News

Sister took blame for drink driver A 44-YEAR-OLD man from

Published

9 years ago

February 24, 2015

A 44-YEAR-OLD man from Carmarthenshire was tried for driving while under the influence of alcohol at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on February 11. Jason Lloyd had pleaded not guilty at an earlier hearing, and had said that it was in fact her sister, who was sober, who had been in the driving seat.

The prosecutor, Leslie Harbon, outlined the details of the offence. Jason Lloyd was said to have been driving a black Volvo between Tenby and St. Clears after consuming so much alcohol that the proportion of it in his breath (5.5 micrograms in 100ml of breath) exceeded the prescribed limit. The police received information that Lloyd had been drink driving, so they went to a Travelodge in St. Clears, where the client was, to speak with the defendant, who smelt of alcohol. According to two officer reports, and a sergeants report, Lloyd had admitted that he had been the driver several times. On the way to the station he had said: “If I get done for drink driving I’ll lose my job” and “I put my hands up, ‘cause I have done it. I had seven pints earlier on, then coke all night.” When Lloyd was interviewed, he gave a completely no comment interview.

For the defence, solicitor Mike Kelleher, while examining the defendant, emphasised the story from Lloyd’s point of view. He had been in Tenby with a group of friends, but the night turned sour. He was told that his best friend was trying it on with his wife, so there were arguments and everyone went home apart from Lloyd, his sister, and the partner of his best friend, Nicola. The three decided to go home as well. According to Lloyd, his sister drove because she had not been drinking due to a recent gall bladder operation. Lloyd said that when they were in the car, he received a phone call from his friend stating that the police were looking for him in regards to a separate charge. They stopped at the Travelodge in St. Clears. Nicola was hysterical and walk to the foyer of the hotel and Lloyd and his sister had an argument, and according to Lloyd, she walked off and he was left with the car in the car park. When the police officer arrived, Lloyd said that he knew he was going to be arrested anyway so he said that he had driven the car in order to protect Nicola and his sister from being arrested too. When asked about the comments he had made about being the driver on several occasions, he said he could not remember as his memory was not one hundred percent. There was no CCTV at the hotel.

The prosecutor covered many of the same questions as Kelleher but focussed on the fact that Lloyd said he could not remember making comments to the police, but he was sure that he had not driven the car. Harbon asked how he could know for sure that he had not driven, and he replied: “I saw my sister sitting at the side of me.”

Kelleher closed the examination by asking if Jason remembered who drove, to which he replied yes, and then asked if it was him who had been driving, and the defendant replied no.

Lloyd’s sister came into court as a witness and was warned that anything that she said in the court, as she had sworn on oath, had to be true or she would be prosecuted for perjury. Kelleher asked her if she understood the consequences of lying, and she said she did. He asked if she was there to lie for her brother, which, according to her, she was not. Lloyd’s sister told the same story Lloyd had.

Harbon asked if the siblings had spoken about coming to court, to which Lloyd’s sister replied yes. Although, she stated that they had not spoken about it at length when asked by the prosecutor. Harbon stated that she would have had every chance to get the story straight with her brother. The sister spoke about how she could not believe or understand why Lloyd had said that he had driven when it was his sister who had. Harbon responded by saying that she knew a lot about the case for someone who had not spoken at length about it. Harbon then closed her examination by asking if she and her brother were close, to which she replied yes. Then the prosecutor asked if she would do anything for her brother; she said she would, but also stated that she was not lying now.

The Magistrate asked where the key was when she had left, and she said that she had left it with Lloyd.

After some deliberation, the Magistrates returned to court and found Lloyd guilty of his offence. The Magistrate accepted the police’s accounts over the siblings’. Lloyd was fined £1,040 and he will have to pay £80 per month. He was disqualified from driving for 15 months, but will be able to reduce that by 5% by taking part in a drink driving rehabilitation course.

Farming

Animal health and welfare workshops help family farm shape future business

Published

34 mins ago

April 29, 2024

Tom Sinclair

AN eagerness to learn new skills and knowledge is helping mother and son Dianna and Iestyn Spary to continually improve their livestock farming enterprise and build a financially sustainable business fit for the future.

Technical expertise and good business sense are not qualities the Sparys lack since embarking on an impressive number of Farming Connect workshops, covering a range of animal health and welfare topics.

“It’s been an amazing opportunity, we have learned so much that we can apply within the day to day running of our farm and herd, and we can draw on that knowledge as we look at developing new enterprises and diversifications,’’ says Dianna.

She is the fifth generation of her family to farm at Goytre Farm at New Church West, Chepstow, Iestyn the sixth.

Together they farm 110 hectares, running a Hereford-cross beef suckler herd and also rearing beef cattle purchased as baby calves, including more recently British Blues, taking these through to slaughter.

Although they have been immersed in agriculture all their lives, they recognise that it is an industry that is constantly changing as new research and ideas are rolled out and applied.

This is where the Farming Connect workshops have been so incredibly valuable, says Dianna.

“You are never too old to learn, things are changing all the time. If we hadn’t got involved in attending the workshops, we would never have known about some of those new ways of doing things.’’

From learning how to maximise suckler cow productivity and protecting youngstock health to understanding diseases such as Johne’s and bovine TB, the animal health and welfare training workshops have been “enormously valuable’’, she adds.

The pair have tapped into Farming Connect accredited training courses covering areas such as calf management, health and housing, body condition scoring and safe use of veterinary medicines.

“You name it we have done it,’’ says Dianna.

They were announced the winners of the 2023 Farming Connect Animal Health and Welfare Award at the Lantra Cymru Awards in January.

The knowledge gained through Farming Connect workshops and training has helped inform changes in the business.

“We now monitor cattle weights more closely and have introduced different ways of feeding,’’ Dianna explains.

“We have also been revamping all the cattle sheds and have a couple of new ones that will be going up.

“We’ve also invested in calf jackets and if there are any drops in weights, we are more responsive with feed intakes, little things like that.’’

Iestyn has also benefited from a number of sheep-related topics offered through the animal health workshops.

Through the Farming Connect Advisory Service, they have received specialist veterinary advice on their Herd Health Plan with a focus on incoming stock and biosecurity. They have also had guidance on soil health through the soil clinic.

The Sparys largely use traditional farming methods at Goytre Farm where they have several hay meadows.

All feed is produced on-farm. “By doing everything in-house we know exactly what we are feeding and that’s important to us,’’ says Dianna.

That distinctiveness, which sets them apart from some of the more mainstream farming systems, has given them the confidence to consider establishing a diversification into meat box sales, what Dianna describes as a ‘farm to fork’ approach.

Working with a local butcher who has an abattoir licence, they hope to do everything on-site, from slaughter through to hanging the carcass for 28 days, and then selling cuts direct to the consumer.

“We have also spoken to a chef who is going to produce some recipe cards for us to include in the boxes along with a bit of history of where the meat has come from,’’ says Dianna.

Another future project could be converting stone barns in the farmyard to holiday accommodation.

To help focus their minds on their plans, the Sparys will get guidance at a Farming Connect diversification surgery; they have also signed up for a ‘planning a diversification’ training course and will attend a ‘Dos and Don’ts of Diversification’ event in the coming weeks.

For Iestyn, another form of diversification, into agricultural contracting, has provided a secondary income stream.

His customer base is largely farms with smaller acreages with crops that require harvesting or spraying.

Farming Connect has helped with this process too as Iestyn has gained his Level 2 Award in the Safe Use of Pesticides (PA1) and Safe Application of Pesticides Using Vehicle mounted Boom Sprayer Equipment (PA2).

He also offers field maintenance and fencing and works on a neighbouring farm during the lambing season.

This is where Farming Connect has again helped; through the animal health workshops, he has covered modules advising on the prevention of lambing losses and lameness, improving lamb performance post-weaning and parasite controls.

Dianna says the opportunities available through Farming Connect have really helped to drive the family farming business forward.

“We have a good relationship with our local Farming Connect development officer Lisa Powell, she has been brilliant in giving us advice on which courses and workshops are right for us and signing us up for those,’’ she says.

All your achievements, training and knowledge transfer activities are saved within your personal, online Storfa Sgiliau account, the unique, online professional development tool, available for you to view and download at any time from your BOSS (Business Online Support Service) account.

Education

Lib Dem leader meets student union after scrapping of teacher training

Published

4 hours ago

April 29, 2024

Tom Sinclair

Last week, the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds visited Aberystwyth University to meet students following the announcement that the University will be scrapping their Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) program.

The announcement comes after the publication of an Estyn inspection report last year, which found that the institution had “been too slow” when it came to prioritising student support.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have now called for the University to produce and implement an action plan that will enable the reintroduction of this course at the earliest opportunity, as well as for the Uni to rectify any similar shortcomings in other training programs.

Commenting, the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS said:

“Aberystwyth university has long been seen as a cornerstone of education here in Wales, and its role in shaping the future of Welsh-medium education is pivotal.

However, the decision by the Education Workforce Council to withdraw accreditation for their teacher training program now puts this at risk.

The report published by Estyn rightfully identified several flaws in the Uni’s approach to supporting student teachers, along with requiring the University to make significant improvement.

The decision of the EWC suggest that these improvements have not been made.

We are now calling on the University to get their act together, fix the shortcomings in this program and begin plans to reintroduce the course as soon as possible.

Commenting, a spokesperson for the Welsh Young Liberals said: “There was an overwhelming lack of support, especially for Disabled Students, which has been consistent since 2020.

Previous lecturers were always late, and assignments were marked late and inconsistently.

As a joint honours student my timetable is very erratic, and this has an adverse effect on my wellbeing.

This does not however, mean that the course should be cut, Aberystwyth university should be looking to improve the course and help deliver the next generation of teachers.”

Commenting, the Welsh Liberal Democrat PPC for Ceredigion Mark Williams said: “The reputation of Aberystwyth University as a well-respected centre of education is rightfully a source of pride for many residents here in Ceredigion.

This is why it is so dis-heartening to hear that the Uni have failed to take the recommendations in the 2023 Estyn report seriously, leading them into the embarrassing position of losing their accreditation which risks delivering a severe blow to the future of Welsh-medium education.

The lack of foresight from the Uni in this regard is deeply worrying and I hope that, for the sake of both the students and the wider community, they take all the steps needed to restart the course at the earliest opportunity.”