News

Green Party leader visits Fishguard

Published

10 years ago

April 12, 2016

THE LEADER of the Green Party addressed a meeting in Fishguard on Tuesday (Mar 22).

Natalie Bennett was joined on the stage by constituency and regional Green candidates, as well as local health and education activists Dr Kay Dearing and Dr Chris Overton.

Dr Overton kicked off proceedings with a brief history of the Save Withybush Action Team over the past 11 years.

He expressed his fears that the new emergency services boundaries, which were introduced as a temporary measure last year, had put extra pressure on Glangwili and Prince Philip Hospitals.

“They promised that this was a temporary measure, but they have employed new doctors and the boundaries have stayed the same,” he added. “I believe that if the same administration returns in May, the changes to Withybush as a rural general hospital will come into fruition.”

Dr Kay Dearing, who has been instrumental in leading the fight to save sixth form education in the county, pointed out that fortunately Wales had not gone down the free school/academy route, but still faced cuts to the education budget.

Dr Dearing pointed out that Pembrokeshire’s ‘interesting’ schools reorganisation ignored good performances in A-level results and concentrated on poorer GCSE results.

She also stressed that the cost of building any new schools would come out of the county’s education budget.

“This will lead to less money being available to teach 11-16 year olds,” she added.

Organiser Jim Scott, who has set up a petition calling for Stephen Crabb to resign as patron of Mencap Pembs, claimed that the public sector, especially the NHS, is ‘being stripped away at every level’ under the present government.

“The struggle is between those who recognise that, and those who are furthering their own agenda,” he added.

Natalie Bennett got one of the biggest rounds of applause of the night. The UK Green Party leader told a receptive crowd that 2020 was ‘too far away.’

“We can’t allow this Tory government to cause more damage for the next four years,” she added.

“Communities are being hollowed out – that’s what austerity means.”

Ms Bennett said that improved local public transport was a major part of her party’s plans – something that resonated with a north county audience. She pointed out that poor public transport services meant that many everyday activities were impossible for some people.

“How can you even hold down a job? A third of job-seekers don’t have access to a car,” she added.

Building strong local communities was another main theme of her talk. Ms Bennett suggested that rather than shopping in supermarkets, ‘where 1p in the pound goes back into the area and the rest goes to tax havens’ people should buy from smaller local shops, where the money goes straight back into the local economy.

Other areas discussed included fuel poverty, which Ms Bennett claimed was the result of ‘lousy’ housing stock, and the ‘living wage’ introduced by the chancellor, which only applies to those over the age of 25.

Concluding, she described the Green manifesto as ‘the anti-UKIP philosophy.’

“Theirs is one of fear, ours is one of hope,” she added.

A detailed question and answer session led to members of the audience expressing concerns about a number of local and national issues, including one about the ‘very successful disenfranchisement of young people’ through a combination of zero hour contracts, low pay and lack of eligibility for union support.

In response Ms Bennett discussed the SOAS cleaners’ strike in UCL, only to be told that ‘that was Bloomsbury, this is Pembrokeshire.

Dr Dearing pointed out that in Pembrokeshire this disenfranchisement had not been helped by consulting school pupils on the sixth form changes, then ignoring their input.

Regional Assembly candidate Alice Hooker-Stroud discussed her aims for the Assembly, including reinvigorating a ‘stale’ government.

“What we see is lots of lovely ideas coming out, and high targets to be met, but not much is coming through,” she added.

“We have a strict climate change target, but emissions are still going up.”

As someone brought up in west Wales, Ms Hooker-Stroud described seeing communities ‘broken apart.’

“The danger in the long term is that we stop feeling we should care for each other,” she said.

Constituency candidates Frances Bryant and Val Bradley joined the Welsh Greens leader to answer questions on local issues, including the party’s plans to reinstate services at Withybush, and solutions for the housing shortage in the area.

Closing the meeting Ms Hooker- Stroud reminded the audience that this election was: “the best chance yet of getting our first Green Assembly Member, here in mid and west Wales.”

Education

Pembrokeshire school named second in Sunday Times guide

Published

24 minutes ago

December 5, 2025

Luke Sinclair

A Pembrokeshire secondary school has been recognised among the very best in Wales, securing a leading position in a major national education guide.

Ysgol Bro Preseli in Crymych has been ranked the second-best state secondary school in Wales in the 2026 Sunday Times Parent Power Guide, a long-established benchmark for academic performance across the UK. Only Cowbridge School placed higher.

The annual guide, regarded as one of the country’s most authoritative assessments of school standards, compiles data from more than 2,000 state and independent schools. It also offers a range of practical advice for families, including guidance on scholarships, the 11-plus, and choosing the right school.

Helen Davies, editor of the Parent Power Guide, acknowledged the pressures facing the education sector but praised the commitment shown by schools nationwide. She said: “The educational landscape is testing – budget challenges, rising student mental health issues, special educational needs and an increasingly uncertain future.

“But there is also so much to celebrate from the dedication of teachers who are finding ever more innovative and impactful ways to enrich their students and give them the very best start in life.

“As well as celebrating the academic excellence of the top schools, it is uplifting to see how they are shaping their students to be ready for the 21st century, and instilling a lifelong love of learning.”

In addition to its strong showing within Wales, Ysgol Bro Preseli secured 263rd place in the UK-wide rankings. Elsewhere in the state secondary table, Ysgol Gyfun Penweddig was placed third in Wales, with Ysgol Eirias in Colwyn Bay following closely behind.

Now in its 33rd year, the Parent Power Guide was published online on Friday, 5 December, with the print edition set to appear on Sunday, 7 December. Final positions are determined by year-on-year performance, supported by editorial judgement.

The full rankings and analysis are available via The Sunday Times digital edition, and the guide remains a trusted resource for families seeking a clear picture of school performance across the UK.

Crime

Swansea man dies weeks after release from troubled HMP Parc: Investigation launched

Published

12 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Tom Sinclair

A SWANSEA man has died just weeks after being released from HMP Parc, the Bridgend prison now at the centre of a national crisis over inmate deaths and post-release failures.

Darren Thomas, aged 52, died on 13 November 2025 — less than a month after leaving custody. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) has confirmed an independent investigation into his death, which is currently listed as “in progress”.

Born on 9 April 1973, Mr Thomas had been under post-release supervision following a period at HMP/YOI Parc, the G4S-run prison that recorded seventeen deaths in custody in 2024 — the highest in the UK.

His last known legal appearance was at Swansea Crown Court in October 2024, where he stood trial accused of making a threatening phone call and two counts of criminal damage. During the hearing, reported by The Pembrokeshire Herald at the time, the court heard he made threats during a heated call on 5 October 2023.

Mr Thomas denied the allegations but was found guilty on all counts. He was sentenced to a custodial term, which led to his imprisonment at HMP Parc.

Parc: A prison in breakdown

HMP Parc has faced sustained criticism throughout 2024 and 2025. A damning unannounced inspection in January found:

Severe self-harm incidents up 190%
Violence against staff up 109%
Synthetic drugs “easily accessible” across wings
Overcrowding at 108% capacity

In the first three months of 2024 alone, ten men died at Parc — part of a wider cluster of twenty PPO-investigated deaths since 2022. Six occurred within three weeks, all linked to synthetic drug use.

Leaked staff messages in 2025 exposed a culture of indifference, including one officer writing: “Let’s push him to go tomorrow so we can drop him.”

Six G4S employees have been arrested since 2023 in connection with alleged assaults and misconduct.

The danger after release

Deaths shortly after release from custody are a growing national concern. Ministry of Justice data shows 620 people died while under community supervision in 2024–2025, with 62 deaths occurring within 14 days of release.

Short sentences — common at Parc — leave little time for effective rehabilitation or release planning. Homelessness, loss of drug tolerance and untreated mental-health conditions create a high-risk environment for those newly released.

The PPO investigates all such deaths to determine whether prisons or probation failed in their duties. Reports often take 6–12 months and can lead to recommendations.

A system at breaking point

The crisis at Parc reflects wider failures across UK prisons and probation. A July 2025 House of Lords report described the service as “not fit for purpose”. More than 500 people die in custody annually, with campaigners warning that private prisons such as Parc prioritise cost-cutting over care.

The PPO investigation into the death of Darren Thomas continues.

Crime

Woman stabbed partner in Haverfordwest before handing herself in

Published

12 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Court Reporter

A WOMAN who stabbed her partner during a drug-fuelled episode walked straight into Haverfordwest Police Station and told officers what she had done, Swansea Crown Court has heard.

Amy Woolston, 22, of Dartmouth Street in Milford Haven, arrived at the station at around 8:00pm on June 13 and said: “I stabbed my ex-partner earlier… he’s alright and he let me walk off,” prosecutor Tom Scapens told the court.

The pair had taken acid together earlier in the day, and Woolston claimed she believed she could feel “stab marks in her back” before the incident.

Police find victim with four wounds

Officers went to the victim’s home to check on him. He was not there at first, but returned shortly afterwards. He appeared sober and told police: “Just a couple of things,” before pointing to injuries on his back.

He had three stab or puncture wounds to his back and another to his bicep.

The victim said that when he arrived home from the shop, Woolston was acting “a bit shifty”. After asking if she was alright, she grabbed something from the windowsill — described as either a knife or a shard of glass — and stabbed him.

He told officers he had “had worse from her before”, did not support a prosecution, and refused to go to hospital.

Defendant has long history of violence

Woolston pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding. The court heard she had amassed 20 previous convictions from 10 court appearances, including assaults, battery, and offences against emergency workers.

Defending, Dyfed Thomas said Woolston had longstanding mental health problems and had been off medication prescribed for paranoid schizophrenia at the time.
“She’s had a difficult upbringing,” he added, saying she was remorseful and now compliant with treatment.

Woolston was jailed for 12 months, but the court heard she has already served the equivalent time on remand and will be released imminently on a 12-month licence.