Court hears woman was followed to remote locations, threatened and left feeling “like a sitting duck”

A WOMAN has told magistrates she lives in fear after allegedly being persistently tracked, intimidated and threatened by her former husband.

Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court heard that Michael Sutton repeatedly followed the woman to remote locations, turned up at her workplace and appeared to know details of private conversations with family members.

“This man is considered a risk,” solicitor Sally Rogers, acting on behalf of Dyfed-Powys Police, told the court.

“She knows that he carries a Stanley knife everywhere he goes, and this is undoubtedly adding to her fear.”

The court heard that Sutton, 48, of Victoria Road, Pembroke Dock, had been in a relationship with the woman for approximately 17 years. However, when the relationship ended in May 2025, he was allegedly unable to accept the separation.

“He had previously displayed controlling and coercive behaviour towards her, and research shows that where this is the case, the risks associated with stalking are greater,” Ms Rogers said.

Despite being placed on police bail in February, Sutton allegedly continued to stalk his former wife.

“He continued making or sending unwanted social media posts, turned up at her place of work and repeatedly appeared at various locations, some of which were quite remote,” Ms Rogers said.

“He also bought a number of unwanted gifts, including Valentine’s cards and bunches of flowers, and said that if she ever entered a new relationship, he would slit her throat.

“These acts were fixated, obsessive and unwanted.”

Ms Rogers said the woman also believed Sutton may have installed a surveillance or listening device at her property.

“On one occasion, she told her son that they needed a new oven glove, and the following day a brand-new oven glove appeared at the property,” she said.

“On another occasion, a knife was found underneath her car seat, but she had no idea how it had got there.

“There are a lot of incidents that cannot be explained and, without a shadow of a doubt, this has placed her in fear.

“As a result, she rarely goes out. She feels like a sitting duck.”

After considering the evidence, magistrates imposed a full stalking protection order on Sutton, which will remain in force for five years.

A PEMBROKESHIRE commercial fisherman has admitted failing to ensure his vessel was operated safely following the death of lobster fisherman Jack Walker off the coast of Pembrokeshire.

Adam Evans, aged 31, appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court this week in connection with the operation of the fishing vessel FV Wilaya.

Evans owned the vessel when Mr Walker, aged 35, was dragged overboard and drowned during a fishing operation near Jack Sound, close to Skomer Island, on May 1, 2025.

Jack Murphy KC, prosecuting on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, said the offence came to light following the fatal incident.

“Adam Evans’ failure to ensure the boat was operating safely was discovered following the tragic accident when Jack Walker became entangled in a string of pots as he carried out a ‘shooting’ exercise,” he told the court.

Mr Murphy explained that “shooting” involves deploying baited and weighted lobster pots over the side of a vessel, allowing them to sink rapidly to the seabed as the attached rope runs out.

“Jack Walker was dragged into the sea and tragically drowned,” he said.

“This is a high-culpability case involving breaches of safety in which there was wilful blindness to the offending and a high likelihood of causing serious injury or death.”

The court heard that Evans had failed to take adequate steps to ensure the safety of the vessel and its crew.

The prosecution said there had been failures to comply with essential requirements, codes of practice and guidance, including a lack of adequate safety measures and failures to carry out annual maintenance and safety checks.

Evans was also said not to have held the required first-aid training qualification.

At the time of the incident, the vessel was carrying a third person despite not being coded to carry passengers, the court heard.

Evans, of Harbour Way, Hakin, Milford Haven, was interviewed by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on July 2 and made what the prosecution described as a series of frank admissions.

He pleaded guilty to failing to take all reasonable steps to ensure that FV Wilaya was operated safely at the time of Mr Walker’s death.

“There were a number of breaches here in relation to safety, particularly given the high-risk nature of fishing,” Mr Murphy said.

“As a result, I request that the case be committed to the Crown Court for sentence.”

District Judge Mark Layton declined jurisdiction and sent the case to Swansea Crown Court, where Evans is due to be sentenced on August 4.

He was released on unconditional bail.

Delays averaged 17 a day as MS demands targets, hospital-level figures and a timetable for improvement

MORE than 500 ambulance handovers at hospitals run by Hywel Dda University Health Board took longer than an hour during a single month, newly disclosed figures have revealed.

A total of 528 handovers exceeded 60 minutes in October 2025, equivalent to an average of around 17 lengthy delays every day.

Each delayed handover can leave a patient waiting in an ambulance outside hospital while the crew remains unavailable to respond to another emergency.

Even using one hour as the minimum, the 528 incidents represent more than 528 ambulance-hours spent on lengthy hospital handovers. The true figure will have been higher because every handover included in the total exceeded the hour mark.

However, the information released does not show which hospitals recorded the most delays, how long the worst handover lasted or how many ambulance hours were lost beyond the normal handover period.

It also provides no indication of whether performance improved or deteriorated in the months following October.

Claire Archibald, Reform UK Member of the Senedd for Ceredigion Penfro, obtained the figure after submitting a written question to the Welsh Government.

She has challenged ministers to publish a measurable recovery plan for West Wales, including targets for reducing delays and regular health-board-level performance figures.

The disclosure comes against a backdrop of sustained pressure throughout the Welsh emergency care system.

Official figures show that almost 96,800 people attended emergency departments across Wales in October 2025. Only 66 per cent were admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours, against a national target of 95 per cent.

A further 10,499 patients spent 12 hours or more in emergency departments during the month, an increase of 414 compared with September.

Problems moving patients out of hospital were also evident. On the day discharge data was collected in October, nearly 1,500 patients who were medically ready to leave hospital were still waiting for care, support or suitable accommodation.

Those patients had accumulated more than 64,100 days of delayed hospital stays between them.

Delayed discharges reduce the number of available hospital beds. This can leave patients waiting in emergency departments for admission and, in turn, prevent ambulance crews from handing over new arrivals promptly.

The latest Welsh Government figures suggest that pressure has continued well beyond October.

In May 2026, 11,066 people waited 12 hours or more in Welsh emergency departments, while only 64.4 per cent were admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.

There were also more than 1,300 recorded delayed discharges, involving almost 57,200 accumulated days of delay.

The median response to the most serious red-category ambulance emergencies was nine minutes and 12 seconds, outside the target range of six to eight minutes.

Ms Archibald said: “More than 500 ambulance handovers taking over an hour in a single month is deeply concerning.

“Behind every one of those figures is a patient waiting for care and an ambulance crew unable to respond to another emergency.

“The Welsh Government’s response contains many of the same general assurances we have heard before, but it does not provide a deadline, a measurable target or explain what specific action is being taken within Hywel Dda.

“Ambulance crews and hospital staff are working incredibly hard, but they are being let down by a system that is struggling to move patients safely through hospitals and back into the community.”

In its written response, the Welsh Government said it was working with Hywel Dda University Health Board, the Welsh Ambulance Service and other partners to improve patient flow, timely discharge and same-day emergency care.

Ms Archibald said the answer did not include a reduction target, timetable or detailed health-board-specific action plan.

She added: “People across Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion need to know when these delays will be reduced and how progress will be measured.

“I will continue pressing the Welsh Government for a clear and accountable plan to ensure patients receive urgent care when they need it.”

The figures leave a number of important questions unanswered, including how the 528 delayed handovers were divided between individual hospitals, the longest time any patient waited, the total operational hours lost and whether any patient-harm incidents were associated with the delays.

Ms Archibald has called for monthly handover figures to be published for each health board, alongside clear targets showing when ministers expect the number of hour-long delays to fall.