A 35-YEAR-OLD mother-of-three is set to stand trial in connection with a knifepoint robbery of a taxi driver in Milford Haven.

Kelly Rees, of Summers Villas, Milton, appeared at Swansea Crown Court earlier this week alongside her co-defendant, Ashlee Rees, 23, of Flemish Court, Lamphey. Both pleaded guilty to robbery, admitting they stole a bag containing £50 to £80 from the driver in October.

The court heard that during the incident, Ashlee Rees was armed with a knife, while Kelly Rees allegedly wielded a needle. Although Ashlee Rees pleaded guilty to possessing a blade, Kelly Rees denied having an offensive weapon.

Dyfed-Powys Police confirmed that the taxi driver sought medical treatment at the hospital following the robbery.

The case was adjourned until today, Friday, November 29, to allow the Crown Prosecution Service to review Kelly Rees’s not guilty plea to the weapons charge.

Ever since she was a child, Carole Hodgson has drawn from the landscape a quality and a strength that have earned her the reputation as one of Britain’s most eminent female sculptors.

After studying at the Slade School of Fine Art (1962 to 1964), she continued to express – with an astounding precision and an unblinkered clarity – a range of subjects that resulted in major solo shows in some of the world’s  leading galleries and museums.  Her work has gained recognition from leading critics and broadcasters, including Joan Bakewell, who wrote of her in 2015: “We seek the stillness of remote places to soothe our panic at global combustion.  We find in the deep reaches of rock and ravine, a balm to modern anxieties.  Hodgson’s work both derives from, and pays regard to, these present sensibilities.”

This month local art lovers are being given the chance to view Hodgson’s work at close range when she exhibits her latest selection of predominantly north Pembrokeshire landscapes at The Coach House Visitor Centre, St Dogmaels.

“For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to create art in its many varied shapes and forms,” Carole Hodgson told The Herald.

“I attended my first art class when I was 12, which was a life drawing class at Epsom.  And from the outset, all I wanted to do was capture the sense of space which that particular landscape offered.”

After leaving the Slade, Carole began teaching art at Reading University however in 1967, while she and her husband spent the New Year at a teaching colleague’s cottage in Tegryn, she realised that Pembrokeshire would soon become home.  

“I knew that I was never going to leave, because I loved the place so much,” she said.

Carole subsequently began exploring the many diverse landscapes that Pembrokeshire has to offer.

“The first thing I always do is sit and watch a particular space, and this is so fundamentally important to me.  The space of the Preseli mountains, the space of the field behind my home, the flow of the river or the sea…all these spaces became increasingly apparent and so important, as so much of my art depends on the atmosphere that each particular space creates.”

Carole – who is an Emeritus Professor of Fine Art and Sculpture at Kingston University, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Sculptors and a regular exhibitor at the prestigious Flowers Gallery since 1973 – continued teaching in both painting and sculpture following her move to Pembrokeshire.  This included stints at Spain, Scotland and the Royal Academy of Art in London.

Meanwhile her latest exhibition at The Coach House, St Dogmaels, features a wide range of subjects in a cross-section of media, including crayons, chalk, watercolour and inks.

“I don’t think a day goes by when I fail to realise how very fortunate I am, not just to live in such a wonderful village like St Dogmaels, where the people have been so supportive of my work, but that I continue to feel so motivated to paint,” concluded the 84-year-old.

“Without art, my life would have been so terribly boring.  At the end of the day , I’ve been one very lucky woman.”

The exhibition will run until January 31, 2025.

AS County Councillor for the Castle Ward, Cllr Thomas Tudor has responded swiftly to concerns raised by residents of Oakwood Grove about the build-up of fallen leaves on the pavements. The leaves, described as a potential hazard for pedestrians, were flagged as a danger, especially in wet conditions.

Following Cllr Tudor’s report to Pembrokeshire County Council’s maintenance team, the pavements have now been cleared, restoring safety for residents.

Cllr Tudor expressed his gratitude, saying: “Many thanks to all involved; it’s very much appreciated.”

Before and after photos provided by Cllr Tudor illustrate the improvement made for the community.