News

Sea freight makes welcome return

Published

12 years ago

October 28, 2013

WEST Wales used to benefit from busy sea freight ports. Cardigan was one of the main cargo shipping ports in the UK, with memories still fresh of the economic ripples locally.
However, it has been hard to find anything we can import or export by sea for a sustainable local economy untiL now.
Pembrokeshire Bioenergy has started shipping wood pellets for heating from Scotland. The first shipment of 2,500 tons docked in Avonmouth and the company will deliver pellets to the south west of England and Wales. Only last week they also got a new contract to supply the NHS with their central heating pellet fuel.
Pellets are made of sawdust, compacted through heat, they are a wood fuel that can flow along pipes and be controlled electronically and remotely. They are incredibly energy dense, with quality tightly regulated.
PBE (Pembrokeshire Bioenergy) has attained a high environmental standard which enables it to guarantee the standard and consistency of its fuel, which is important as it is the sole central heating fuel for many Pembrokeshire businesses and households.
From its start as the fuel supplier for Bluestone holiday resort in 2003, it has grown into three linked businesses. One produces crops to become fuel, another retails the product and a third sells heat, it is an energy supply company or ESco.
Dai Rogers of PBE explains why the company has started shipping its materials: “Winning contracts into south Wales and the west of England presented a problem. Transporting bio fuel by road is not green, it undermines the carbon savings, and it is expensive”.
PBE chose not to import from the continent but to buy from Wales and neighbouring producers in Scotland and Ireland.
葬With supplies stored in Pembrokeshire and arriving in Avonmouth, our four specialised delivery vehicles can deliver on both laps of the journey south. Each ship load saves us and the planet 92,000 road miles.” said Dai.
PBE works with the Pembrokeshire Machinery Ring to share administration. It is through co-operation and the use of the resources on our doorstep, like the sea, that the company is keeping ahead of the better financed but less resourceful competition.

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.