News
The sick Pembrokeshire couple who treated teenage girl with degrading cruelty
A PEMBROKESHIRE married couple have been sentenced to a total of 11 years in prison for cruelty to a child. The husband was also sentenced for child sexual offences.
Hayscastle Cross lorry driver Keith Ambrose John Thomas and his wife Sarah Thomas, both of Welsh Hook Road, were sentenced at Swansea Crown Court on Friday, February 11.
It followed a long legal process which we first reported on at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court in June 2021.
During Keith Thomas’ trial in last month the jury was told how he groomed, ‘pestered’ and incited the teenage schoolgirl to engage in degrading sexual activity which included her being stripped naked, put into the stress position and pelted with eggs and water
Keith Thomas, 45, admitted that he had bought the girl sex toys, and showed her to use it by playing pornographic videos of women using them.
He pestered the girl to send him images of her using it, the court heard.
Ms Powell said the girl would pretend to use the sex toy in her photographs. But this was not enough for him, and so Keith Thomas, on one occasion, decided to demonstrate its use upon her, which caused “pain and discomfort”.
Before the trial Keith Thomas had admitted two charges of inciting his victim to engage in sexual activity, one of exposing her to indecent pornography and one joint charge of cruelty to a person under the age of 16.
Keith Thomas was found guilty of a further charge of sexual activity with a child in that he had, on one occasion, intentionally touched the girl intimately with a sex toy.
At one point, during the trial, the jury was asked by the judge to enter a formal not guilty finding to one count of inciting a girl under the age of 13, to engage in sexual activity.
Sarah Thomas, 41, was sentenced alongside her husband. She had previously admitted two counts of cruelty to a child under 16.
In a victim impact statement the victim, whose identity is protected, said she remembered everything about the abuse that Keith Thomas had subjected her to and that she had felt “shamed and filthy”.
She added: “These events have taken a massive toll on my physical and mental health. I hope that my family and I can overcome the hurt that you have both caused.
The defendants were given credit for their early guilty pleas.
James Davies, defending Sarah Thomas said that Keith Thomas had “a way of sweeping her along, rationalising what he was doing and making it appear normal”.
Mr Davies explained to Swansea Crown Court that a doctor’s report had diagnosed Sarah Thomas with dependant and avoidant personality traits. “My client is extremely remorseful”, he added.
His Honour Judge Huw Rees sentenced Keith Thomas to a total of eight years in prison and Sarah Thomas to three years in prison.
The judge said that both defendants will to serve half of this before being released on licence.
A ten-year restraining order, preventing him from contacting his victim, and ten-year sexual harm prevention order were also imposed on Keith Thomas, who will be on the sex offenders register indefinitely.
Both Keith and Sarah Thomas were made subject of a barring order preventing them from working with children.
Business
First wind turbine components arrive as LNG project moves ahead
THE FIRST ship carrying major components for Dragon LNG’s new onshore wind turbines docked at Pembroke Port yesterday afternoon, 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 shortly after 4pm on Wednesday, 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, 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 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.
Weather conditions are currently favourable for this morning’s 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 next week, 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
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.
Local Government
Sewage leak at Pembroke Commons prompts urgent clean-up works
Council pollution officers say they have no enforcement powers over Welsh Water infrastructure
SEWAGE contamination on the Commons in Pembroke has prompted an urgent response from pollution officers, after a leak was reported by a member of the public on Tuesday.
Pembrokeshire County Council’s Pollution Control Team confirmed they were alerted yesterday afternoon to sewage surrounding a manhole cover on the site. The Herald understands that officers immediately notified Welsh Water (DCWW) network technicians to investigate the incident “as a matter of urgency”.
County councillor Jonathan Grimes, who represents Pembroke St Mary South and Monkton, said the authority had been clear that it holds no enforcement powers over Welsh Water assets.
“Whilst we work constructively with Welsh Water, we have no authority to intervene on their apparatus or to carry out enforcement action against them for such pollution incidents,” the Pollution Control Team said in a statement shared with the councillor.
Urgent works underway
Council officers visited the site on Wednesday morning alongside contractors and Welsh Water technicians to assess clean-up options. According to the team, works will include cleaning the contaminated ground in and around the manhole cover and fencing off the affected area “until safe”.
Cllr Grimes said officers would return to the scene on Thursday to check on progress and ensure the area is properly secured.
Residents who notice any further issues have been urged to contact the Pollution Control Team directly.
Further updates are expected later this week.
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