Guilty pleas entered at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court

A MAN with no fixed address has admitted a series of offences including harassment, assault, and sharing an intimate image without consent.

Brandon Pugh, aged 26, appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on Monday (Jan 12) where he pleaded guilty to three separate offences committed in Pembrokeshire last autumn.

The court heard that on October 30, 2025, Pugh carried out harassment without violence, contrary to section 2 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.

He also admitted assault by beating, an offence under section 39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, committed on November 6, 2025.

In addition, Pugh pleaded guilty to sharing a photograph or film of a person in an intimate state without their consent, an offence under section 33 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015, also committed on November 6, 2025.

All three guilty pleas were entered on December 23, 2025, and were taken into account by the court when sentence was passed.

As part of the outcome, Pugh was ordered to pay £200 in compensation. He was also ordered to pay costs to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Justice secretary says reforms are needed to tackle court delays as senior MP threatens by-election

JUSTICE SECRETARY David Lammy has defended plans to restrict the use of jury trials, arguing the changes are necessary to reduce growing delays and “save the criminal justice system”, as opposition mounts within Labour ranks.

The proposals, which would remove the automatic right to a jury trial for offences carrying a likely prison sentence of three years or less, have sparked a rebellion from backbench MPs and concern among parts of the legal profession.

Speaking on Monday (Jan 12), Mr Lammy said the Crown Court backlog in England and Wales — now standing at around 80,000 cases — could not be cleared without significant reform. He said the measures were designed to ensure the system was “fit for purpose” and capable of delivering justice more quickly for victims and defendants alike.

Mr Lammy recently visited Canada to examine its use of judge-only trials, where many criminal cases are heard without a jury. He said the approach had operated there for decades and was “very normal”, adding that in some cases defendants preferred being tried by a single judge.

He said he was open to a “sunset clause” that would make the changes temporary, allowing Parliament to review their impact. He said he hoped the backlog would be significantly reduced by 2029, ahead of the next general election, and cleared entirely by the mid-2030s.

However, the plans have triggered a fierce response from Labour MP Karl Turner, a former shadow attorney general and practising criminal barrister. Mr Turner has warned he would consider resigning from Parliament to force a by-election unless the proposals are dropped.

Breaking the Labour whip for the first time since entering the Commons in 2010, Mr Turner sided with the Conservatives in a protest vote against the reforms. He accused the Government of undermining a cornerstone of the justice system and told Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, himself a former director of public prosecutions, that he “ought to be ashamed”.

In interviews with The Sunday Times and Times Radio, Mr Turner said he was “completely ashamed” of the proposals and claimed Mr Lammy had been misled by civil servants pushing for long-standing changes.

He also warned that a by-election in his Hull East seat, which he won with a majority of 3,920 in 2024, could be vulnerable to Reform UK.

Despite the growing unease on the Labour benches, the Government is expected to press ahead with legislation, insisting the reforms are essential to prevent further delays and restore confidence in the criminal courts.

Huw Bridges denied the charges but was found guilty by a jury at Swansea Crown Court following a trial

A MAN in his sixties has been convicted of sexually assaulting a teenage girl following a trial at Swansea Crown Court.

Huw Bridges, 65, of Haven Drive, Hakin, denied two counts of sexual assault but was found guilty by a jury after around two-and-a-half hours of deliberations.

The court heard that one incident took place on June 2, 2024, when the complainant, who was aged 16 at the time, was taken by Bridges on his motorbike to a secluded area near Carew Castle.

Prosecutor Hannah George told the jury that the pair went for a walk, during which Bridges kissed the teenager despite her trying to move away and telling him that it made her feel uncomfortable. He then went on to touch her breasts and vagina over her clothing.

The jury was told the teenager reported the incident to her parents almost immediately after returning home. It was then that she also disclosed an earlier allegation, dating from between October 2020 and October 2021, in which Bridges was accused of touching her vagina over her clothing on another occasion.

“The prosecution’s case is that the defendant had a sexual interest in teenage girls,” Ms George said.

Bridges was arrested on June 14, 2024, and later interviewed by police. In a prepared statement, he denied sexually assaulting the complainant.

He accepted that there had been physical contact but claimed he had only put his arm around the teenager and “pecked her on the cheek” in an attempt to comfort her, insisting the gesture was not sexual in nature.

After the jury returned guilty verdicts on both counts, Judge Geraint Walters adjourned the case for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.

Bridges was re-admitted to bail and is now required to register as a sex offender. He is due to return to court for sentencing on Thursday, February 6.