Heating oil believed to have entered water via culvert as investigation and clean-up continue

AN UGENT investigation is underway after a suspected heating oil spill contaminated the Commons Stream and spread into Castle Pond in Pembroke.

Pembroke Town Council first raised the alarm, warning residents of a potential pollution incident affecting the watercourse. Officers from Pembrokeshire County Council’s Pollution Control Team and Natural Resources Wales are now on site working to identify the source and contain the spill.

Further information from local county councillor Aaron Carey suggests the oil likely entered the stream through a culvert near Foundry House, indicating the source may lie somewhere to the south of that location.

The substance is believed to be domestic heating oil. It is not yet known whether the spill was accidental or the result of a possible attempted fuel theft.

Residents in St Daniel’s Hill, South Road and Orange Gardens are being urged to check their heating oil tanks for any signs of damage or unexplained loss.

Witnesses reported seeing a blue-green sheen on the water near the castle side earlier today, raising concerns about the extent of the contamination.

Clean-up efforts are ongoing, and members of the public may notice increased activity around the stream and pond while teams work to manage the incident.

Anyone with information or concerns is advised to contact the relevant authorities.

Corey Edwards stood in Pen-y-bont Bro Morgannwg and appeared at national hustings shortly before stepping down

REFORM UK Senedd candidate Corey Edwards has stepped down from the upcoming election, just days after controversy over a photograph appearing to show him making a Nazi salute.

The party confirmed on Thursday (Mar 27) that Edwards had withdrawn from the race, citing mental health issues. A spokesperson said: “Corey Edwards has informed us that he is stepping down as a candidate for the Senedd election this May, citing issues with his mental health.

“We wish him well for the future and hope his privacy can be respected at this difficult time.”

Edwards had been selected as Reform UK’s lead candidate for Pen-y-bont Bro Morgannwg, meaning he was in a strong position to be elected if the party secured a seat in the constituency.

His withdrawal comes shortly after a photograph emerged, first published by Nation.Cymru, which appeared to show him performing a Nazi salute. Edwards said the image, taken in 2019, could be “misinterpreted” and claimed he had been imitating either a scene from Fawlty Towers or Welsh footballer Wayne Hennessey, who was previously involved in a similar controversy.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said the image “looked terrible” but confirmed Edwards would not be removed as a candidate at the time, describing him as “a human being” and referencing the sitcom scene as context.

Edwards had also appeared publicly as a Reform representative at a national youth hustings event in Cardiff on Thursday (Mar 19), alongside politicians from other major parties.

In a statement, Edwards said: “Like many young people, I have made mistakes. But I am proud of the person I am today and the values I stand for.”

The Herald understands that Reform UK has not yet confirmed whether a replacement candidate will be selected for the constituency.

Judge rules expired licence does not invalidate insurance where driver is not disqualified

A HAKIN man has successfully overturned his conviction for driving without insurance in a case that could have wider implications for thousands of motorists.

Seventy-six-year-old Niall Taylor, of Haven Drive, won his appeal at Swansea Crown Court on Thursday (Mar 27), after the court ruled there was no case to answer on the insurance charge.

The court found that Taylor was insured in law at the time he was stopped, despite his driving licence having expired.

This is understood to be a landmark ruling on a point of law, directly addressing a long-standing assumption used in policing and prosecutions — that a driver whose licence has expired is automatically uninsured. The judgment provides rare clarification on how standard insurance wording should be interpreted in such cases, and may influence how similar prosecutions are handled in the future.

Key issue: licence expired but not disqualified

The case centred on an incident on January 18, 2023, when Taylor was stopped by police while driving a Vauxhall Zafira in Haverfordwest.

It was accepted that his driving licence had expired in November 2022 and had not yet been renewed, and Taylor did not challenge his conviction for driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence.

However, the appeal focused solely on whether he was also uninsured.

Certificate wording decisive

The court heard that Taylor held a valid insurance policy covering the date in question.

Crucially, the certificate of motor insurance stated that cover applied where the driver:

“holds a licence to drive the vehicle or has held and is not disqualified or prohibited by law from holding or obtaining such a licence.”

The court found that Taylor met this definition, as he had previously held a licence and was not disqualified or prohibited from obtaining one.

Judge relies on leading legal text

In a detailed ruling, the judge referred to Wilkinson’s Road Traffic Offences (32nd Edition), a leading legal authority, which states that policies using this wording commonly cover drivers even where a licence has expired.

The court also considered the case of Adams v Dunne (1978), which established that an insurance policy remains valid unless and until it is formally avoided.

The judge said that, in law, such policies remain effective even if they may later be considered “voidable” rather than void.

Prosecution evidence ‘insufficient’

The Crown had relied on evidence from an insurance company investigator, who said the policy might have been cancelled had the company known about the licence issue.

However, the court found this evidence did not establish that the policy was invalid at the time.

The judge noted that:

• the insurer had confirmed a policy existed,
• no full policy document had been produced, and
• the certificate itself clearly set out the relevant terms.

He concluded that the prosecution had failed to prove that no valid insurance was in force.

Conviction quashed

Allowing the submission of no case to answer, the court ruled:

“We are satisfied that Mr Taylor did indeed have a certificate of motor insurance… which covered him to drive on the 18th of January 2023.”

The judge added that the prosecution evidence, taken at its highest, was not sufficient to justify a conviction.

Taylor’s conviction for driving without insurance was therefore quashed.

Wider implications

The ruling raises important questions about how insurance policies operate where a driving licence has expired — an issue affecting many motorists, particularly those over 70 who must renew their licences regularly.

The court’s interpretation suggests that, where a policy uses standard wording covering drivers who have previously held a licence and are not disqualified, insurance may still be valid despite administrative lapses.

Taylor’s separate conviction for driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence remains in place and was not part of the appeal.

He was asked to write to the court if he wanted to claim travelling expenses to cover the cost of transport for numerous times he has been to court regarding this matter.