News
Councillor calls for thorough investigation into ‘co-incidental’ hotel fire
A PEMBROKESHIRE county councillor has called on the police and fire investigators looking into a hotel fire to leave no stone unturned to find the true cause.
The major blaze broke out at the Cleddau Bridge Hotel in Pembroke Dock over the weekend, with emergency services in attendance from 2.49am on Saturday Morning (Mar 30).
Cllr Joshua Beynon, whose ward area includes the hotel, said that anyone reading the history of the hotel “could rightly ask themselves whether or not this is just one big coincidence.”
His comments come after over a hundred people took to Facebook to say that they thought that the fire was an ‘insurance job’.
There is absolutely no suggestion that there is anything to substantiate these allegations.
Mr David Hancock Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue group manager said: “It is too early to tell at the moment what the cause was.”
“A full investigation will be conducted with police and fire later on with a view to establish what happened”, he added.
The hotel suddenly closed on January 2 last year, with some 40 members of staff losing their jobs. Creditors including Pembrokeshire County Council and HM Revenue & Customs, were owed nearly £130,000 by the Kullar Hotel Group which owned the premises.
Speaking to The Herald, Cllr Joshua Beynon said: “It is a sad moment when a once busy and looked after hotel is first abandoned and then burnt to the ground in the middle of the night. I am extremely interested in making sure that the fire is investigated and if it is found that arson is in fact the cause of the fire, that the perpetrator(s) are brought to justice.”
He added: “The building has a long and complicated history which started when the owners, the Kullar family gave staff a bear 6 days notice at the end of 2017 and did not pay them any redundancy pay or for their notice period, which they are of course legally entitled to.
“The building then was subject to a planning application during the summer of 2018 which was approved to turn the former hotel into a care home. As a residence of Llanion, I have witnessed and had numerous phone-calls about the mess in the grounds of the hotel as over the past few weeks, anything of value has been removed from the hotel as the rooms and building were cleared of assets.
“This was clear from the debris in the grounds which was everything from furniture to pots and pans from the kitchen.
“Whilst it would be wrong for me to categorically conclude one way or another what started the fire, anyone reading the history of the hotel could rightly ask themselves whether or not this is just one big coincidence.
“The people of Pembroke Dock are now left with a half burnt building that serves as a sad reminder of its recent history.
“I will be following the investigation closely and I would urge anyone who saw anything in the early hours of the morning on Saturday 30th March to contact the Police.”
How the fire investigation will work
In common with many forensic disciplines, one of the early tasks of fire investigation is often to determine whether or not a crime has been committed. The difficulty of determining whether arson has occurred arises because fire often destroys the key evidence of its origin.
Many fires are caused by defective equipment, such as shorting of faulty electrical circuits. Car fires can be caused by faulty fuel lines, and spontaneous combustion is possible where organic wastes are stored.
A fire investigator looks at the fire remains, and obtains information to reconstruct the sequence of events leading up to the fire.
One of the challenging aspects of fire investigation is the multi-disciplinary basis of the investigator’s job. As fires can be caused by or involve many ignition sources and fuels, fire investigators need to know not only the science of fire behavior, but also to have a working understanding of many different areas of study including construction, electricity, human behavior, and mechanical devices. For example, if there is a gas appliance at the origin of the fire, an investigator should know enough about appliances to either include or exclude it as a possible cause of the fire.
FIRE SERVICE OFFICIAL STATEMENT –
On Saturday, 30/03/2019 at 02:49am, crews from Pembroke Dock, Milford Haven, Haverfordwest, Tenby, Swansea West, Ammanford and Narberth attended a fire at property in Essex Road, Pembroke Dock.
The building in question was empty and was formerly used as a hotel. The fire had affected the ground, first floor and roof space of the building and had damaged approximately half of the buildings structure.
Firefighters contained the fire, to the north and west elevations of the building, before extinguishing the fire using three hose reel jets, two main jets and a ground monitor. An aerial rescue platform and a drone were also deployed to the incident by the Fire Service.
The Fire Service left the incident at 09:53am.
This incident is being investigated by the Police and Fire Service.
Aerial pictures and video were taken by Lee Bowles and used with kind permission
Crime
Police investigating attempted burglary at Haverfordwest shop
POLICE in Pembrokeshire are investigating an attempted burglary at No.37 Food and Wine shop on High Street, Haverfordwest, at about 3am on Wednesday, April 3.
A window was smashed and the door handle broken.
Police said: “If you have any information that could help enquiries, please get in touch with PC 195 Tayler, either by: https://bit.ly/DPPContactOnline, by emailing [email protected], or by calling 101.
“Alternatively, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously by calling 0800 555111, or visiting crimestoppers-uk.org.”
News
Don’t forget to vote on Thursday, May 2
THURSDAY, May 2 is your chance to vote for the Dyfed-Powys Police and Crime Commissioner.
Don’t forget to use your vote and head to your local polling station between 7am and 10pm.
They are elected by the public to hold Chief Constables and the police force to account on their behalf.
A Police and Crime Commissioner’s job is to set the police budget and make sure it is spent effectively, appoint the local police forces Chief Constables, set police and crime plans in collaboration with residents and work closely with the local council and other organisations on these plans.
This is the first election in Wales where you will need photographic ID to vote.
Accepted forms of ID include a UK, European Economic Area (EEA) or Commonwealth passport or drivers’ licence; and some concessionary travel passes, such as an older person’s bus pass or an Oyster 60+ card. Voters will be able to use expired ID if they are still recognisable from the photo.
Or you may have applied for a Voter Authority Certificate which is also accepted.
If you plan on taking your Postal Vote to a polling station or County Hall main reception remember to fill in a vote return form. Without the completed form those postal vote(s) will be rejected.
You can only hand in your own postal vote, and postal votes for up to five other people.
You can find out more about the Police and Crime Commissioner Elections online (opens in new window).
Crime
Banned for sleeping in car whilst over the drink drive limit
A MOTORIST caught sleeping in a BMW in MIiford Haven town centre has appeared before magistrates for being in charge of a motor vehicle when he was over the legal alcohol limit.
Police officers discovered John Steele, 30, soon after 5.30pm on March 9 when he was asleep in his red BMW which was parked in a car park at Hamilton Terrace.
“The engine was running and the lights were on,” Crown Prosecutor Abigail Jackson told District Judge Mark Layton who was sitting at Haverfordwest magistrates court this week.
“Officers smelt alcohol, he was intoxicated and he was slurring his words.”
Officers were unable to carry out a roadside breath test as a result of them not being in possession of a breathalyser at the scene of the incident. Steele was conveyed to a police custody suite where two samples of breath were subsequently taken, the lowest giving a reading of 44 mcg.
Steele, who is employed as a machine technician in Selby, pleaded guilty to the charge of being in charge of a motor vehicle while he was above the alcohol limit.
He was fined £400 and ordered to pay a £160 court surcharge and £85 costs. His licence was endorsed with ten penalty points.
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