News

Cowshed Cinderella in Court of Appeal

Published

10 years ago

May 16, 2016

A £1.3 MILLION “golden egg” is at the centre of a renewed and bitter Appeal Court battle between an aging farming couple and their estranged daughter – dubbed the “Cowshed Cinderella”.

Eirian Davies, 46, was repeatedly assured by her parents, Tegwyn and Mary Davies, now in their 70s, that she would ultimately step into their shoes and take over the family’s thriving Henllan Farm, Whitland, and its herd of pedigree Holstein cows.

And in May 2014 three Appeal Court judges ruled that a stake in the thriving 182-acre farm was due to her for the years of low-paid toil she put in.

Miss Davies has told how she missed out on going to Young Farmers’ Club dances with her two sisters as a teenager because she had to “stay at home with a muck fork” , tackling her farming chores.

She worked on the family farm for over 25 years, although with sporadic breaks over the years.

“They always told me that the farm would be left to me,” Miss Davies told an earlier court hearing.

“Even on my birthday, when the other girls were having things, they would say – ‘you will have the damn lot one day, it will all be yours’,” she said.

Her father would regularly warn her “not to kill the goose that lays the golden egg” if she complained about her meagre wages, she added.

Until she reached the age of 21, Miss Davies was paid nothing at all for her work on the farm and, after that, there was a period when she was paid just £15-a-day for milking the cows, although sometimes she received more.

She claimed she could have ‘made a better life elsewhere’, but her 75-year-old father and mother, 76, insisted she had earned a fair income during her stints working on the farm, also being provided with free ‘bed and board’ and other benefits.

Describing her as ‘a self-employed herdswoman’, they argued she would have done no better financially had she worked away from the farm.

In 2009, Miss Davies was shown her parents’ draft will, which left the lion’s share of the farm to her.

However, the couple later made changes to their bequests and proposed placing the farm in trust for the benefit of all three sisters equally.

Miss Davies had a ‘passionate interest in pedigree milking cows’ and, by 1989 when she turned 21, she was the only sister left at the farm, ‘her sisters having departed to follow other paths’.

And, when she left the farm to work elsewhere for a while, her father begged her to return.

The bitter legal dispute was finally sparked in August 2012 following an “altercation” in the milking parlour – after which Miss Davies’ parents launched an unsuccessful bid to evict their daughter from Henllan Farmhouse.

Later on, Judge Milwyn Jarman QC ruled Miss Davies was entitled to a beneficial interest in the family’s lucrative farming business, prompting her parents to challenge that ruling in the Appeal Court.

But in May 2014 Lord Justice Floyd dismissed the couple’s appeal, ruling that Miss Davies had received “less than full recompense” for her contribution to the farm.

The appeal judge concluded: “This is in many ways a tragic case. The bitterness between the parties was such that each had few, if any, good words to say about the other.”

After the parents’ appeal was rejected, the case was sent back to Judge Jarman to put a figure on the amount of compensation due to Miss Davies.

He awarded her £1.3 million for her share of the family farming business in February 2015 at the High Court in Cardiff, triggering her parents to mount a fresh appeal.

The case returned to the Appeal Court on Tuesday this week (Apr 26) as Mr and Mrs Davies’ legal team launched their attack on the judge’s findings.

The couple’s QC, Simon Fancourt, claimed the £1.3 million pay-out would be “hugely disproportionate to any detriment Eirian incurred in reliance on representations that were made”.

The “representations and assurances” given by her parents were “general and non-specific” in the early days, said the barrister, including such sentiments as, “it’ll all be yours one day” and “don’t kill the goose that lays the golden egg”.

He said Judge Jarman had found that the first time the couple made any substantial “explicit representation” about inheritance was in 2009 when Miss Davies was shown a draft of their wills, bequeathing the farm to her.

Mr Fancourt said that Judge Jarman unfairly “worked on the basis that there was an expectation of inheriting the whole lot”.

“He gave too much weight to the expectations,” said the barrister.

Lord Justice Patten, Lord Justice Underhill and Lord Justice Lewison, who are hearing the case at London’s Appeal Court, are expected to reserve their judgment to a later date.

Charity

Bassetts Motor Group donates electric van to support lifesaving charity

Published

5 hours ago

March 28, 2026

Tom Sinclair

BASSETTS Motor Group has donated an electric van to support the vital work of Wales Air Ambulance, providing a major boost to the charity’s day-to-day fundraising operations.

The South West Wales-based company has gifted a Citroën e-Berlingo for use until the end of the year — marking the first time the business has made a significant gift in kind to the charity.

Staff from Bassetts recently visited the charity’s headquarters in Dafen to hand over the vehicle, where they met with a medic and were given an insight into the critical care delivered by the service, including a tour of a rapid response car.

Ashley White, of Bassetts Motor Group, said: “Being a South West Wales-based business, we’ve seen first-hand the incredible work that Wales Air Ambulance does.

“We knew the charity relies heavily on fundraising and donations, so when we were looking for a cause to support, it felt like a natural choice.”

The van has been branded with the charity’s logo and information on how the public can support its lifesaving lottery.

Explaining the choice of vehicle, Ashley added: “We’re strong advocates of electric vehicles. Getting people behind the wheel often changes perceptions and helps overcome misconceptions about going electric.

“Citroën offered us a deal that made it possible for us to provide the van in this way, and we felt it would be perfectly suited to the charity’s fundraising needs.”

The Wales Air Ambulance delivers consultant-led emergency care across the country, bringing hospital-level treatment directly to patients and, where necessary, transferring them swiftly to the most appropriate specialist centres. This approach can save critical time and significantly improve survival and recovery outcomes.

The service operates through a unique partnership between the charity and the NHS, with the Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service providing highly skilled consultants and critical care practitioners who work onboard its aircraft and rapid response vehicles.

As a pan-Wales service, its crews cover the entire country, delivering emergency care wherever it is needed.

Nina Rice, Head of Fundraising High Value Partnerships at Wales Air Ambulance, said: “We are incredibly grateful to Bassetts Motor Group for this generous gift in kind.

“The use of the electric vehicle will make a real difference to our fundraising efforts, helping us reach more communities and raise vital funds.

“As a local company, Bassetts understands just how important our service is to people across Wales. This support will directly help us continue our lifesaving work.”

The charity must raise £13 million every year to keep its helicopters in the air and its rapid response vehicles on the road.

For more information, visit the Bassetts Motor Group website.

Community

Residents return home after major Carmarthenshire fire as probe continues

Published

5 hours ago

March 28, 2026

Tom Sinclair

RESIDENTS forced to evacuate their homes following a major fire in Kidwelly have now been allowed to return, as emergency services confirm the scene has been stood down.

The blaze broke out at a property on Lady Street in the early hours of Tuesday (March 24), with emergency services called at around 4:20am. Several neighbouring homes were evacuated as a precaution while firefighters tackled the incident and assessed the safety of surrounding buildings.

In the latest update, Dyfed-Powys Police confirmed that officers have now left the scene and displaced residents were able to return to their properties on Thursday evening (March 26), following work to make the affected building safe.

The incident caused significant disruption in the town, with Lady Street remaining closed while further work is carried out to ensure the safety of the highway and surrounding structures.

Emergency services, including Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service, were on the scene for several hours during the initial response. Crews were understood to have dealt with a serious property fire, prompting a large-scale emergency operation in the centre of the town.

While the immediate danger has now passed, authorities have confirmed that investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing. Police are continuing to appeal for witnesses or anyone with relevant information to come forward.

Officers are particularly keen to hear from anyone who may have CCTV, doorbell, or dashcam footage from the area between 11:00pm on Monday (March 23) and 4:00am on Tuesday (March 24).

Anyone with information is urged to contact police quoting reference 027 of 24/3, either via 101, online, or anonymously through Crimestoppers.

Authorities thanked residents and the wider community for their patience during the incident, which saw homes evacuated and roads closed while emergency services carried out their work.

Further updates are expected as the investigation progresses.

Community

West Wales fire crews sharpen skills in major training exercise

Published

6 hours ago

March 28, 2026

Tom Sinclair

FIREFIGHTERS from across west Wales took part in a large-scale training exercise designed to sharpen operational skills and strengthen teamwork.

Crews from the Western Division of Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service attended the development day at Earlswood Training Centre on Sunday (March 22).

Personnel travelled from stations including Carmarthen, Tumble, Newcastle Emlyn, Milford Haven, Narberth and Pontyates to take part in the exercise.

Realistic scenarios

Firefighters were put through a series of realistic scenarios designed to reflect incidents they may face on duty.

These included house fires with people reported inside, kitchen fires, and multi-vehicle road traffic collisions. Crews also carried out specialist line rescue exercises as part of the day.

Support staff played the roles of casualties and members of the public, adding to the realism and allowing firefighters to test their responses in lifelike conditions.