Crime

Ministers urged to act over school violence ‘epidemic’

Published

9 months ago

May 2, 2025

SENEDD Members demanded urgent action to address an “epidemic” of violence after a 14-year-old became the first person convicted of attempted murder in a Welsh school.

Natasha Asghar led a debate in the aftermath of a schoolgirl being sentenced to 15 years’ detention on Monday for stabbing two teachers and a pupil at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman.

The Conservatives’ shadow education secretary expressed concerns about record levels of physical assaults on teachers and a tripling of fixed-term exclusions from 2015 to 2023.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” she said, warning of chronic under-reporting of violence.

Ms Asghar pointed to “extremely concerning” statistics which showed the exclusion rate for pupils for additional learning needs more than doubled to almost 12%.

She told the Senedd: “Something is clearly seriously wrong when over 50% of pupils with ADHD have indeed been excluded during a school year.”

Ms Asghar said a union’s survey found nearly three in five teachers believe social media negatively impacts pupil behaviour, leading to increasing misogyny and sexism.

She quoted Sharron Daly, a teacher from Bridgend, as saying: “An awful lot of young people come to us… without boundaries… at home and then that comes into the classroom.”

Plaid Cymru’s Cefin Campbell – whose brother, a teacher at the Carmarthenshire school, was hailed a hero after trying to restrain the girl – spoke of his deep personal regret.

Mr Campbell, who himself attended the school, said: “It’s a regret that’s echoed in the tight-knit, friendly community of Ammanford, amid horror that this kind of wholly intentional attack was perpetrated by a young woman with a knife in her hand. “

The former lecturer had no doubt the “pervasive” nature of social media has exacerbated issues such as bullying, misogyny and racism.

He added: “It is crucial, therefore, that we recognise the significant impact of social media on student behaviour and develop clear policies for schools to manage its negative influence.”

Addressing education secretary Lynne Neagle, he said: “A year has now passed since the events at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman and no solutions have been proposed by the government on safety in schools. We cannot… wait for another similar attack before you respond.”

Labour’s Carolyn Thomas stressed that worrying trends following the pandemic around children and young people’s behaviour in school are not unique to Wales.

“Similar evidence is shown throughout the UK and even internationally,” she said.

Adam Price, who represents Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, told the Senedd: “The attack… has sent a tremor through every staff room and every kitchen table in the country.

“It is the lightning bolt that shows the storm already overhead; violence, once exceptional, is edging towards routine – an ugly new normal.”

Mr Price added: “The tragedy in Ammanford was not unforeseeable. No-one shouted louder than deputy head Ceri Myers: between January and the morning of the attack, he emailed the Welsh Government seven times pleading for guidance on challenging behaviour.

“In an interview with ITV, he said he was palmed off.

“The girl who stabbed Fiona Elias, Liz Hopkin and another pupil had already brought a knife into school the year before. The signs were there – the system didn’t see them.”

Responding to the debate on April 30, Lynne Neagle said Estyn will publish a thematic review on school behaviour on May 8 – the same day as a summit on the subject.

The education secretary told the Senedd: “I am deeply concerned about this, about the impact that poor behaviour has on our children’s ability to learn and succeed… on our education workforce… and about the impact that it has on the image of the profession.”

She refuted the notion that the then-deputy head was “palmed off”, saying: “Ceri Myers never wrote to [the] Welsh Government about anything to do with knives nor violence. He raised concerns about behaviour and in particular about things like vapes.

“He had a full response on a number of occasions and also met officials.”

Mr Price responded: “Here was a senior leader in Ysgol Dyffryn Aman setting out the truth and, well, the cabinet secretary was saying, ‘I refute that, I listen but if I don’t like what teachers are telling me then I’m going to ignore it.’ That’s unacceptable.”

Senedd Members voted 35-13 against the Tory motion, with Plaid Cymru’s amendment also falling before the Welsh Government’s amendment was agreed – 25-13 with ten abstaining.

Crime

Man spared jail after admitting child abuse image offences

Published

3 hours ago

February 3, 2026

Rieve Nesbitt-Marr

Police seized devices after intelligence linked Pembrokeshire address to illegal cloud storage accounts

A 23-YEAR-OLD Pembrokeshire man has avoided immediate custody after admitting making and possessing indecent images of children, including extreme bestiality material.

Ryan Beale, aged 23, appeared at Swansea Crown Court for sentencing this week.

At his first hearing, before magistrates on December 31, he entered guilty pleas and being granted conditional bail.

The court heard the case followed an intelligence-led police investigation linking Beale to a Dropbox account suspected of storing illegal material. Officers executed a warrant at his home on December 18.

During his arrest, Beale told officers: “I don’t use Dropbox,” claiming his email and Google accounts had been compromised.

However, police seized his mobile phone and computer equipment. A forensic examination found the email address connected to the Dropbox account stored on his device. Although the account had also been accessed from overseas locations, including Nigeria, investigators were satisfied it was controlled by Beale and linked to a larger cloud storage account containing significant volumes of illegal content.

Officers discovered 120 Category A images, 36 Category B images and 29 Category C images.

Category A represents the most serious level of abuse.

The material included extreme and disturbing bestiality content. Further Category C images were also located within the Dropbox account.

Two identified victims depicted in the images were girls aged nine and eleven.

Beale initially denied the allegations but later admitted the offences.

Passing sentence, at Swansea Crown Court on Tuesday (Feb 3) the His Honour Geraint Walters said: “This was not an innocent pastime. Every time an adult views that image, a child is still being abused.”

He added that an early guilty plea had spared Beale immediate custody but warned the offences would have lifelong consequences.

“The public have no time for anybody doing this,” the judge said. “If you’re doing this, the police will find out. They didn’t knock on your door randomly — they knew what they were looking for.”

Beale was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years. He must complete 20 days of rehabilitation activity and pay £300 in prosecution costs.

The court also imposed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, ordered the forfeiture and destruction of his electronic devices, and placed him on the Sex Offenders Register for ten years.

“If you keep yourself out of trouble, you won’t have to serve that custodial sentence,” the judge told him.

Crime

Hakin man’s appeal delayed again as Crown Court seeks guidance on insurance law

Published

4 hours ago

February 3, 2026

Rieve Nesbitt-Marr

Judge gives CPS more time to review latest road traffic law guidance before case returns in March

A HAKIN man’s appeal against a conviction for driving without insurance has been delayed after a judge granted prosecutors additional time to review updated legal guidance.

Seventy-six-year-old Niall Taylor, of Haven Drive, appeared at Swansea Crown Court on Tuesday (Jan 13) for a mention hearing in his case.

Taylor has accepted the finding that he drove otherwise than in accordance with a licence, but is challenging the separate conviction for using a vehicle without insurance.

The case relates to an incident on January 18, 2023, when he drove a Vauxhall Zafira along Hammond Avenue, Haverfordwest.

The matter has already followed an unusual procedural history. Taylor initially pleaded not guilty in the magistrates’ court but later changed his plea during the original trial. Questions were subsequently raised over whether that plea had been “equivocal”, leading the case to be reopened under Section 142 of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980 and reheard in full.

Following a trial of the facts, magistrates found him guilty and imposed sentence in December. Taylor has since lodged an appeal focused solely on the insurance offence.

During Tuesday’s hearing, His Honour Judge Walters granted the Crown Prosecution Service 28 days to review Wilkinson’s Road Traffic Offences (32nd Edition), the leading legal reference text used by courts in motoring cases.

Addressing the court, the judge said the matter may still require further consideration, adding: “The court still might want to reconsider the sentence even if the insurance company is right. It does look as if different insurance companies do things in different ways.”

He added: “It is not in fact void, but it is voidable.”

Taylor maintains that a valid insurance policy was in force at the time of driving and argues that, in law, third-party cover cannot simply be cancelled because of an administrative licensing issue.

The appeal is due to return to Swansea Crown Court on March 27, when further legal argument is expected.

Crime

Pembroke Dock woman admits breaching community order

Published

7 hours ago

February 3, 2026

Rieve Nesbitt-Marr

Magistrates revoke sentence after missed appointments

A PEMBROKE DOCK woman has admitted breaching the terms of a community order.

Shannon Charge, aged 30, of Pater Court, appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on Monday (Feb 2).

She admitted failing to attend a scheduled probation appointment and a drug dependency appointment.

Magistrates revoked the existing community order and ordered her to pay £60 in court costs.

The court heard the order related to earlier offences, for which she had been made subject to rehabilitation and drug treatment requirements. A further review hearing is listed for March 2.