A MILFORD HAVEN man has been jailed for six years after attempting to hide nearly 50 grams of cocaine under the seat of a police car after he was arrested.

Shaun Clawson, age 39, had been travelling as a passenger in a Seat Leon car on February 1, when officers stopped the vehicle on the A40 near St Clears.

Clawson was found with a phone, a cling film wrap and spoon containing traces of white powder in the footwell where he had been sitting.

After being arrested, police in-car camera footage showed Clawson removing a cling-film wrap from the back of his trousers and dropping it on the floor of the car while being conveyed to custody.

The wrap contained an approximate 48.5g of crack cocaine worth an estimated £4,850.

Clawson pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply cocaine at Swansea Crown Court on Wednesday, March 5, 2025. He was sentenced to six years imprisonment.

Three other suspects were also arrested at the scene for possession with intent to supply a class A drug and have been bailed pending further enquiries. 

Detective Sergeant Vinny Barrett, of Dyfed-Powys Police, said: “This sentence should serve as a warning to anybody considering engaging in the supply of illegal drugs that Dyfed-Powys Police will not tolerate the supply of class A drugs into our communities. We will seek to relentlessly target those who engage in the supply of illegal substances.”

To report anything suspicious or concerns about the selling and taking of drugs in the community contact Dyfed-Powys Police either online at: https://bit.ly/DPPContactOnline, by emailing [email protected], or by calling 101.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech impaired text the non-emergency number on 07811 311 908101.

Alternatively, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously by calling 0800 555111, or visiting crimestoppers-uk.org.

To seek advice and support, visit https://barod.cymru/where-to-get-help/west-wales-services/ddas-dyfed-drug-and-alcohol-service/

PREGNANT women in Wales should only be jailed if it is “unavoidable,” according to new sentencing guidance introduced by the Sentencing Council.

The changes, which come into effect on 1 April, also apply to mothers in England and those of children under one year old. The council’s move has been welcomed by campaigners who have long argued that prison is an unsafe and inappropriate environment for pregnant women and new mothers.

Official figures reveal that between April 2023 and March 2024, there were 215 pregnant women in prisons. During the same period, 53 babies were born to mothers in custody, with all but one of these births occurring in hospitals.

The new guidelines urge courts to “avoid the possibility of an offender navigating the risks associated with pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period in custody unless the imposition of a custodial sentence is unavoidable.” Pregnancy is now also listed as a factor that could justify suspending a sentence.

The Sentencing Council said the guidance includes “significant new areas,” including specific sections on sentencing young adult offenders, female offenders, mothers, and pregnant or postnatal offenders. Even for offences that usually carry a mandatory prison term, courts now have greater discretion to impose alternative sentences if the offender is pregnant or has a young baby.

Janey Starling, from the campaign group Level Up, described the changes as a “huge milestone” in the effort to stop pregnant women and mothers of infants being jailed. “This guidance is a landmark step forward in our campaign and paves the way for future sentencing reforms,” she said.

Concerns over the treatment of pregnant women in prison have grown following high-profile cases where babies have died in custody. Rianna Cleary and Louise Powell both gave birth without medical assistance at HMP Bronzefield in 2019 and HMP Styal in 2020, respectively. The Royal College of Midwives has previously stated that “prison is no place for pregnant women” and was among several organisations that called for a review of sentencing practices.

A number of countries, including Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico, already have laws preventing the imprisonment of pregnant women.

Anna, a co-founder of the Level Up campaign who was pregnant while in prison, welcomed the new guidelines. “As someone who has lived through this experience, it gives me great hope that fewer women will have to go through what I did. This is a step in the right direction,” she said.

Campaign group No Births Behind Bars also hailed the guidelines as “a seismic change,” acknowledging the “deadly impact of prison on pregnant women and their babies.”

The Ministry of Justice has distanced itself from the independent Sentencing Council’s decision, but sources said the recently established Women’s Justice Board is working to reduce the number of vulnerable women being sent to prison.

However, another aspect of the new guidance has sparked controversy, with Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said to be “incandescent” over recommendations that judges should consider an offender’s ethnic background before sentencing. Magistrates and judges are now advised to seek a pre-sentence report for those from ethnic, cultural, or faith minorities.

Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick slammed the move, calling it “completely outrageous” and claiming it introduces a “two-tier approach to sentencing.”

Mahmood has written to the Sentencing Council urging it to reconsider. “As someone from an ethnic minority background myself, I do not stand for any differential treatment before the law. There will never be a two-tier sentencing approach under my watch,” she said.

FORMER BBC broadcaster Huw Edwards has refused to return £200,000 of public money, despite calls for him to do so, it has been revealed.

BBC chairman Samir Shah told MPs that there was a moment when he believed Edwards “might do the right thing for a change” but said that expectation was not met. The comments came during a Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee hearing, where the BBC’s handling of recent controversies was scrutinised.

Director-general Tim Davie confirmed that legal advice was sought on reclaiming the money, but there were no further steps the Corporation could take to retrieve it. “We’ve obviously asked many times, but he seems unwilling,” Dr Shah told MPs. “There was a moment we thought he might just do the right thing for a change, then he decided not to. It’s quite frustrating because I think he should have done it.”

Dr Shah added: “He could still do it. It’s not right. He’s taken licence fee-payers’ money and he knew what he’d done. He should return it now.”

Edwards, 63, who spent four decades at the BBC, was handed a six-month suspended prison sentence in September after admitting to accessing indecent photographs of children. The sentence, given at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, was delivered by Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring, who told Edwards that his “long-earned reputation is in tatters.”

Marilyn Hawes, the chief executive of Freedom From Abuse, said: “A sentence like this, which isn’t a sentence, what message is it giving to others who are out there doing exactly the same and worse?”

Edwards’ sentence will be suspended for two years, and he will be required to complete a 40-day rehabilitation programme. He pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children, after being sent 41 illegal images by convicted paedophile Alex Williams.