Seventy-year-old failed to seek prompt veterinary treatment for bulldog suffering from dry eye and a skin infection

A KILGETTY man has been banned from keeping animals for seven years after admitting that he caused unnecessary suffering to his bulldog.

Michael John Edward McGartland, aged 70, of Woodlands, Kilgetty, appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on Monday, July 13.

The court heard that between July 12 and December 20, 2025, McGartland failed to seek prompt veterinary treatment for a bulldog named George.

The animal had been showing signs of ill health, including dry eye and a skin infection.

McGartland admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal by failing to act when he knew, or ought reasonably to have known, that his failure was likely to cause suffering.

He had entered a guilty plea at an earlier hearing on May 26.

Magistrates fined McGartland £769 and ordered him to pay £400 in prosecution costs and a £308 victim surcharge, bringing the total financial penalty to £1,477.

He was also disqualified for seven years from owning, keeping, dealing in or transporting animals.

The order also prevents him from participating in the keeping of animals or becoming involved in any arrangement allowing him to control or influence how an animal is kept.

McGartland will not be permitted to apply for the disqualification order to be lifted for at least five years.

The outstanding balance will be paid at a rate of £100 per month, beginning on August 10.
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A MAJOR operation to remove a former fishing vessel which ran aground off the Pembrokeshire coast is nearing completion.

The 24-metre Resolute became stranded on rocks near Fishguard after drifting ashore during rough seas in the early hours of December 11 last year.

The vessel had been working as a guard boat for an offshore wind farm near Ireland when it got into difficulty. All four crew members were safely rescued by lifeboat.

After remaining on the rocks for more than six months, specialist marine contractors Jevington Logistics began dismantling the wreck on June 29.

The Pembroke Dock-based company has positioned a 36-metre barge alongside the wreck, using an excavator fitted with powerful metal-cutting shears to break the vessel into large sections.

These sections are then lifted onto the barge and cut into smaller pieces using oxy-propane torches before being transported to a local recycling company.

Around 110 tonnes of steel are expected to be recovered from the heavily built vessel.

Steve Bradley, operations director at Jevington Logistics, said the condition and position of the wreck meant dismantling it in sections was the safest and most practical way of removing it.

The Resolute had suffered several substantial holes to its hull, while access to the wreck was restricted by rocks and a narrow channel.

A shallow-draught barge equipped with legs which can be driven into the seabed was brought in to provide a stable working platform.

Mr Bradley said the vessel was being systematically divided into five main sections, which were then being lifted onto the barge for further dismantling.

The operation has presented a number of challenges, including manoeuvring the barge close enough to the wreck and dealing with changing sea conditions.

Work had to be suspended for two days after the swell became too large for the salvage operation to continue safely.

Environmental protection measures have also been put in place, including a containment boom around the wreck.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has monitored the operation and was said to be satisfied with the pollution prevention arrangements.

Most of the Resolute’s remaining fuel was removed and transferred ashore earlier this year. A small amount of pollution was initially identified following the grounding, but no further pollution incidents have been reported.

Once the main structure has been removed, salvage teams will inspect the surrounding rocks and seabed to make sure no pieces of the vessel or other debris have been left behind.

The stranded ship has attracted considerable attention from residents and visitors since it was washed onto the rocks near Fishguard last winter.

Boy accused of attempting to murder Milford Haven teacher says he ‘never wanted to injure’ her

A TEENAGE boy accused of attempting to murder his teacher with a kitchen knife has told a jury he took the blade to school to “show off” to his friends, but never intended to use it violently.

The 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was giving evidence at Swansea Crown Court on Monday afternoon (Jul 13).

He is accused of attacking history teacher Vicki Williams inside a classroom at Milford Haven School on Thursday, February 5.

The boy, who was 15 at the time, denies attempted murder, wounding with intent and unlawful wounding. He has admitted possessing a knife on school premises.

The trial has heard that Mrs Williams suffered a stab wound to the top of her head, as well as injuries to her hands.

Giving evidence, the defendant described walking into Mrs Williams’ classroom after the end of the school day with a rucksack on his arm. Inside the bag was a large kitchen knife, which he said he had taken from his parents’ kitchen.

He told the jury he had gone into the room to ask Mrs Williams to check his history work.

CCTV footage played to the court showed the defendant standing outside the classroom at around 3:13pm.

“I knew she wasn’t in there because the light was off and from where I was standing you could see her at her desk,” he told the court.

The footage showed him leaving the area before returning minutes later.

“The door was now open and when I went in, Miss Williams was sitting down at her desk looking at her laptop,” he said.

“I didn’t say anything but walked in and closed the door, and walked up to her desk. My rucksack was on my left arm.

“When I got to her desk I got my history book out and the first thing I said to her was, ‘Can you check my work, please?’”

The defendant claimed Mrs Williams then saw the knife in the same inner compartment of his bag as his history book.

“She asked me what it was and I didn’t say anything back,” he said.

“She asked me to take it out, and I took the knife out by the handle, with my right hand. I held it, still facing downwards and Miss Williams looked shocked. Her mouth was open and her eyes were wide.”

The boy said Mrs Williams then asked him to hand over the knife.

“She said, ‘Give it here’, and I said, ‘No’,” he told the jury.

“I didn’t want to get in trouble by having a knife in school.

“She then tried to grab the knife off me with both hands, and her hands made contact with the blade.

“The knife was going everywhere as I tried to get it off her.”

The defendant denied deliberately stabbing Mrs Williams in the head.

He told the court he did not see the knife make contact with her head, although he accepted that it must have done so because of her injuries.

“We were struggling for ten seconds and then she started screaming,” he said.

“This was when the whole situation got too much for me so I let go of the knife and ran out.”

Asked whether he had planned to attack Mrs Williams, the defendant said he had “never wanted to injure Miss Williams”.

He told the jury he had chosen GCSE history because it interested him, and denied having any ill feeling towards his teacher.

He also denied being argumentative towards her, falling out with her, or deliberately using the knife on her.

Earlier in his evidence, the defendant said he had taken the knife into school as part of what he described as a game among friends.

“Me and my friends used to bring in random stuff like tools, household items, all of that kind of stuff, to see what we could get away with bringing into school,” he said.

“I got the knife from my kitchen and it was the largest one in the knife block. I took it because it would have been the most impressive one to show my friends.

“I didn’t want the teachers to find it and I didn’t want to use it in a violent way.”

But when questioned by the Crown, the defendant accepted that none of his friends were shown the knife on February 5.

“Not all of my friends were in school that day and I wanted to show it to the whole group during break or lunch, rather than individually,” he said.

The court was also shown CCTV footage of the defendant in a school corridor two days before the alleged attack.

The footage showed him loitering and waving his arms towards a classroom.

“I should have been in lessons but I was waving at my friend to come home with me and skip lessons,” he told the court.

Further footage showed the defendant smiling with friends after one of them donkey-kicked a classroom door, causing it to shatter.

“We found it funny that he’d smashed the door,” the defendant said.

The jury also heard that the defendant and his friends had previously removed tools from the school’s technology department and taken them home.

These included a power drill and a spanner.

“It was a game we were doing, to see how many tools we could steal from a class before the teacher realised,” he said.

Earlier in the trial, Mrs Williams told the jury that the defendant had followed her into the classroom after asking for help with his history work.

She said he then “lunged” at her with a knife and stabbed her in the head.

The prosecution alleges that the attack was deliberate and planned.

The defence says the injuries were caused accidentally during a struggle after the boy refused to hand over the knife.

The trial continues tomorrow, Tuesday, July 14.