News

Jeffreyston mother ‘nearly died’ from flu

Published

9 years ago

October 21, 2016

Happier times: Helen (on the right) pictured this week with Sam

A PEMBROKESHIRE mum, who nearly died after being struck down by influenza, says it not only had a devastating effect on her but on her family too.

Helen Watts, who is asthmatic, was extremely ill in a critical care unit for a week in March and is still not well enough to go back to work.

The 42-year-old, from Jeffreyston in Pembrokeshire, said it frightened her children to the extent that after she came home, her young son checked her pulse at night to make sure she was still alive.

“And I think it was all because I didn’t have the flu vaccine,” said Helen, who is in the at-risk category because of her asthma.

In March, Helen came down with what she thought was a cold but which, after 24 hours, seemed more like a chest infection.

This exacerbated her asthma and she became so unwell that husband Lee took her to A&E at Withybush Hospital.

Helen was given antibiotics and other medication, and was admitted so tests could be carried out.

Within 24 hours, her condition deteriorated and she was admitted to the high dependency unit with what was later diagnosed as the H1N1 strain – more commonly known as swine flu.

Helen said: “I was very poorly and on the brink of being ventilated.

“It did improve after that but I was in HDU for a week and in hospital for about two weeks afterwards being very poorly.

“The doctors told me I am lucky to be here.”

Although Helen has little memory of her time in hospital, twin sister Sam Robinson, from Carmarthen, remembers it all too vividly.

Sam said: “Helen was having seizures, being bagged and central lines put in.

“Anyone who has been with someone in a critical care situation will empathise with that. You’re living for every minute.

“It was hard as a sister to watch someone that you love so much going through that. It was upsetting. I never want to see her in that position again.

“It could have been avoided, possibly, with the flu vaccination. She certainly wouldn’t have got as ill as she did.”

Helen was getting better but still quite poorly when this picture of Sam visiting her in hospital was taken. Seven months later, Helen is still not well enough to return to her job as an administrator with a photographic business.

Although she is improving, her lungs are only working at 70% capacity and she has to take a lot of steroids.

She said it had all been very tough on her family, especially on son Harri, aged 11, and 14-year-old daughter Lauren.

Helen said: “People were getting upset seeing me with all the machines, and it was very intimidating for the children.

“It really affected them. After I came home, Harri, who was aged 10 then, was actually checking my pulse in the early hours to make sure I was still alive.

“They wouldn’t let me go anywhere. They wanted to know where I was all the time.

“It was hard on my husband too because he had to deal with everything.

“But everyone was brilliant. I’m just very lucky I’ve got such a good family, and friends were fantastic too.”

Sam is a nurse and has always had the flu vaccine partly because she is also asthmatic, but also to protect the patients she cares for in the Wales Fertility Institute in Neath Port Talbot Hospital.

She also had flu earlier this year but, she said, was not too badly affected because she’d had the vaccine – which covered the H1N1 strain that had such a devastating impact on Helen.

Sam added: “To see my twin sister so poorly like that was very traumatic.

“So for me now it’s not just about protecting patients – I’m urging people to do it for their families too.

“Like Helen said, it’s the whole family that is affected, not just the person who is ill.”

Helen herself is taking no chances and arrived half an hour early to have the flu vaccine the day it was available at her GP surgery – with Harri there to have it too.

Helen said: “We’re not going to miss out on any flu vaccination ever again. We’ve had a hard lesson to learn.”

Crime

E-bike seized after dangerous riding in Pembroke

Published

8 minutes ago

March 27, 2026

Court Reporter

A MODIFIED e-bike described as “dangerous” has been seized and will be destroyed following a prosecution at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court.

Twenty-four-year-old Joshua Miller, of Monkton, Pembroke, admitted driving dangerously, failing to stop for police, and riding without third-party insurance when he appeared in court on Tuesday (Mar 10).

He was disqualified from driving for 12 months, ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work, and must pay £85 costs along with a £114 surcharge. The court also imposed a deprivation order on the e-bike, which had been heavily modified at a reported cost of around £10,000.

The offences relate to an incident on September 6, when officers were called to central Pembroke shortly before midnight following reports of e-bikes being ridden in an anti-social manner.

Police said Miller was among a group of riders who verbally abused officers after being asked to stop while travelling through a narrow pedestrianised alleyway.

Officers approached Miller on a grass verge, but he accelerated the e-bike while two officers were holding onto him, propelling them forward before he was arrested.

The arrest formed part of a wider Dyfed-Powys Police operation targeting illegal e-bike use, including the deployment of SelectaDNA spray to forensically link riders to offences.

Superintendent Louise Harries, of the Pembrokeshire division, said: “This result reflects the determination of officers to tackle an issue that is causing real concern in our communities.

“It is only by good fortune that no one was seriously injured when Miller accelerated in this way.

“These modified e-bikes are often capable of travelling at far higher speeds than intended, and their use in public spaces can be both dangerous and intimidating.

“We are taking robust action to address this problem, and the seizure of this vehicle demonstrates that commitment.

“We would continue to urge members of the public to report any illegal or dangerous use of e-bikes so we can take action.”

Anyone with information can contact Dyfed-Powys Police online, by calling 101, or by emailing [email protected].

Cover image is a stock photo for illustrative purposes only

Community

Emergency services stage major coastal exercise in Milford Haven waterway

Published

16 minutes ago

March 27, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Coastguard, police, fire and ambulance crews take part in large-scale training operation

A MAJOR multi-agency search and rescue exercise is taking place off the Pembrokeshire coast today (Friday, March 27), involving coastguard teams alongside police, fire and ambulance crews.

The operation is centred on the waterway between Neyland and Mill Bay, including Neyland Marina.

Milford Haven Coastguard confirmed the exercise is designed to test emergency response capabilities, with multiple agencies working together on a simulated rescue scenario.

As part of the drill, several “man overboard” (MOB) training mannequins are being deployed into the water, while vessels and drones are also being used.

The exercise is being coordinated by Milford Haven Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre.

A Notice to Mariners has been issued, warning those using the waterway to proceed with caution.

Vessels are being asked to maintain a safe speed and give the exercise area a wide berth to avoid disruption to operations.

Anyone requiring further information can contact Milford Haven VTS on VHF Channel 12 or via email at [email protected]

The notice remains in force until 11:59pm today.

Crime

Four men fined over illegal cockle gathering on the Burry Inlet

Published

3 hours ago

March 27, 2026

Rieve Nesbitt-Marr

More than £36,000 in penalties after protected estuary targeted

FOUR men from Llanelli have been fined more than £36,000 after illegally gathering cockles from the protected Burry Inlet.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) launched an investigation following a report of unlawful cockle harvesting in the Llanelli area on Thursday (June 12, 2025).

Enforcement officers attended and found that Ethan Thomas, Brogan Phillips, Finley Harvey Jones, all from Llanelli, and Korey Kathrens, from Burry Port, had driven 4×4 vehicles more than one kilometre out into the estuary to collect cockles without permission.

The group was intercepted as they attempted to leave the scene. During the incident, two of the vehicles became stuck in the estuary and had to be towed to safety.

Officers seized a large quantity of cockles along with equipment used in the operation.

All four men denied the charges but were found guilty following a trial at Llanelli Magistrates’ Court on Monday (Mar 23, 2026).

Each defendant was fined £4,000, ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £1,600, and prosecution costs of £3,546—bringing the total penalty per person to £9,146. The court ordered payments at a rate of £200 per month.

Huwel Manley, Head of South West Wales Operations at NRW, said: “This case highlights the seriousness of illegal cockle gathering, which can damage fragile ecosystems and undermine licensed fisheries operating within the estuary.

“Natural Resources Wales is committed to protecting our shellfisheries and wider fisheries from illegal activity.

“We welcome the court’s decision and hope it sends a clear message that fishery and shellfish-related crime will not be tolerated. We will continue to take appropriate enforcement action against those who break the law.”