News

Inquest opens into the death of tragic teen Seren

Published

11 years ago

June 18, 2015

Tom Sinclair

Tragic: Seren Bernard

A MILFORD HAVEN teenager was “willingly exposed to harm by the agencies which were involved in her case” an inquest heard on Monday (Jun 1).

Fourteen-year-old Seren Bernard was found dead near Hakin Point in April 2012.

Now up to twelve witnesses will be called, and ten days have been set aside for this contentious and highly emotional case, which is one of the most complex coroner’s inquests ever to be heard in Pembrokeshire.

Seren’s mother, Sarah Pollock, has argued that Seren should not have been in the care of the local authority.

The inquest at Milford Haven Town Hall, administered by Swansea coroner Paul Bennett, was told that she had suffered with hallucinations and that an imaginary friend had told her to ‘do things’.

Seren Bernard’s mother, Sarah Pollock, who broke down in tears at the inquest, claimed that her daughter had not received the therapy or care that she so badly needed. She told the coroner: “In my view they have willingly and knowingly exposesd Seren to harm.”

But Mr Bennett said at a pre-inquest in December that the scope of the inquest was not about examining “systemic failures” of the council’s care or duplicating what had been investigated by the serious case review.

The inquest has been looking into the events from September 2011, when the teenager went missing for ten days, to when she was found dead seven months later.

The barrister representing Child Adolescent Mental Health Support, which was responsible for Seren’s therapy, said she discussed her imaginary friend Jane with her support worker on two occasions. The inquest heard how during a psychiatric assessment, Seren revealed that she suffered from suicidal thoughts present since childhood.

Seren’s aunt, Tracy Norton said that her niece had displayed strange behaviour including sleeping on the floor and attempting to pierce her lips with a school compass. She told the hearing: “Social services told me that this was normal behaviour for a 14-year-old girl.”

The council’s lawyer said that the Authority had a “difficult balancing act” because Seren did not want to live with her family or have any information to be passed on to them.

A serious case review which took place last year found Seren’s death under the care of Pembrokeshire County Council’s social services department might not have been preventable and Dyfed-Powys Police ruled out a criminal investigation.

Officer had no

cause for concern

On Tuesday, a family intervention officer has said that she had no cause for concern when visiting Seren Bernard in the weeks leading up to her death.

Intervention officer Hannah Jane Thomas gave evidence that she was not a qualified social worker nor was she a mental health specialist.

Hannah had visited Seren on four occasions in March 2012 and described her as in good spirits during these visits despite others saying she was in a low mood.

She added that the way Seren presented herself didn’t give her any cause for concern and that she felt her and Seren had a good relationship.

In between the first two meetings others had noted that her mood had dropped and she had indicated that she wanted to go to the Netherlands to get an injection.

At a meeting on March 21, Hannah had recorded her as in good spirits despite conversations surrounding a friend who had died, spending less time with a boyfriend and having less of an appetite.

Seren had scored her mood at 3 out of 5 on that day and she told Hannah she wasn’t sure how she could improve her mood.

Mr Farmer asked Hannah if she thought Seren might be presenting a false image and she replied: “Seren appeared to be in good spirits, giving me a list of things she was concerned with but I wouldn’t have considered that the foster parents were already concerned with her mood and I wasn’t overly concerned with the way she presented to me.”

The pair met again six days later and Hannah recorded that Seren sounded happier.

On March 29 Hannah visited for what would be the final time and conversation included plans for the weekend and strategies to help her sleep.

Asked how her mood was, Hannah said it was consistent with how she had found her on other occasions.

Hannah added that she never recalled Seren presenting as tearful saying she was always happy.

She was also asked how much time she would spend with Seren and she agreed that she would have spent between 4-6 hours with her.

On March 21, Hannah had recorded that Seren took a long time to come down the stairs when she came to collect her and her foster parents had expressed their worries about Seren about that time and that she had been crying a lot.

She was asked if the things her foster parents had said would be on her mind when talking with her.

Hannah said that even though they were discussing those issues Seren appeared to be in good spirits and that she wasn’t given any cause for concern.

Asked if she saw her work with Seren as positive, Hannah replied: “I’d like to think so.”

Social worker had no

idea about suicide letters

On Wednesday a social worker said she was unaware of previous attempts that Seren Bernard had made to kill herself.

Wendy Rodrigues told the inquest that she knew of at least one attempt where Seren had tried to take her own life but was unaware of other attempts.

When asked if she was aware that Seren had been having frequent thoughts suicide and that she was regularly writing suicide letters, Wendy replied that she had no knowledge of this.

It was these attempts that led to Seren being placed on the Child Protection register and her involvement with the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths group (CANS).

Wendy was also required to carry out a core assessment but she told the inquest that she had started but not finished it. It was pointed out to her that she had a duty to promote Seren’s welfare and when asked, Wendy couldn’t recall why it hadn’t been completed.

She was also asked about various core group meetings and on one occasion where there was no update from CANS.

The inquest heard how CANS had not attended a meeting and the barrister questioned how the core groups could receive a proper update on Seren’s condition without the input of CANS.

It was also argued that Seren’s foster parents should have been at these meetings.

Seren had been to seven sessions with CANS and these were described as going well.

However, Seren had been deteriorating in those sessions and on December 20, CANS told her that they were willing to discharge her.

The family’s barrister added that it wasn’t acceptable for a young girl who had made at least one suicide attempt, suffering from depression and had been placed on the child protection register to be taken out of the CANS sessions.

The inquest continues.

Local Government

Essential bridge maintenance and repairs planned for January

Published

34 seconds ago

December 18, 2025

Tom Sinclair

Works on Westfield Pill Bridge to affect A477 traffic

ESSENTIAL maintenance and repair work is set to begin on Westfield Pill Bridge, with traffic management in place on the A477 between Neyland and Pembroke Dock.

The programme of works is due to start on Monday (Jan 19) following a Principal Inspection carried out in 2022, which identified a number of necessary repairs to maintain the long-term durability and safety of the structure.

Westfield Pill Bridge is a key route linking communities in south Pembrokeshire and carries a high volume of daily traffic. While major works were last undertaken in 1998 — which required a full closure of the bridge — the upcoming refurbishment has been designed to avoid shutting the crossing entirely.

Instead, the works, scheduled to take place in early 2026, will be managed through traffic control measures to keep the bridge open throughout the project.

The planned refurbishment will include the replacement of both eastbound and westbound bridge parapets, the renewal of expansion joints, and full resurfacing of the bridge deck.

The work is expected to take no longer than three months and will involve weekend and night-time working to help minimise disruption. All construction activity will be carried out from the bridge deck and has been scheduled to avoid clashes with other planned trunk road works, as well as periods of higher traffic demand.

Two-way traffic signals will be in place for the duration of the works. These will be manually controlled during peak periods, with particular efforts made to reduce delays affecting school transport.

Motorists are advised that there may be delays to local bus services during the works, including the 349 (Haverfordwest–Pembroke Dock–Tenby) and 356 (Milford Haven–Monkton) routes.

Drivers are encouraged to allow extra time for journeys and to follow on-site signage while the works are underway.

Crime

Breakthrough in 1993 Tooze murders: 86-year-old man arrested after cold case review

Published

4 minutes ago

December 18, 2025

Tom Sinclair

POLICE investigating one of Wales’ most disturbing unsolved double murders have arrested an 86-year-old man on suspicion of killing elderly couple Harry and Megan Tooze more than three decades ago.

South Wales Police confirmed the arrest on Tuesday (Dec 17), following a forensic cold case review into the 1993 killings, which shocked the rural community of Llanharry and cast a long shadow over the South Wales justice system.

Harry Tooze, aged 64, and his wife Megan, 67, were found shot dead with a shotgun at their isolated Ty Ar y Waun farmhouse on July 26, 1993. Their bodies were discovered inside a cowshed on the property, concealed beneath carpet and hay bales, having been shot in the head at close range.

The brutality of the killings and the remoteness of the scene prompted one of the most high-profile murder investigations in Wales at the time.

Conviction later quashed

In 1995, Cheryl Tooze’s then-boyfriend, Jonathan Jones, was convicted of the murders and sentenced to life imprisonment. The prosecution case rested heavily on a partial fingerprint found on a teacup at the farmhouse.

However, the conviction unravelled just a year later. In 1996, the Court of Appeal quashed the verdict, ruling it unsafe and highlighting serious concerns about the reliability of the fingerprint evidence. The decision was widely regarded as a significant miscarriage of justice.

Jones, who consistently maintained his innocence, was supported throughout the ordeal by Cheryl Tooze, whom he later married. The couple have since spoken publicly about the devastating impact of the case on their lives.

Despite renewed appeals and periodic reviews, no one else was charged and the murders remained unresolved for nearly 30 years.

Operation Vega and forensic advances

In 2023, marking the 30th anniversary of the killings, South Wales Police launched a full cold case review under Operation Vega. The review was led by forensic scientist Professor Angela Gallop, one of the UK’s most respected figures in forensic investigation.

Detectives re-examined preserved exhibits from the original crime scene using modern forensic and DNA techniques that were not available in the early 1990s. Police have not disclosed which items were re-analysed or what evidence led to the latest arrest.

On December 17, officers arrested an 86-year-old man on suspicion of murdering Harry and Megan Tooze. He remains in police custody while enquiries continue. No further details about the suspect have been released at this stage.

Police appeal for information

Senior Investigating Officer Detective Superintendent Mark Lewis described the arrest as a significant moment, but stressed that the investigation is ongoing.

He said: “While this arrest is clearly a significant development in the investigation, our enquiries are very much ongoing. This case has affected many people over the years and our aim is to find answers to the unanswered questions which remain about their deaths over 30 years on.

“Even with the passage of time, I would urge anyone who has information about the murders, no matter how small it may seem, to come forward and speak to police.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact South Wales Police, quoting occurrence number 2300016841.

Crime

Former police officer accused of making sexual remarks to women while on duty

Published

30 minutes ago

December 18, 2025

Court Reporter

Court hears allegations of inappropriate behaviour during official police visits

A FORMER police officer has appeared in court accused of making sexually inappropriate remarks to women he encountered while on duty.

Luke Silver, aged 34, is alleged to have abused his position as a police officer by making unwanted and explicit comments to two women during the course of official police business.

Cardiff Crown Court heard that Silver attended one woman’s home following an incident involving her partner and took an initial statement. However, the woman told the court that Silver later returned to her address on several further occasions, during which the conversation allegedly became personal and sexual in nature.

She said the officer asked intrusive questions about her sex life and made comments about her appearance, which she found unsettling. In messages sent to a friend at the time, the woman described his behaviour as “inappropriate”, “strange” and “creepy”.

The court was told she later said she felt uncomfortable during the visits, claiming Silver behaved in an overly relaxed manner while speaking to her and made remarks that were entirely unrelated to the police matter he had attended for.

A second woman has also made allegations that Silver asked her sexually explicit questions and made comments about her body while acting in his capacity as a police officer.

Silver, formerly of Gwent Police and now living in Lamphey, Pembrokeshire, denies three counts of improper use of police powers or privileges. The alleged offences are said to have taken place in 2021.

The trial is continuing at Cardiff Crown Court.

(Image: WNS)