bluetits meant they accounted for 16 percent of the entrants.

The Winter Swimming World Championship is a relatively new invention. Organised by the International Winter Swimming Association, the event draws people from all over the world. Everyone who takes part in the competition gets a position in the world rankings.

While The Bluetits Chill Swimmers are all amateur swimmers, the championship is the ideal challenge for them because of their focus on cold water swimming. The Bluetits Chill Swimmers is a worldwide movement that began in St Davids, Pembrokeshire in 2014 and now has over 100,000 members all over the world.

Bluetits founder Sian Richardson was among the men and women who swam in last year’s championship and will be competing this year too. Bluetits swimmers will take part in races ranging from 25 to 450m, swimming in just swimsuits in two to three degrees centigrade water.

“Two to three degrees centigrade is really cold, and the way your body reacts to the temperatures below five degrees centigrade is literally shocking,” says Sian. “When you go into 15-degree water, you feel a little chill, and then you can feel your body getting colder. But go into anything between under five and your body just goes cold instantly – there doesn’t seem to be that process where you start feeling colder, and the cold really hits your brain like a brick.”

With that in mind, she and her teammates are making use of the cold weather in the UK to get their bodies and minds used to swimming in cold water without insulation such as gloves, boots or a wetsuit.

“The biggest challenge our members have is going to be swimming in very cold water, predicted to be around 2 degrees – especially if they have to swim with their heads down,” says Sian. “I’m advising them to do away with their boots, gloves, rash vests and shortie wetsuits now; get your bodies and brains used to swimming in cold water without that armour. Many team members are also dipping three times a week in an ice bath at home.”

Besides the participating Bluetits, an estimated 30 supporters – fellow Bluetits, friends and family, are flying to Estonia to support the swimmers.

“I don’t know what the organisers will make of us – there’s a lot of us, and we’re going to make a big impression!” says Sian. “We’re really looking forward to the adrenaline on the day, and we know from last year that this competition is run beautifully. There will be the build-up as you walk to your swim spot, the thrill of hearing your name called out, and then the additional thrill of hearing 70 or 80 Bluetits screaming your name!

“It really gets your pulse racing – and then there’s the incredible feeling when you reach the other end, get out, and everyone says you were amazing. However cold it is, I guarantee it makes you wish you could do it again.”

Crime

Rogue roofer conned homeowner out of thousands

Published

8 minutes ago

December 14, 2025

Court Reporter

Caerphilly investigation leads to court conviction

A ROGUE trader from Pembroke has been ordered to pay more than £6,000 after duping a homeowner into handing over thousands for unnecessary roofing work.

Douggie Whitbread, aged twenty-five and living at Coldwell Terrace, Pembroke, persuaded his victim that he “probably needed a new roof” before charging £4,350 for work that was either unnecessary or not carried out properly.

Whitbread admitted two counts of fraud relating to a property on Griffiths Street, Ystrad Mynach, with the offences taking place between August 12 and October 16, 2023.

He appeared before Cwmbran Magistrates’ Court, where he was ordered to pay a total of £6,130. That includes £4,350 in compensation, £1,500 in prosecution costs, a £200 fine, and an £80 victim surcharge.

The case was brought following an investigation by Caerphilly Trading Standards, who urged residents to be cautious of unsolicited offers of home maintenance work.

News

South Pembrokeshire Short Mat Bowls Association – Week Twelve results

Published

26 minutes ago

December 14, 2025

Herald Sport

A PACKET week of fixtures in the South Pembrokeshire Short Mat Bowls Association’s Friendly League saw key wins at both ends of the table as teams continue to jostle for position going into the second half of the season.

Match results (Week 12):

Hundleton 10–0 Lamphey
Badgers 2–8 St Johns
Reynalton 0–10 Carew
Kilgetty 8–2 East Williamston
Cosheston v Llanteg – postponed
St Twynnells – bye week

A previously postponed fixture was also completed, with St Twynnells drawing 5–5 with Reynaltón.

League table (after Week 12):
East Williamston remain top, having played 10 and won eight, with a strong shots difference of +125. Reynaltón sit second after 11 games with 58 points, while St Johns and Hundleton follow closely behind on 54 points each.

At the mid-table mark, Carew (49 points), St Twynnells (48) and Kilgetty (46) remain tightly grouped. Badgers, Lamphey, Llanteg and Cosheston make up the lower order, though the number of games played varies, leaving room for movement in the coming weeks.

Full standings:

Team	P	W	D	L	S/D	Points
East Williamston	10	8	0	2	+125	72
Reynaltón	11	5	2	4	+35	58
St Johns	10	5	1	4	+32	54
Hundleton	10	5	1	4	-2	54
Carew	9	5	0	4	-25	49
St Twynnells	10	4	2	4	-34	48
Kilgetty	11	5	0	6	-44	46
Badgers	11	3	1	7	-59	45
Lamphey	11	5	0	6	-10	44
Llanteg	8	4	0	4	-5	41
Cosheston	9	3	1	5	-13	40

If you’d like, I can also turn this into a shorter snippet for the website or expand with quotes, season context, or upcoming fixtures.

News

Search under way in Pembroke Dock for missing man Lee

Published

51 minutes ago

December 14, 2025

Tom Sinclair

Coastguard, RNLI and rescue helicopter launched as fears grow he entered the water

A MAJOR search and rescue operation is under way tonight (Sunday) in the Pembroke Dock and Pennar areas as emergency services look for 48-year-old Lee, who has been reported missing and is feared to have entered the water near the Pennar estuary.

Dyfed-Powys Police issued an urgent appeal earlier today after Lee, who is from Cardigan, failed to return home. He was last seen at around 5:00pm on Saturday (December 13) on CCTV in Pembroke Dock. The image shows him travelling on foot and carrying bags.

Lee is described as 5ft 10in tall, of medium build, with short light-brown hair and short facial hair. At the time he was wearing a blue/grey Christmas jumper, a red hat, dark trousers and light trainers. Police say he is also known to travel by train.

Concerns escalated this afternoon after officers received information suggesting Lee may have entered the water around the Pennar estuary.

HM Coastguard teams and the RNLI lifeboat from Angle have been searching the shoreline and waterway since mid-afternoon. A rescue helicopter from Cornwall (operating out of RAF St Mawgan/Cornwall Airport) is now assisting with aerial searches. The operation is ongoing in increasingly challenging conditions.

Search crews are dealing with cold, wet and windy weather, with conditions expected to worsen significantly overnight. An amber Met Office warning for heavy rain comes into force at 4:00am on Monday (15 December), with forecasters warning of fast-flowing floodwater and hazardous visibility across Pembrokeshire.

Police are urging anyone who may have seen Lee, or who has information that could help the search, to make contact immediately by calling phoning: 101. Quote reference: DP-20251214-176