Ten more defendants dealt with after disorder following deaths of two teenagers

EMOTIONAL scenes broke out at Cardiff Crown Court as another ten defendants were sentenced over the Ely riot which followed the deaths of teenagers Kyrees Sullivan and Harvey Evans.

The boys, aged 16 and 15, died in May 2023 when an e-bike crashed in the Ely area of Cardiff. Their deaths led to a night of serious disorder, with police attacked, vehicles set alight and missiles thrown in the street.

On Thursday (June 18), Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke had to warn the public gallery after gasps, tears and shouted comments during the hearing.

Seven men were jailed for their roles in the violence.

Zayne Farrugia, 26, from Caerau, received the longest sentence of the day at six years. The court heard he joined the front line of the confrontation and threw a number of missiles at police.

Jordan Webster, 30, from Ely, was jailed for five years and seven months. He threw stones and helped move debris into the road as officers tried to bring the disorder under control.

Jamie Bateman, 27, from Caerau, was sentenced to five years and nine months after the court heard he threw missiles and encouraged others to use broken paving slabs during the riot.

Liam Williams, 21, from Rumney, was jailed for four years and three months after bringing fuel and aerosol cans to the scene, which were later used by others to feed a fire.

Jamie Jones, 25, from Llanrumney, was sentenced to five years and two months, while Jayden Westcott, 21, from Ely, received the same term. James Chappell, 31, from Barry, was jailed for four years and four months.

Three women, who were all teenagers at the time of the riot, avoided immediate prison sentences.

Lianna Tucker, 20, from Ely, Jasmine Smith, 21, from Heath, and Jumana Fouad, 19, from Ely, were each handed 24-month community orders with rehabilitation requirements.

The court was told that rumours about the crash had spread quickly on the night, fuelling anger in the crowd. What began as a gathering of upset residents developed into hours of violence, with officers pelted with objects including bricks, bottles, tiles and other debris.

Ten defendants were sentenced on Wednesday, and the hearings are continuing, with 30 people due to be sentenced in total.

Doctors in Wales warn years of ‘neglect’ have left emergency services struggling, with one in six patients facing lengthy waits in hospital emergency departments

MORE than 11,000 patients waited longer than 12 hours in Welsh emergency departments last month, prompting senior doctors to warn that the newly elected Welsh Government must urgently address what they describe as years of neglect within the emergency care system.

New NHS Wales figures for May 2026 reveal that 11,000 patients attending major emergency departments across Wales experienced waits exceeding 12 hours before being admitted, discharged or transferred.

The figure represents 15.8 per cent of all attendances – meaning roughly one in every six patients faced what doctors described as an “unacceptably long” delay.

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) Wales said the situation has deteriorated significantly over the past decade, despite emergency department attendances rising by only around six per cent during that period.

According to the College, the problem is being driven not by overwhelming numbers of people attending A&E, but by wider pressures throughout hospitals, particularly a shortage of available inpatient beds and difficulties discharging patients who are medically fit to leave.

The latest statistics show an average of 1,275 patients each day remained in hospital beds despite being ready for discharge.

As a result, patients needing admission are unable to move from emergency departments into wards, causing delays to build throughout the system.

Four-hour target missed

The data also showed only 51.2 per cent of patients were admitted, discharged or transferred within four hours during May.

The constitutional target for Wales is 95 per cent.

Performance against the four-hour standard has worsened compared with the same month last year, further highlighting the continuing pressures facing emergency departments.

Dr Rob Perry, Vice President of RCEM Wales, said the impact on patients could be severe.

“The impact of long waits on patients, particularly older people and the acutely sick or injured, can be dire – and even life-threatening,” he said.

“This can’t continue and the long-term neglect of the Emergency Care system in Wales is taking its toll on the people it is there to serve.

“And, on the other side, working in such conditions is taking its toll on us – the emergency medicine staff who have to look patients in the eyes, when we know they are being let down. It’s heartbreaking.”

Call for government action

The intervention places fresh pressure on the new Welsh Government, led by Plaid Cymru, to outline how it intends to tackle longstanding NHS performance issues.

Dr Perry called for urgent action to improve patient flow through hospitals, arguing that reducing delayed discharges would have an immediate impact on emergency department waiting times.

Among the measures proposed by RCEM are seven-day discharge services, increased social care capacity and greater responsibility across hospital departments for ensuring patients move efficiently through the system.

“We need urgent action; we need to know what plans the new Plaid Cymru government have to tackle patient flow in our hospitals,” Dr Perry said.

“Getting this right will save lives.

“The government should consider how best to tackle the root causes of overcrowding in our departments – such as delayed discharges.”

Wider NHS pressures

The figures come amid continuing concern over NHS waiting times across Wales and follow recent announcements of additional funding aimed at reducing treatment backlogs.

However, emergency medicine specialists argue that emergency departments are increasingly bearing the consequences of wider pressures elsewhere in the health and social care system.

RCEM says overcrowding in emergency departments is not simply an A&E issue but reflects problems throughout the healthcare pathway, including shortages in social care provision and difficulties finding appropriate placements for patients ready to leave hospital.

The College believes addressing these bottlenecks could significantly reduce the number of patients forced to spend many hours waiting on trolleys or in chairs within busy emergency departments.

With more than one in six emergency patients now waiting beyond 12 hours and performance against the four-hour target continuing to decline, the latest figures are likely to intensify scrutiny of how the Welsh Government plans to improve emergency care services in the months ahead.

Lola James killer Kyle Bevan stabbed more than 25 times in high-security jail as notorious inmates found guilty of murder

HAVERFORDWEST child killer Kyle Bevan has been murdered by three of Britain’s most dangerous prisoners in a brutal prison attack that has once again thrust the tragic death of two-year-old Lola James into the national spotlight.

Bevan, 33, was serving a life sentence for murdering Lola at her home in Princess Royal Way, Haverfordwest, when he was ambushed inside his cell at HMP Wakefield.

On Thursday (Jun 18), a jury at Leeds Crown Court found Mark Fellows, 45, Lee Newell, 57, and David Taylor, 63, guilty of murder following a trial that heard how Bevan was stabbed and slashed more than 25 times during a frenzied attack lasting less than five minutes.

The court heard that Bevan suffered catastrophic injuries, including a punctured heart, a severed jugular vein and a slashed aorta. One blow was so powerful that the weapon cut through bone.

After killing him, the three men arranged his body to make it appear that he was asleep in bed. Prison officers did not discover his body until the following morning.

The jury took around two hours to convict all three men.

Remembering Lola

For many people in Pembrokeshire, news of Bevan’s death has reopened memories of one of the county’s most shocking and heartbreaking crimes.

Lola James was just two years old when she died following a sustained and savage assault in July 2020.

During Bevan’s trial, jurors heard that the toddler suffered 101 separate injuries.

Medical experts compared one of the catastrophic head injuries she received to the sort of trauma normally seen in a high-speed road traffic collision involving a child.

The court heard that Bevan repeatedly assaulted the youngster while caring for her at the family home.

Afterwards, he attempted to blame the family dog, claiming Lola had been pushed down a staircase.

A jury rejected his account.

In 2023, Bevan was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was ordered to serve a minimum of 28 years before becoming eligible for parole.

Lola’s mother, Sinead James, was jailed for six years after being convicted of causing or allowing the death of a child.

A county left devastated

The Herald’s coverage of Lola’s death generated one of the largest public responses ever seen to a criminal case in Pembrokeshire.

Thousands followed developments through the investigation, trial and sentencing.

At the time, readers expressed profound sadness for Lola and anger that opportunities to protect her had been missed.

Many local residents described the case as one that had shaken the county to its core.

While reaction to Bevan’s death has been mixed, many people have pointed out that the real victim remains Lola herself.

Social media discussions following news of the prison murder have largely focused on remembering the little girl whose life was cut short rather than the man convicted of killing her.

Others have questioned whether Bevan’s death serves any purpose, arguing that it cannot undo the suffering inflicted upon Lola or bring comfort to those who loved her.

Questions over safeguarding failures

Lola’s death led to extensive scrutiny of agencies responsible for protecting vulnerable children.

A subsequent Child Practice Review identified a number of missed opportunities and systemic failings.

The review highlighted concerns over information sharing, risk assessment and the pressures facing frontline services.

The findings prompted calls for improvements across agencies involved in child protection.

For many readers, those concerns remain just as relevant today as they were when the report was first published.

The men who killed Bevan

The three men convicted of Bevan’s murder were already among the most feared prisoners in the country.

Mark Fellows, known as “The Iceman” and “Wakefield Dexter”, was serving a whole-life sentence for two gangland assassinations in the north west of England.

Lee Newell had previously murdered another child killer inside prison.

David Taylor, a convicted armed robber and violent career criminal, was awaiting trial for another murder when he took part in the attack.

The trial heard that Bevan was viewed as a target because of the nature of his crimes.

Like many prisoners convicted of offences against children, he was classed as a vulnerable prisoner and spent much of his time isolated from the wider prison population.

Wakefield under scrutiny again

The killing has renewed questions about conditions inside HMP Wakefield, one of Britain’s most secure prisons.

Known unofficially as “Monster Mansion”, the Category A prison houses some of the country’s most dangerous offenders.

Bevan’s murder came only weeks after another notorious inmate, former Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins, was killed in the same prison.

The court heard evidence of tensions between vulnerable prisoners and mainstream inmates, creating what prosecutors described as a distorted hierarchy among offenders.

During the trial, the judge warned jurors not to allow their feelings about Bevan’s crimes to influence their verdicts.

Mrs Justice McGowan said: “Nobody has a right to kill anyone else because they disapprove of what they have done, or because they hate them.

“It is a fairly basic premise in a civilised society.”

Those words may prove uncomfortable for some, given the nature of Bevan’s crimes.

But they underline a principle at the heart of the justice system: that punishment is imposed by the courts, not by fellow prisoners.

For Pembrokeshire, however, the lasting focus remains not on the violent death of Kyle Bevan, but on the loss of a little girl whose murder shocked a community and whose memory continues to resonate across the county.