News

Infection contributed to student’s fatal fall

Published

9 years ago

March 3, 2017

Tom Sinclair

Patrick Dear: Fell from a height at Dale Fort

AN INQUEST into the death of a 16–year–old schoolboy who was found at the foot of Dale Point was held at Milford Town Hall today (March 3).

Patrick Dear, of Essex, had been on a geography field trip to Dale Fort in March last year.

He was described by Coroner’s Officer Jeremy Davies as a ‘keen sportsman’ with ‘no concerns’.

The A–Level student, who had hoped to pursue a career in construction, would later be found at the base of the 120–foot cliffs that surround the former Victorian Fort.

A pathologist’s report described Paddy’s injuries as ‘severe’ and ‘in keeping with a fall from height’.

It also revealed that Paddy had been suffering from group A streptococcal septicemia, a ‘systemic infection’, which could cause ‘disorientation, confusion, unsteadiness and an inability to comprehend dangerous situations’.

The report concluded that this ‘infection contributed to his fall’.

Some of Paddy’s classmates from Campion school in Hornchurch, Essex, had said he ‘appeared restless’ and had experienced difficulty sleeping during his time at the Fort.

On March 17 at around 5.30pm, Paddy asked to be excused from a lesson to go to the toilet; however, he did not return.

When teachers became aware of Paddy’s disappearance, they alerted staff at the Fort, and after an initial search proved unsuccessful, police were informed at 7.05pm.

The search would continue into the early hours of the following day, with teams from Dyfed–Powys Police, which included a helicopter, and the Coastguard eventually finding Paddy’s body at around 1am.

While Paddy’s whereabouts prior to his death were unknown to staff at the Fort, Judith Curry, who lives on the seafront in Dale, was able to shed some light on his final hours.

Ms Curry recalled how she had been out in her front garden at around 6pm on March 17 when she saw a ‘young man’, who she would later identify as Paddy, standing near the seafront wall.

The Dale resident said she had been concerned about the student’s demeanour, adding that he had been ‘pacing up and down’ and ‘looking out to sea an awful lot’.

Ms Curry stated: “I would not say he was in control – he looked agitated.”

When she returned to her garden at around 8pm to find that Paddy had gone, Ms Curie said: “If he had still been there I would have gone over to him.”

A staff member at the Fort, Elizabeth Western recalled how she had ‘never had any issues with Paddy’, describing him as ‘quiet’.

The field trip had seen the pupils travel to several parts of Pembrokeshire, including Newgale, Tenby and Milford Haven; although Ms Western stated that whilst students are in the Fort, ‘the village is definitely out of bounds’.

She added that the Fort is occupied by at least one member of staff at all times and students have to sign in and out should they leave the premises.

At this point, Paddy’s mother, Patricia Dear, took the opportunity to ask Ms Western if the Fort had ‘someone standing on the gate’ during the search, to which Ms Western said they did not.

Head of Field Studies Council Pembrokeshire, Christine Milligan, who oversees Dale Fort and a similar centre at Orielton, said how the students would have been ‘warned of the dangers of the cliffs around the site’ on arrival, and that the Fort operates strict protocols in the event of a missing student.

She added that the search for Paddy had been ‘comprehensive’, with staff members having ‘searched systematically’.

Ms Milligan also said how deputy head teachers of Campion school, along with Paddy’s mother and other family members had began making the journey to Pembrokeshire in the hours after he was announced missing.

Speaking to Ms Milligan, Mrs Dear said: “Nothing we do today will bring Paddy back.”

She went on to raise questions over whether there had been any changes implemented since Paddy’s death, and in particular, if the Fort would now position someone on the gate if a similar event was to take place.

Raising concerns over the safety of future students visiting the site, Mrs Dear added: “In terms of security […] there is nothing stopping access to the public.”

Ms Milligan, who said that locking the gates in this instance would have likely not made a difference, responded: “We will certainly consider all issues raised here and look at what we can do if this awful situation was to happen again.”

Coroner Mark Layton recorded a narrative conclusion, saying that Paddy had died as a result of a fall from height whilst suffering from the systemic infection.

Mr Layton expressed his sincere condolences to Mr and Mrs Dear.

Crime

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

Published

7 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

7 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.

News

BBC apologises to Herald’s editor for inaccurate story

Published

9 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Staff Writer

THE BBC has issued a formal apology and amended a six-year-old article written by BBC Wales Business Correspondent Huw Thomas after its Executive Complaints Unit ruled that the original headline and wording gave an “incorrect impression” that Herald editor Tom Sinclair was personally liable for tens of thousands of pounds in debt.

The 2019 report, originally headlined “Herald newspaper editor Tom Sinclair has £70,000 debts”, has now been changed.

The ECU found: “The wording of the article and its headline could have led readers to form the incorrect impression that the debt was Mr Sinclair’s personal responsibility… In that respect the article failed to meet the BBC’s standards of due accuracy.”

Mr Sinclair said: “I’m grateful to the ECU for the apology and for correcting the personal-liability impression that caused real harm for six years. However, the article still links the debts to ‘the group which publishes The Herald’ when in fact they related to printing companies that were dissolved two years before the Herald was founded in 2013. I have asked the BBC to add that final clarification so the record is completely accurate.”

A formal apology and correction of this kind from the BBC is extremely rare, especially for a story more than six years old.