Birds found in poor condition after being taken from natural habitat

A KILGETTY man deliberately trapped wild goldfinches using a decoy system with the intention of selling them, a court has heard.

When officers from the RSPCA discovered the birds at aviaries in The Glebe, Tenby, Colwyn Robert Probert allegedly told them to “shove the birds up your bum” after being informed the animals would be released back into the wild.

Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court heard this week that Probert, 38, of Kingsmoor Common, Kilgetty, had trapped the birds in their natural habitat using decoy birds and wild seed.

Lindi Meyer, prosecuting on behalf of the RSPCA, said: “Thirteen goldfinches had been taken from the wild after the defendant set up traps with decoy birds and wild seed.”

The court heard that when RSPCA officers inspected the birds, many were struggling to adapt to captivity.

Ms Meyer said: “The birds were finding it difficult to adapt to a confined environment, having been captured in the wild. They were clinging to the bars of the cages, they were unsteady on the perches and they had dark coloured legs, which are characteristic of wild birds.”

The prosecutor added that two of the cages were too small, some of the birds had dirty tails and damaged wing feathers, while broken swings were also found inside the aviaries.

“Two of them were underweight and their water was dirty,” she said.

The court heard that after officers informed Probert the birds would be returned to their natural habitat, he responded: “You can shove them up your bum if you want to.”

A subsequent search of Probert’s property failed to uncover any documentation showing the birds had been obtained legally.

Probert pleaded guilty to intentionally taking goldfinches from the wild, possessing thirteen wild goldfinches contrary to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, attempting to take birds from the wild, and failing to ensure the welfare needs of the birds were met.

“This was clearly a disregard for wildlife and had been pre-planned,” Ms Meyer told the court. “We also believe there was a commercial element involved.”

The court was told Probert had previously been convicted in 2010 for similar offences involving the trapping and keeping of wild birds.

Given the seriousness of the offences, District Judge Mark Layton ordered a full probation report before sentencing.

Probert was granted unconditional bail and will be sentenced at Llanelli Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (Jun 30).

GMB says protective equipment should be considered where risk assessments show staff could face blades

SCHOOL staff should be given access to knife blankets where there is a clear risk of violent incidents involving blades, a union has said, amid growing concern over safety in schools and youth settings.

The call was made at the GMB Congress on Tuesday (Jun 9), where delegates warned that school support staff are increasingly being expected to deal with serious behavioural incidents, safeguarding crises and violent confrontations without proper protective equipment.

The debate will resonate strongly in west Wales, where recent incidents have brought the issue of youth violence into sharp focus.

In February, Milford Haven School was placed into lockdown after a teacher was assaulted during an incident involving a pupil reportedly armed with a bladed article. A 15-year-old boy was later charged with grievous bodily harm and possession of a bladed article on school premises.

The case followed the shocking attack at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman in Ammanford in April 2024, when two teachers and a pupil were stabbed. A teenage girl was later convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to 15 years in custody.

More recently, four youths aged between 13 and 17 suffered stab wounds during violence at Tenby railway station in April. British Transport Police later confirmed a number of arrests in connection with the incident.

GMB said the issue was not about creating fear in schools, but about recognising the reality faced by staff who are often first on the scene when serious incidents unfold.

Jonathan Coles, a GMB delegate, told Congress: “Support staff frequently manage challenging behaviour, respond to safeguarding crises, and undertake de-escalation work.

“Yet they are expected to do this without appropriate protective equipment.

“That’s why GMB is calling for the establishment of clear national standards requiring all academy trusts, local authorities, and specialist education providers to provide knife blankets wherever risk assessments identify potential exposure.

“Knife blankets, alongside consistent training on their use, offer a practical measure for the protection of education staff.”

Knife blankets are designed to help protect staff from slashes and stab wounds during emergency situations. The union says they should not be seen as a replacement for prevention, behaviour support, mental health services or proper staffing levels, but as one part of a wider safety plan.

Figures cited by GMB suggest more than 700 knife-related offences were recorded by police in schools in England and Wales last year.

The union is calling for clear national standards, proper training, and risk assessments which reflect the changing nature of violence faced by education staff.

The issue is likely to raise difficult questions for councils, schools and Welsh Government ministers about how far schools should go in preparing for rare but potentially catastrophic incidents.

Supporters of the proposal argue that staff should not be left defenceless when violence erupts.

Others may worry that protective equipment such as knife blankets risks normalising the idea that schools are dangerous places.

But after serious incidents in Milford Haven, Ammanford and Tenby, the debate over how best to protect staff and pupils is unlikely to go away.

RELATIVES SAY LATEST COURT BID HAS REOPENED PAIN AFTER FOUR DEATHS ON WESTERN CLEDDAU

THE FAMILIES of victims of the Haverfordwest paddleboarding tragedy have spoken of their anger after the woman jailed over four deaths failed in a bid to challenge her sentence.

Nerys Bethan Lloyd, 41, from Port Talbot, was jailed for 10 years and six months after admitting gross negligence manslaughter following the deaths of Paul O’Dwyer, Andrea Powell, Morgan Rogers and Nicola Wheatley.

The four died after a paddleboarding trip on the Western Cleddau in Haverfordwest went disastrously wrong on October 30, 2021.

Three Court of Appeal judges rejected arguments that Lloyd’s sentence was “manifestly excessive”.

The failed appeal has now prompted fresh criticism from grieving families, who say they have been forced to relive the tragedy again.

Morgan Rogers’ mother, Teresa Hall, said Lloyd should “leave the families in peace”, adding that those who lost loved ones were serving “life sentences” of their own.

Nicola Wheatley’s husband, Darren, said he broke down when the appeal was rejected, describing the decision as a moment of relief after another agonising legal hearing.

The tragedy happened during a commercial paddleboarding tour from Haverfordwest towards Burton Ferry. The group encountered the town weir in dangerous river conditions, with several participants becoming trapped in the powerful hydraulic towback.

A Marine Accident Investigation Branch report later found the deaths were “tragic and avoidable”, highlighting failures in planning, risk assessment, safety briefings, equipment and awareness of the danger posed by the weir.

At sentencing, the court heard Lloyd had failed to produce a written risk assessment for the trip and that the group had not been properly warned about the weir.

The case remains one of Pembrokeshire’s most devastating modern tragedies, with the deaths sending shockwaves through Haverfordwest and across Wales.

Lloyd remains in custody following the failed appeal bid.