News

Lisa’s a life saving hero!

Published

12 years ago

December 19, 2013

A LEISURE centre employee who saved the life of a football player has been named an Unsung Hero by Pembrokeshire County Council.Fishguard Leisure Centre Duty Officer Lisa Starkey was nominated by – among others –the father of the young man she saved.

In January this year Lisa was working at the leisure centre when 32-year-old Nicky Badland collapsed with a suspected heart attack, while training on a nearby pitch with Fishguard Sports AFC.

Lisa ran on to the pitch and immediately performed CPR until an ambulance arrived.

“Her presence of mind and cool head under a tense situation undoubtedly saved our son,” said Geoffrey Badland.

“Although Lifeguards have intensive training in CPR techniques, few have to use their skills in a real life situation. We will always be indebted to Lisa.”

Lisa was presented with a framed certificate at County Hall this week by Ian Westley, Director of Transportation, Housing and Environment.

Now in its 10th year, the Unsung Hero Award is presented to an individual council employee, who has demonstrated extraordinary commitment in the delivery of first class customer service.

Members of the public as well as council employees are able to put forward nominations for the award.Just missing on the top prize were three runners up, who were all Highly Commended.

They included social services transport driver, Wyndham Arnold; Haverfordwest Leisure Centre employee, Nicola Cunningham and County Hall car park attendant, John Hughes.

Wyndham Arnold was nominated by a customer at Wintern Day Centre in Fishguard, who said he went above and beyond the call of duty in his work taking his customers to appointments, to collect their pensions or to the bank and shops.

“He makes sure everyone is safely in our homes, he will cheer us up when we are feeling down, nothing is too much for him to do to help- us in so many ways,” the customer said.

Nicola Cunningham was nominated by a Leisure Centre user, who praised her dedication and enthusiasm which had seen the children of Haverfordwest benefit from all the activities she was involved in.

“In addition to the weekly swimming lessons that Nicola is involved in, she has also singlehandedly created and continually improved the leisure centre rookie life saving club. From there not being any children’s life saving provision two years ago, Nicola is now the driving force in attracting in excess of 90 children to the weekly sessions.”County Hall car park attendant John Hughes received several nominations, praising his people skills and professional and courteous manner.

“It is an unenviable job as he often has to incur the misplaced wrath of a frustrated driver hoping to slip undetected into the car park for an unauthorised visit,” said one nominee.

“In my experience when this occurs John calls on his considerable people skills and invariably reacts in a calm and dignified manner, thus defusing potentially awkward situations.”

Community

Stix Noodle Bar in Haverfordwest rewards visitors who park and shop local

Published

7 minutes ago

May 18, 2026

Cerys Lafferty

A POPULAR restaurant is taking on one of the town centre’s biggest frustrations with a new initiative designed to ease parking stress and encourage more visitors into the heart of the community.

Stix Noodle Bar has announced a new scheme offering customers money off their bill when they show proof of paid parking in the town.

Under the initiative, diners who present an active parking ticket or parking app booking will receive the equivalent cost of one hour’s parking deducted from their meal bill.

The business says the idea was created in response to ongoing concerns about local parking pressures, while also supporting neighbouring independent traders and encouraging more people to spend time in the town centre.

In a statement released alongside the launch, the restaurant said: “Tired of Haverfordwest’s parking stress? So are we. That’s why we’re doing something about it.”

The team behind the noodle bar is encouraging visitors to “park up, come in, eat well, then go explore some of the brilliant businesses right on our doorstep,” adding that “Haverfordwest is worth stopping for.”

The scheme has already received support from local representatives, including Reform Councillor, Scott Thorley, who praised the move as a practical way to support the town centre economy.

“This is an excellent idea,” he said. “Tackling parking stress while boosting local businesses and footfall in Haverfordwest — this is exactly the practical support our town centre needs.”

Community

Pembrokeshire named UK’s most photographed coastal national park

Published

22 minutes ago

May 18, 2026

Tom Sinclair

County’s coastline places sixth in UK-wide photo study

PEMBROKESHIRE has been named the most photographed coastal national park in the UK, according to new data from photo curation app Popsa.

The study, which analysed metadata from millions of customer photos uploaded in 2025, ranked Pembrokeshire Coast National Park sixth overall out of the UK’s 15 national parks.

It was the highest-ranked coastal park in the list, ahead of destinations including the Cairngorms, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs, the Yorkshire Dales and Dartmoor.

Popsa gave Pembrokeshire a Photo Index Score of 28, representing 5.76% of all UK national park photography included in the study.

The company said the county’s 186-mile coastline, with its limestone arches, sea stacks, beaches and hidden coves, offered “photographic variety that few parks can match”.

Barafundle Bay was highlighted as one of the most photographed locations, particularly at low tide, while Skomer Island was noted for its puffin colonies, which attract photographers between April and July.

Wales performed strongly overall, with all three national parks appearing in the UK top ten. Eryri, formerly Snowdonia, ranked fifth, Pembrokeshire sixth, and Bannau Brycheiniog, formerly the Brecon Beacons, tenth.

Together, the three Welsh parks accounted for 16.46% of all UK national park photography in the study.

The Lake District topped the list, followed by the South Downs, the Peak District and the New Forest.

Popsa CEO Liam Houghton said: “Wales has three genuinely world-class national parks and this data shows they are clearly on photographers’ radar.

“But there’s a real gap between the quality of the landscapes and the volume of photos being taken there compared to the English parks.”

The findings suggest Pembrokeshire remains one of the UK’s standout destinations for landscape, wildlife and coastal photography, while also underlining the continued importance of the national park to the county’s tourism economy.

Crime

Pembroke woman accused of scrap fraud to appear in court

Published

26 minutes ago

May 18, 2026

Court Reporter

Defendant accused of dishonestly selling vehicle for scrap in Haverfordwest

A PEMBROKE woman is due to appear before magistrates charged with fraud after allegedly selling a vehicle for scrap in Haverfordwest.

Natalie Morris, aged 42, of Corston Lodge, Axton Hill, is accused of fraud by false representation under the Fraud Act 2006.

The allegation relates to an incident said to have taken place in Haverfordwest on Tuesday (Aug 9), 2022, in which Morris allegedly dishonestly made a false representation by selling a silver Toyota Corolla, registration CU52 XBR, for scrap.

The court heard the alleged offence was carried out with the intention of making a financial gain of £313.

The case was listed before Llanelli Magistrates’ Court on Monday (May 18), where a previously issued warrant was withdrawn.

No plea was entered and the matter was adjourned.

Morris is now due to appear before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court at 10:00am on Tuesday (May 26) for a plea hearing, where she will be asked to enter a guilty or not guilty plea.