Crime

Tenby man admits defecating on floor of mother’s property

Published

2 years ago

April 17, 2024

A COURT has heard how a Tenby mother feared for her safety after her son threatened to kill her before defecating on the floor outside her bathroom.

Daniel Preston, 37, arrived at Rhian Thomas’ property on the evening of March 26.

“He was heavily intoxicated and told his mother to f* off and called her a c*,” Crown Prosecutor Abigail Jackson told Haverfordwest magistrates this week.

“A few hours later she was in her bedroom and he tried to enter, kicking the door saying “I will f kill you.”

At this point Preston’s mother began fearing for her safety.

“She became scared and called the police, but the defendant then came into her bedroom and tried to grab her,” continued Ms Jackson. “She screamed at him to stop but he tried to grab the phone off her.

“During her phone call to the officers, the police advised her to find a safe place so she went downstairs to the bathroom and locked the door. “

But Preston tried to gain access to the bathroom by repeatedly kicking the door.

“I thought it was going to break,” Rhian Thomas, told the police during her interview.

Ms Jackson said the defendant then proceeded to defecate on the floor outside the bathroom, before smearing the faeces onto the bathroom door.

“This has left me scared,” Ms Thomas said in a victim impact statement that was read out to the court.

“I can’t live like this anymore. When he comes home he takes over everything, and I’m scared that he will blame me and attack me when he’s released [from custody].”

When police officers arrived at the property they discovered Preston slumped on the floor.

“He then became aggressive and abusive and was making threats to harm himself,” said Ms Jackson. “They officers tried to restrain him but he began shouting and reached out with his right hand, attempting to strike one of the officers [Pc Barry] with his open hand which she managed to block.”

Preston pleaded guilty to the common assault of an emergency worker, the common assault of Rhian Thimas and causing criminal damage to his mother’s property by defecating on the floor. He appeared before Haverfordwest magistrates via a video link from Swansea prison where he has been remanded in custody since the offences were committed last month.

“You have caused your mother a great deal of fear,” commented District Judge Mark Layton when imposing sentence.

Preston was sentenced to eight weeks in custody by District Judge Mark Layton, half of which will be served in prison, the remainder on a post-sentence supervision.

A two-year restraining order was imposed preventing him from having any contact with his mother, not entering her property and not going within 100 metres of her address. He was ordered to pay £85 court costs and a £154 surcharge.

Crime

Former Wales rugby star admits Christmas Day drink-driving offence

Published

2 hours ago

February 4, 2026

Sarah-Jane Absalom

Ex-Ospreys captain was almost twice over limit in Pembroke town centre

Former Wales back row Jonathan Thomas has admitted driving through Pembroke town centre on Christmas Day when he was almost twice over the drink-drive limit.

This week Haverfordwest magistrates heard that Thomas, 43, was stopped by officers as he drove his Mercedes CLA 220 along The Green, Pembroke, at around 5pm on Christmas Day.

“The officers were very concerned at the manner of his driving, as the car was being driven erratically and was swerving to the other side of the road,” said Crown Prosecutor Sian Vaughan.

“When Jonathan Thomas got out of the car, the officers could see that he was having difficulty standing and was unsteady on his feet.”

Subsequent breathalyser tests showed Thomas had 62 mcg of alcohol in his system, the legal limit being 35.

Thomas, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to the drink-drive charge and was represented in court by solicitor Jess Hill.

“He has family in the area and had travelled to spend time with them on Christmas Day,” she told the magistrates. “He’s very remorseful for his actions and hugely regrets his decision that day.”

Jess Hill concluded by saying that Thomas is currently “between jobs and living off his savings”.

Thomas, who gave his address as Main Road, Bredon, was disqualified from driving for a total of 18 months.

“The length of your disqualification reflects the fact that you were more than a little bit over the limit,” commented the presiding magistrates when imposing sentence.

He was fined £120 and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £48 court surcharge.

The former Wales back row left his role as Swansea RFC head coach at the beginning of December 2025 as a result of ongoing health concerns. He was forced to retire from playing in 2015 on medical advice after being diagnosed with epilepsy and is one of the 390 former rugby union players currently taking part in a concussion lawsuit against the sport’s authorities.

“Long-standing issues linked to the head trauma have caused me some concern recently and it has been impossible for me to give the role everything it needs,” he said in a previous interview with the BBC.

His rugby career started out with Pembroke RFC juniors before moving to Swansea RFC, which he captained when he was 19. He then joined the Ospreys where, over a ten-year period, he won four league titles and an Anglo-Welsh Cup. He was the youngest player to captain the Ospreys and, at the time of leaving, was the joint highest appearance holder, together with Andrew Bishop, on 188 appearances.

His international career saw him play for Wales at Under-16, Youth, Under-19, Under-21 and Sevens levels. He made his senior international debut against Australia in 2003, featured at the 2007 Rugby World Cup and was part of two Six Nations Grand Slam-winning sides in 2005 and 2008. Between 2004 and 2011, Thomas was included in every Wales Six Nations squad. In his appearances for Wales, he scored seven tries.

Crime

Drink-driver narrowly avoided collision in town centre

Published

3 hours ago

February 4, 2026

Sarah-Jane Absalom

Motorist almost three times over legal limit

A DRINK-driver narrowly avoided crashing into another vehicle while almost three times over the legal alcohol limit, a court has heard.

Nathan Lloyd, 33, was seen driving a Nissan X-Trail in Haverfordwest in the early hours of December 20 without headlights.

Police followed the vehicle, which narrowly missed a car and struck a kerb before being stopped.

Lloyd, of Adams Drive, Narberth, recorded a breath reading of 97 micrograms of alcohol, nearly three times the legal limit.

He was disqualified from driving for two years and given a 12-month community order requiring 80 hours of unpaid work and 20 rehabilitation days. He was ordered to pay £114 surcharge and £85 costs.