News

Milford Haven: Spice addict stole £600 from St Katherine’s church collection

Published

7 years ago

November 19, 2018

AN ADDICT of the highly addictive psychoactive drug ‘spice’ stole the collection money from a Milford Haven church whilst the vicar was celebrating his last meal with parishioners before moving away.

33-year-old Sam Maguire, originally from Birmingham, but now of Hawthorn Path, Mount Estate, Milford Haven, was charged with burglary following a report of a burglary at St. Katherine’s Church on Sunday (Nov 18).

Maguire appeared at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court on Monday morning (Nov 19) where he admitted the theft.

Cash worth nearly £600 was reported stolen, but most of it was recovered.

The money was stolen whilst parishioners were at a ‘bring and share’ lunch at the Royal British Legion to celebrate Father Harri Williams’ last service before he leaves town.

Magistrates ordered Maguire to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and take part in a 20-day rehabilitation project.

Maguire, his defence said, stole the money after not having universal credit for six weeks.

Father Harri, who was previously a curate in Haverfordwest, moved to Milford Haven in 2013 aged just 27.

He said: ‘’The last six years have been a fantastic time, I’m amazed at what has happened here. Our congregation on a Sunday has nearly doubled, we’ve got children here every Sunday, teenagers in our youth group, lots of young families, it’s really a proper church family.

‘’To see the volume increase in attendance is remarkable. When I first came there were no children, the church was just quiet. And now there’s life here, and it’s brought so much joy to many of the older members of the congregation too, who have found a new lease of life.

‘’We’ve got toddlers walking around and people in their 90’s, that’s how it should be.’’

Within his time he has doubled the congregation figure – which now sits at 120 regular worshipers.

He strengthened his community bond in his influence in the re-opening of the Mount Community Centre early 2018.

“The Mount has been very important to me,’’ he told the Milford Mercury.

“When we think of the significant social and economic problems in our community, providing a centre that people can access, that they can gain skills and build friendships, and have a safe place even, I think is so important.

“Hopefully, we’ve changed people attitude towards the church, and shown that it’s here to serve people.’’

Father Harri Williams confirmed to The Herald that someone had taken the collection from the church and added that he did not want to give a comment on the matter as ‘the gentleman had been arrested and was being dealt with by the police’.

Earlier this year, Sam Maguire and his girlfriend Shannon Saunders were stars of a viral social media video of their complaint to the Job Centre regarding late payment of benefits.

WARNING: Contains offensive language.

News

BBC apologises to Herald’s editor for inaccurate story

Published

23 minutes 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.

Business

First wind turbine components arrive as LNG project moves ahead

Published

3 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Tom Sinclair

THE FIRST ship carrying major components for Dragon LNG’s new onshore wind turbines
docked at Pembroke Port yesterday afternoon last week, marking the start of physical
deliveries for the multi-million-pound renewable energy project.

The Maltese-registered general cargo vessel Peak Bergen berthed at Pembroke Dock on
shortly after 4pm on Wednesday 26th November, bringing tower sections and other heavy
components for the three Enercon turbines that will eventually stand on land adjacent to the
existing gas terminal at Waterston.

A second vessel, the Irish-flagged Wilson Flex IV, has arrived in Pembroke Port today is
due to arrive in the early hours of this morning (Thursday) carrying the giant rotor blades.
The deliveries follow a successful trial convoy on 25 November, when police-escorted low-
loader trailers carried dummy loads along the planned route from the port through
Pembroke, past Waterloo roundabout and up the A477 to the Dragon LNG site.

Dragon LNG’s Community and Social Performance Officer, Lynette Round, confirmed the
latest movements in emails to the Herald.

“The Peak Bergen arrived last week yesterday with the first components,” she said. “We are
expecting another delivery tomorrow (Thursday) onboard the Wilson Flex IV. This will be
blades and is currently showing an ETA of approximately 03:30.”

The £14.3 million project, approved by Welsh Ministers last year, will see three turbines with
a combined capacity of up to 13.5 MW erected on company-owned land next to the LNG
terminal. Once operational – expected in late 2026 – they will generate enough electricity to
power the entire site, significantly reducing its carbon footprint.

Port of Milford Haven shipping movements showed the Peak Bergen approaching the Haven
throughout Wednesday morning before finally tying up at the cargo berth in Pembroke Dock.

Cranes began unloading operations yesterday evening.

The Weather conditions are currently were favourable for this morning’s the arrival of
the Wilson Flex IV, which was tracking south of the Smalls at midnight.

The abnormal-load convoys carrying the components from the port to Waterston are
expected to begin early next year, subject to final police and highway approvals.

A community benefit fund linked to the project will provide training opportunities and energy-
bill support for residents in nearby Waterston, Llanstadwell and Neyland.
Further updates will be issued by Dragon LNG as the Port of Milford Haven as the delivery
programme continues.

Photo: Martin Cavaney

Crime

Banned for 40 months after driving with cocaine breakdown product in blood

Published

3 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Sarah-Jane Absalom

A MILFORD HAVEN woman has been handed a lengthy driving ban after admitting driving with a controlled drug in her system more than ten times over the legal limit.

SENTENCED AT HAVERFORDWEST

Sally Allen, 43, of Wentworth Close, Hubberston, appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (Dec 4) for sentencing, having pleaded guilty on November 25 to driving with a proportion of a specified controlled drug above the prescribed limit.

The court heard that Allen was stopped on August 25 on the Old Hakin Road at Tiers Cross while driving an Audi A3. Blood analysis showed 509µg/l of Benzoylecgonine, a breakdown product of cocaine. The legal limit is 50µg/l.

COMMUNITY ORDER AND REHABILITATION

Magistrates imposed a 40-month driving ban, backdated to her interim disqualification which began on November 25.

Allen was also handed a 12-month community order, requiring her to complete 10 days of rehabilitation activities as directed by the Probation Service.

She was fined £120, ordered to pay £85 prosecution costs and a £114 surcharge. Her financial penalties will be paid in £25 monthly instalments from January 1, 2026.

The bench—Mrs H Roberts, Mr M Shankland and Mrs J Morris—said her guilty plea had been taken into account when passing sentence.