#dyfedpowyspolice — Public Fediverse posts

ROAD DEATHS: 12 killed on Carmarthenshire’s roads last year, at nearly twice the Welsh rate per mile

Twelve people were killed on Carmarthenshire’s roads last year, after 17 in 2024, according to Department for Transport figures.

Per mile driven, that is 9.2 deaths per billion vehicle miles, nearly twice the Welsh rate of 4.7 and about twice the British rate of 4.4.

Swansea lost two people on its roads in 2025. Neath Port Talbot lost one.

The council figures were compiled from government tables by the car costs website CarCostCheck, which has also analysed every MOT failure in Britain last year.

177 killed or seriously injured in Carmarthenshire

Carmarthenshire recorded 177 people killed or seriously injured on its roads in 2025, up from 165 the year before. Swansea recorded 27 and Neath Port Talbot 24.

Per mile, Carmarthenshire’s rate was 135.6 per billion vehicle miles, nearly twice the Welsh figure of 70.5. Swansea’s, at 23.9, was less than a third of the British rate of 86.4.

Deaths and serious injuries across Wales reached their highest level since 2019 last year, but the injury figures come with a health warning.

Dyfed-Powys Police moved to a new way of recording injuries in May 2023. The Welsh Government says it cannot yet tell whether the rise in serious injuries is genuine or down to that change.

The change affects how injuries are graded, not how deaths are counted.

Casualties of all kinds rose in Carmarthenshire, from 473 to 498. They fell in Swansea, from 172 to 139, and in Neath Port Talbot, from 95 to 69.

A dangerous defect in about one MOT in 11

Across South West Wales, 9.1% of MOT tests last year found at least one dangerous defect, according to CarCostCheck’s analysis of Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) data for the SA postcode area.

Once the age of the cars is allowed for, that is the 12th worst of Britain’s 118 postcode areas. The national rate was 7.3%.

The DVSA’s MOT manual describes a dangerous defect as a direct and immediate risk to road safety.

Tyre tread below the 1.6mm legal limit failed 3.9% of tests across the area, CarCostCheck says, 1.8 times the national rate of 2.2%.

Overall, CarCostCheck found 31.1% of first-attempt MOTs in South West Wales failed once age is allowed for, against 27.7% nationally.

Worn tyres and bad brakes in 66 crashes

Police recorded a vehicle defect such as tyres, brakes or steering as a factor in 66 injury collisions across Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Carmarthenshire between 2019 and 2023.

Carmarthenshire had 37 of them, Swansea 20 and Neath Port Talbot 9, with 90 people killed or hurt in all.

Defective brakes featured in 14 of Carmarthenshire’s crashes, and faulty steering or suspension in 11.

More cars per head, and more of them diesel

Carmarthenshire has 533 privately kept cars for every 1,000 residents, against 490 in Swansea and 481 in Neath Port Talbot. Of those, 38.7% are diesel, against 29.3% across Britain.

Plug-in cars are catching on fast, up 54% in Carmarthenshire, 60% in Swansea and 65% in Neath Port Talbot in the year to June, ahead of Britain’s 44%.

Three deaths in a fortnight this summer

This year’s deaths are not in the figures. In June, a motorcyclist died in a four-vehicle crash on the A40 between St Clears and Whitland.

Less than two weeks later, a van driver was killed when his van and a coach collided on the A40 between Llandeilo and Nantgaredig. It was the third fatal collision on Carmarthenshire’s roads in less than a fortnight.

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20MPH: Reform says scrap it after serious injuries hit a six-year high. Here is what the figures actually show
The Wales-wide casualty figures, road by road.

A40: Van driver dies in collision with coach between Llandeilo and Nantgaredig
The Tywi Valley crash in July.

A40: Motorcyclist killed in four-vehicle crash between St Clears and Whitland
The June crash west of Carmarthen.

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LLANELLI: Ysgol Pen Rhos pupils kept indoors all afternoon as bomb disposal team deals with suspected shell at the fly-plague waste site next door

Pupils at Ysgol Pen Rhos were kept indoors for the afternoon after a suspected unexploded shell was found at the recycling centre next to the school. The Llanelli primary told parents at 12.38pm it had been advised it was safe for children to stay in school.

Children were kept off the 3G pitch and all outdoor areas for the rest of the day as a precaution.

The message said: “The suspected ordnance and the area surrounding it are far away from the 3G pitch.” Parents were told the end-of-day arrangements would change, with details to follow.

The recycling centre is run by AMG Resources, the waste firm whose site Natural Resources Wales confirmed in July as a source of the fly swarms that hit Seaside, Morfa and Tyisha through the summer.

Dyfed-Powys Police said officers were called to Nevills Dock at around 9.30am. The area around the shell has been sealed off and an explosive ordnance disposal team is dealing with it.

Northumberland Road and Copperhouse Road, behind the new Pentre Awel development at Delta Lakes, are closed. Police are asking people to avoid the area.

When Swansea Bay News went to the scene shortly after 2pm, a neighbourhood policing car was parked across the entrance to Northumberland Road at the junction.

The force said in a statement: “There is no ongoing risk to the public and we ask that people avoid the area.”

What the bomb disposal team does

Explosive ordnance disposal teams are military specialists called in by the police when a suspected munition turns up. They examine the item and either make it safe where it lies or take it away to be destroyed in a controlled explosion.

Police have not said what kind of shell it is, how old it might be, or how it came to be at the waste site. They have not said who found it or how long the roads will be shut.

Nobody has been reported hurt and police have not said that any homes or businesses have been evacuated.

The site blamed for the summer’s flies

NRW ordered AMG Resources to clean up the site within 21 days in July and then suspended part of its permit, before lifting the ban in August and saying the site was no longer contributing to the fly problem. An enforcement notice and weekly monitoring visits stayed in place.

Glanymor’s two county councillors launched a petition last month demanding the site is reviewed, with moving or shutting it on the table. AMG Resources said in July that it was not the source of the flies and had pest control in place.

Not the first call-out this year

It is the second time this year a bomb disposal team has been called to Llanelli. In May, residents on two streets in Felinfoel were moved out of their homes for more than six hours after a suspect package was found on Long Row, before the team confirmed there was no risk.

Last October, a wartime bomb found in Cheapside in Bridgend closed the town centre, emptied Aldi and Asda and stopped trains between Cardiff and Swansea for the afternoon before it was removed.

Suspected finds do not always turn out to be what they seem. In 2021, homes in Birchgrove were evacuated after a suspected Second World War bomb was found in a garden, and specialist teams later decided it was “not as reported”.

Swansea Bay News will update this story when police confirm the roads have reopened.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

LLANELLI: Petition launched to move or shut the site blamed for summer’s fly plague
Glanymor’s councillors want the AMG Resources site reviewed, moved or closed.

LLANELLI: Flies traced to AMG Resources site as regulator orders 21-day clean-up
How NRW confirmed the source of the summer’s swarms in July.

LLANELLI: Bomb disposal team called to Felinfoel after suspect package found
May’s six-hour evacuation on Long Row, and the all-clear.

Roads closed and shops evacuated after unexploded ordnance found in Bridgend
The wartime bomb that shut the town centre and the railway last October.

More Llanelli news
The latest from the town, Seaside and Delta Lakes.

DYFED-POWYS POLICE: Inspectors rate force good at answering your calls, but not at investigating crime

Dyfed-Powys Police now answers 999 calls among the fastest of any force in England and Wales, but inspectors say it still needs to get better at investigating crime.

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) rated the force good in four areas of policing, adequate in four and “requires improvement” at investigating crime. None was rated inadequate.

The force covers Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Powys. In June, a separate inspection rated it only adequate at tackling organised crime.

Dyfed-Powys 999 and 101 calls answered faster

In the year to the end of May, the force answered 95.1% of 999 calls within 10 seconds, the report says, above the 90% standard expected of every force.

For non-emergency 101 calls, the force’s own figures show a bigger change. In 2023-24, it says, 41% of 101 callers hung up before getting through, and the average wait was 398 seconds.

By 2025-26, according to the force, that had fallen to 6.6% hanging up, with an average wait of 43 seconds.

Inspectors called the 101 performance “at an acceptable level” and said it had improved since their last visit. But they said the force doesn’t clearly understand why some callers still hang up.

They also found some lower-priority incidents waiting “for extended periods” without being reviewed. In July, the force said a domestic abuse specialist would join its 999 control room from August.

Some crimes closed while there were still leads to follow

Inspectors checked a sample of cases and found the investigation was effective in 65 of 85. In 11 of 70, the force had closed crimes while there were still lines of enquiry to follow.

They found too few enquiries in the crucial first hours, missed chances to get and view CCTV, and supervisors who said they didn’t have the time, or in some cases the knowledge, to properly oversee officers’ caseloads.

The report says the problems seemed to centre on burglary and retail crime, which were mainly handed to response officers. The force has since moved most of those cases to neighbourhood teams.

Victims were told the outcome of their case in only 49 of 66 cases inspectors checked. The force had also recorded only 71 of the 83 crimes it should have.

Some officers told inspectors that forensic examinations were still taking more than 40 weeks, and in isolated cases over a year.

The report does credit progress. Positive outcomes, such as a charge or a caution, rose from 10.9% to 12.4% of crimes with a victim, close to the 12.7% average across forces.

For rape, positive outcomes rose from 5.4% to 9.2%.

Clare’s Law requests left overdue

When someone asks police whether a partner has a history of abuse, the force has 28 days to deal with it under the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme, known as Clare’s Law.

Inspectors found 18 open requests, nine of them past that limit. In four of the 10 cases they audited, there were safeguarding concerns for the victim.

Chief Constable on investigations: “I won’t shy away from that”

The force says it has moved up a grade in five areas since its last inspection in 2023-25. The inspectorate’s report says direct comparisons between the two sets of grades aren’t possible, because it has changed what it looks at.

Chief Constable Ifan Charles said he was “particularly pleased” with the four good grades, which cover the workforce, the fair use of police powers, preventing crime and responding to the public.

He said the report also showed “areas where we need to do more”, adding: “I won’t shy away from that.”

He said: “I accept those findings, particularly in relation to investigating crime, and the force is already focussed on the improvements needed.”

The force says it is tightening supervision of investigations, strengthening its quality checks and investing in training and accreditation for investigators.

Police and crime commissioner Dafydd Llywelyn welcomed the progress, but said the investigating crime grade “must remain a clear priority”.

The full report is on the HMICFRS website (external link, opens in a new tab).

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

DYFED-POWYS POLICE: Force rated only ‘adequate’ as inspectors raise alarm over organised crime
June’s inspection of how the force tackles organised crime.

RANEEM’S LAW: Domestic abuse specialist to sit inside Dyfed-Powys 999 control room from August
The adviser now based in the force’s call centre.

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AMMANFORD: Cocaine dealer jailed after police raid finds £5,500 cash in boxes and bags

An Ammanford man has been jailed after police forced their way into his property and found large amounts of cocaine and around £5,500 in cash hidden in boxes and bags.

Ian Stanton, 58, of Maes y Glyn, was sentenced to 38 months in prison at Swansea Crown Court last Friday (2 October).

He wasn’t there when officers arrived. Margaret Lewis, 63, of Tir y Dail Lane, Ammanford, was, and police say she first claimed she was simply housesitting for him.

She was given 18 months, suspended for two years, and must do 200 hours of unpaid work, Dyfed-Powys Police said.

Cocaine, scales and phones found in Ammanford warrant

Officers carried out the warrant on Friday 14 August after a string of intelligence reports about Stanton, the force said.

Inside, they found white powder later confirmed as cocaine, along with scales, plastic packets and several mobile phones.

The cash, around £5,500, was split between different boxes and bags.

Lewis was arrested at the address and charged with possessing class A drugs with intent to supply.

Ammanford dealer arrested in Sussex

Stanton was traced to the Sussex Police area, where he was arrested and brought back to custody in Dyfed-Powys.

He was remanded in custody, as was Lewis.

Both admitted possessing class A drugs with intent to supply when they appeared at Swansea Crown Court on Thursday 17 September.

Police warn drug dealers Dyfed-Powys is “a hostile area”

DC Steven Thomas, of Dyfed-Powys Police, said the case was “another example of intelligence-led policing making Dyfed-Powys a hostile area to people who deal drugs”.

He said: “This was an organised operation that saw Stanton and Lewis putting large amounts of class A drugs into our communities.”

Disrupting it, he added, had “helped us to make them safer for everyone”.

It echoes the force’s warning in August, when a man caught with £40,000 of cannabis in a Carmarthen car park was jailed.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

CARMARTHEN: Londoner caught with £40,000 of cannabis in town car park jailed
Another Dyfed-Powys supply case from this summer.

DRUG DEALING: Ammanford pair used ‘Chinese’ as codeword for cocaine orders
Two Ammanford men jailed in April after being caught in Swansea.

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CARMARTHEN: Man who spent the day hunting his ex-partner with a knife jailed for 24 years

A Carmarthen man who spent a day hunting his former partner with a kitchen knife in his rucksack has been jailed for 24 years for trying to kill her.

James McKenna, 58, was sentenced at Swansea Crown Court on Friday.

He was given a further 12 months, to run at the same time, for carrying a bladed article in public. Police said he was also made the subject of an indefinite restraining order.

A jury convicted him of attempted murder in July after a week-long trial. McKenna had admitted wounding her with intent, but denied he meant to kill her.

How McKenna spent 29 January hunting his ex-partner in Carmarthen

The trial heard McKenna packed the 30cm knife before leaving home that morning, then went looking for her in Carmarthen Park.

Over the next few hours he went to the museum at Abergwili and a coffee bar near the shop where she volunteered. Then he worked his own first shift at a charity shop in town.

He walked back into the park just after 3pm. Shortly after 4pm, he attacked her in bushes near the Picton Terrace entrance.

Police said she suffered multiple stab wounds and cuts to her chest, arm and hand. The court heard she had defensive wounds to her hands, and paramedics found her sitting on steps, covered in blood.

Carmarthen Park manhunt ended at an Aberystwyth hospital

McKenna ran from the scene, sparking a large-scale manhunt across Carmarthen.

Two days later, officers found a rucksack holding a blood-stained knife in nearby allotments.

Police traced his movements into Ceredigion, and he was arrested in Aberystwyth on 2 February. The trial heard he had spent three days in woodland with no food or water, and went to hospital there with frostbite in his feet.

He was charged and remanded in custody on 4 February.

Detective says McKenna is facing justice for “horrific act of violence”

Senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Sian Davies, of Dyfed-Powys Police, welcomed the sentence. She thanked everyone involved in the court process “which ultimately brought James McKenna to face justice for his horrific act of violence”.

She said: “I’d like to thank the local community in Carmarthen for their support during our initial response to this shocking incident.”

DCI Davies said she hoped the sentence would send a message: “I hope this serves as a reminder that we will take robust action against anyone seeking to do harm in our communities.”

She said her final thoughts remained with the victim. “I hope she feels able to move forward in her recovery from this traumatic incident.”

If you are experiencing domestic abuse or stalking, the Live Fear Free helpline is open 24 hours a day on 0808 80 10 800.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

CARMARTHEN: Man guilty of attempted murder after spending the day hunting his ex-partner
The July trial and the jury’s verdict.

Arrest made after manhunt for Carmarthen Park attempted murder suspect
How the search ended in February.

Police recover knife as manhunt for Carmarthen Park suspect enters fifth day
The knife and rucksack found near the park.

Police name wanted man as hunt intensifies after Carmarthen Park attempted murder
The first appeal naming McKenna.

LLANELLI: Woman who threatened to stab Asda worker with a needle jailed for four years

A Llanelli woman who threatened to stab an Asda shop assistant with a needle after stealing two bottles of wine has been jailed for four years.

Kara Racuoco, 41, of Elizabeth Street, admitted two counts of robbery and two of shoplifting over six weeks in April and May at Asda on Murray Street, Home Bargains on Station Road and Tesco Extra at Parc Trostre, Dyfed-Powys Police said.

She was sentenced on Friday 2 October.

The needle threat at Asda, and a second robbery six weeks later

The court heard that on Tuesday 7 April she took two bottles of wine from Asda on Murray Street and, when challenged about the theft, threatened to stab a shop assistant with a needle, police said.

On Tuesday 5 May she put a bottle of wine in her pocket at Home Bargains and left without paying.

On Saturday 16 May she was back at Asda, where she stole two joints of beef and threatened another shop assistant. The next day, Sunday 17 May, she took around £95 of meat from Tesco Extra at Parc Trostre.

Denied the robberies, then changed her plea in August

Racuoco denied all four charges when she appeared at Llanelli Magistrates’ Court on 18 May and was remanded in custody, with the case sent to Swansea Crown Court.

She later admitted the two shoplifting offences but kept denying the robberies, and a trial was set for late October, police said.

At a hearing in early August she changed her plea and admitted both robberies.

The case was investigated by Llanelli CID. Detective Sergeant Kevin Allen said: “This result shows our commitment to tackling criminal behaviour at a local level. Shoplifting and robbery are both serious crimes, and we will not tolerate such lawless behaviour in our force area.”

“I’d like to thank the team for their efforts which have ultimately led to this serial offender being sentenced to prison.”

It is the second jail term for shoplifting in Llanelli this year that police have publicised: in April an 18-year-old was jailed for 10 weeks after six thefts from M&S at Trostre in a month.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

LLANELLI: Woman charged with robbery and shoplifting after string of incidents at Asda, Home Bargains and Tesco Extra – May 2026: the charges, and the first court appearance.

LLANELLI: Habitual shoplifter jailed after six M&S raids in a month – Trostre’s retail crime problem.

Llanelli retail staff report high levels of abuse as campaign calls for stronger protections – Usdaw’s Freedom from Fear campaign at Tesco Trostre.

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LLANELLI: 428 drink and drug incidents in the town centre in two years, and police want a 24-hour move-on power

Police dealt with 428 drink and drug-related crimes and incidents in Llanelli town centre in two years, about 18 a month.

Street drinking, people collapsed or lying in the road, overdoses, discarded needles, public urination, drunk and disorderly arrests. Officers took alcohol off people 130 times, more than half of them in the Sunken Gardens.

Murray Street, Station Road and Stepney Street account for most of the drinking. Add Church Street and Granby Close for the drugs.

The order that runs out in January

The town centre has had a drugs and alcohol order since January 2024, and it expires on 12 January 2027. Carmarthenshire Council wants it renewed for another three years, and it wants one new power added.

Drinking in the town centre is not an offence under the order and would not become one. The offence is refusing to stop, or refusing to hand over the drink, when an officer who believes it is causing trouble asks. That carries a fine of up to £500.

Police can also demand drug paraphernalia, with sealed needles in their packaging exempt, and refusing is a £1,000 fine.

Out of town for 24 hours

The new power is a move-on. An officer who believes someone is drunk or high and causing, or likely to cause, “anti-social behaviour, nuisance, disorder, harassment, alarm or distress” could order them out of the area, or part of it, for up to 24 hours.

Coming back inside that time is a £1,000 fine. It cannot be used to stop someone going home, to work, to school, to a medical appointment or to care for someone.

Sergeant Tom Grace of Llanelli’s neighbourhood policing team said the current order “has given officers a valuable tool that’s been successful in reducing anti-social behaviour”, and “provides a quick and effective way to deal with alcohol related anti-social behaviour”.

Bigger than the town centre

The map covers far more than the shops. It runs from Sandy and the Bigyn down through Tyisha and Seaside, round North Dock and along the Morfa to the Millennium Coastal Park, with pubs, clubs and their beer gardens excluded.

Recorded incidents probably understate it, because not everything gets reported and not every offence can be tied to drink or drugs.

Cllr Aled Vaughan Owen, the cabinet member for enforcement, said the council wanted to hear from “residents, businesses, visitors and community groups before any decisions are made”. The consultation closes on 12 October, on the council’s Have Your Say page.

A second order, for the car meets at North Dock, is out for consultation at the same time and would carry fines of up to £1,000 for drivers, passengers and spectators.

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New Public Space Protection Order aims to target Llanelli drug and alcohol abuse
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LLANELLI: MP calls for noise cameras at North Dock’s night-time ‘racetrack’
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NORTH DOCK: 111 calls to police in two years about revving, racing and doughnuts, and now fines are on the table

Police have been called to North Dock 111 times in two years about cars and bikes, most of them between 8pm and 1am.

Revving, wheel spinning, drifting, doughnuts, racing, horns held down and stereos turned up. Bikes on the pavements, speed bumps used as ramps, cars on the wrong side of the road. Most of the people who rang said it happens every night, or most nights.

Now Carmarthenshire Council wants to make all of it a fineable offence in the car park and the streets around the dock, and there are 12 days left to say yes or no.

What you could be fined for

The order would let police, PCSOs and council officers hand out fixed penalty notices for nuisance gatherings, revving, stunts, racing, obstruction and driving that “causes, or is likely to cause, danger”. Refuse to pay and it goes to court, with a fine of up to £1,000.

Stunts are spelled out: doughnuts, drifting, skidding, handbrake turns, wheel spinning and burn-outs each get their own definition. So do amplified music from a car, litter thrown from one, and “excessive noise, smoke, fumes or disturbance”.

Passengers and spectators too

It would catch more than drivers. Anyone who “attends, organises, encourages or takes part”, as a passenger, owner or spectator, is covered. So is advertising a meet, whether or not it goes ahead.

Emergency vehicles, council contractors and anyone following a police instruction are exempt, and officers can warn before they fine.

The area runs from the Afon Lliedi round the dock and the waterfront homes to the sewage works road. Signs would go up, and the order would last three years.

What residents have lived with

Callers described broken sleep, stress and worry about road safety, and residents, visitors and holidaymakers have all rung in. Anti-social behaviour, road safety, e-scooters and noise are the issues people in Glanymor most often put at the top of the list.

Three weeks ago Dame Nia Griffith called for acoustic cameras, bollards and night barriers at the dock, saying residents had “borne the brunt” for years. None of those is in the order.

Police stepped up patrols in the spring, and in one operation last year handed out 18 vehicle prohibitions and 18 traffic offence reports in a single night, seized two cars and arrested two drivers for drug driving.

12 days left

Cllr Aled Vaughan Owen, the cabinet member for enforcement, said the council wanted to hear from “residents, businesses, visitors and community groups before any decisions are made”, to judge whether the measures were “necessary, proportionate and effective”.

The consultation closes on 12 October, on the council’s Have Your Say page. There is no start date yet; the town centre’s drinking order is out for renewal at the same time.

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LLANELLI: MP calls for noise cameras at North Dock’s night-time ‘racetrack’
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LLANELLI: Police crack down on North Dock anti-social behaviour hotspot as spring season begins
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CYBER ATTACK: Dyfed-Powys Police hit, and the force still can’t say whether staff data was accessed

Dyfed-Powys Police has been hit by a cyber attack, and nearly two weeks on it still cannot say whether information about its own staff was accessed.

It took the force 11 days to go public. The attack was spotted on Monday 14 September, but only confirmed on Friday.

It hit some of the force’s non-emergency systems, and for a time people could not contact it online or by email.

No sign the public’s data was hit, Dyfed-Powys Police says, but staff details still being checked

So far, the force says, its investigation has found no evidence that members of the public’s personal data has been accessed or compromised.

It is still investigating whether any information relating to staff was, and says it is taking steps to protect that information and will advise colleagues if needed.

The Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK’s data protection regulator, has been told.

999 and 101 kept working as Dyfed-Powys Police online contact went down

The force insists it remains fully operational, and says its response to emergencies has not been affected.

The 999 and 101 phone lines kept working throughout, it says. Online and email contact has now been restored.

Its systems have been under precautionary measures while specialist teams investigate and work to bring services back safely, the force says.

Tarian’s cyber-crime unit takes charge of the Dyfed-Powys investigation

The force describes what happened as a “cyber incident”. The investigation is being run by Tarian, the regional organised crime unit for southern Wales, through its cyber-crime unit, with help from cyber-security specialists.

The force says it is monitoring its systems closely.

It says it understands the attack may cause concern, and has promised further updates when it is able to give them.

Dyfed-Powys Police covers Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Powys.

From a police legal database to Jaguar Land Rover, the cyber attacks that went before

It is not the first time this summer that police in Wales have been caught up in a cyber attack.

In July, hackers got into the Police National Legal Database, an online legal reference service used by every Home Office force in England and Wales.

Its operators said names, organisations and work email addresses of police officers, staff and criminal justice professionals were accessed. The names and emails of members of the public who had sent in questions through its Ask the Police website were also compromised.

Dyfed-Powys Police has not said what caused its own attack, or who was behind it.

Closer to home, last year’s cyber attack on Jaguar Land Rover halted the carmaker’s production across the UK and hit workers at two Llanelli suppliers, Marelli and Gestamp, where agency staff were laid off and overtime scrapped.

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DYFED-POWYS: Police federation branch stands with PC Andrew Harper’s family over killers’ early release

Dyfed-Powys Police Federation has changed its social media profile picture to an image of PC Andrew Harper, in a show of solidarity with his family after news that two of the men convicted of his manslaughter could be released early from prison.

PC Harper, who was 28, died after getting caught in a strap and dragged for more than a mile behind a car when he tried to stop a group towing away a stolen quad bike in Berkshire in August 2019.

Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, who were passengers in the car and both 17 at the time, were sentenced to 13 years for manslaughter following a trial at the Old Bailey in 2020.

The Ministry of Justice has confirmed both might be eligible for release halfway through their sentences under the new Sentencing Act — legislation coming into force in September that is expected to see around 6,000 prisoners released early to ease overcrowding.

The driver, Henry Long, who received a 16-year sentence, is not eligible — and Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said Long “will not be subject to any early release”.

The federation branch, which represents rank-and-file officers across the Dyfed-Powys Police force area, will keep the tribute picture in place for the next 72 hours.

Branch chair Delme Rees said there was “considerable strength of feeling among officers” over the news.

“PC Harper made the ultimate sacrifice and many officers will find it difficult to understand how those responsible for his death can benefit from early release,” he said.

He said the branch had long backed national calls for stronger protections for police officers, and for violent offenders who target them to be excluded from early release schemes.

“It is now time for the Government to show that its support for police officer safety is about more than just words,” he said.

“Changing our social media profile picture for the next 72 hours is a small gesture of solidarity with PC Harper’s family, friends and those who served alongside him.

“Our thoughts remain with them. We want them to know they are not alone and that the policing family continues to stand with them.”

The Police Federation of England and Wales says it has repeatedly raised concerns with the Government about violent offenders who target police officers being included in early release schemes.

PC Harper’s widow, Lissie Harper, campaigned in his memory for Harper’s Law, which introduced mandatory life sentences for those who kill emergency workers in the course of a crime — though the change was not retrospective and did not apply to his case.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “This was a horrific crime, and our deepest sympathies are with PC Andrew Harper’s family and friends.” The Government has said the early release measures are needed to free up prison places.

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TENBY SPECTACULAR: “Too good at the job” — volunteers end the event for good after council revokes licence

The Tenby Summer Spectacular is over — with the volunteers behind it for almost 40 years saying they are ending the event for good after its premises licence was revoked.

The Tenby Round Table told supporters it was “sorry to announce” that the licence to host the Spectaculars in Tenby Harbour had been revoked for all future events, following a hearing before a Pembrokeshire County Council licensing sub-committee on July 9.

“While we do not agree with the decision, we respect the Sub-Committee’s role and its overriding concern for the safety of those attending the events,” the group said.

But as volunteers who had “already devoted hundreds of hours to fighting for these events this year alone”, the group said it now felt it must “draw a line under the Summer Spectaculars in Tenby Harbour”.

One comment from the hearing, the group said, had stayed with them — a sub-committee member telling the volunteers: “I think you’re just too good at the job.”

“We simply wish we had been given the support to continue doing it,” the Round Table said.

Why the licence was revoked

The sub-committee concluded the licensing objectives were not being adequately met — leaving what it called significant concerns regarding crowd safety, emergency access and the protection of children from harm, the statutory tests every premises licence in Wales and England is judged against.

Cllr Aaron Carey, the council’s cabinet member with responsibility for the licensing service, said neither he nor the council took “any satisfaction whatsoever” from a decision he knew would disappoint the event’s organisers, volunteers and charities.

The committee heard evidence from Dyfed-Powys Police, the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust, Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service, council officers and the organisers — and Cllr Carey said the police’s concerns were “extremely powerful”.

The ambulance service raised significant concerns about emergency medical access to and within the event, he said, while the fire service detailed concerns about crowd numbers, uncontrolled attendance and emergency access.

“There were significant concerns from agencies that, due to the size and popularity of the event, it had outgrown its current setting,” Cllr Carey said. “Public safety has to be paramount, particularly where an event involves large crowds in a working harbour environment.”

A Dyfed-Powys Police spokesperson said the force recognised “the great fundraising work done by the Tenby Round Table”, but had raised concerns around public safety, the protection of children from harm and the prevention of crime and disorder after reviewing the event in its current format.

The volunteers’ case

The Round Table insists public safety “is, and always has been, paramount to us” — and says it was the group itself that first raised the concerns with the council and police after the 2025 events.

Its position throughout has been that safe control of access to the harbour was fundamental — and that this control, combined with road closures and other measures already in place, would have allowed the events to continue safely.

The group said it had repeatedly pointed the council’s public realm department to a legal framework it believes would enable that control — and been repeatedly told it was not possible, “despite the same legislation being used in Tenby for other large events specifically to control crowd movement on public footpaths”.

When the volunteers — who had taken independent legal advice — raised the point again before the sub-committee, the group said the hearing was suspended so the council could review its position on a matter the organisers had been told was already settled.

The Round Table said it had been prepared to accept amendments to its licence, and was happy to review crowd numbers, security, medical provision and road closures: “All we needed in return was the ability to control the number of people accessing the harbour and beach.”

A contested future

The council said after the decision that it and its partner agencies stood ready to support discussions aimed at bringing “this much-valued event back to Tenby” in a way that satisfies safety and licensing requirements.

The Round Table disputed that picture — saying the council’s clear view at the hearing itself was that any future event would not be taking place in Tenby Harbour, and that while the offer to work constructively was welcome, “we wish [it] had been apparent throughout this process”.

The dispute burst into the open in June, when the group accused the council of leaving it waiting months for an answer on crowd control powers — before cancelling this summer’s events with a pledge to return. The licence had been called in for review for the first time in 14 years.

“This has never been about raising more money or shifting liability,” the group said. “It has always been about our ability to host these fundraising events safely for our community and its visitors.”

Thanking supporters for helping raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for local charities and good causes over the decades, the volunteers signed off: “We hope you cherish the memories as much as we have loved creating them.”

The July 9 hearing can be viewed on the council’s webcast portal.

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A40: ‘Utterly heartbroken’ — family’s tribute to van driver Ashley Keane who died in coach collision

The family of a man who died in a collision on the A40 in Carmarthenshire have paid tribute to him, describing themselves as “utterly heartbroken”.

Ashley Wayne Keane, 38, died following the collision between Llandeilo and Nantgaredig at around 4.25pm on Friday 3 July.

Mr Keane was driving the Ford Transit van that collided with a Scania coach on the stretch of the A40 in the Tywi Valley. He died at the scene.

In a statement, his family said: “We are utterly heartbroken by the sudden and tragic loss of Ashley Wayne Keane.”

“He will forever be in our hearts, and as his family — kindly ask for privacy to grieve this devastating loss.”

The tribute was released through Dyfed-Powys Police, with the family being supported by specially trained officers.

The coach was carrying a 14-year-old passenger along with its driver, both of whom were taken to Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen as a precaution with minor injuries.

The A40 was closed in both directions between Llandeilo and Nantgaredig following the collision, with diversions in place around the Dryslwyn area, and emergency services including an air ambulance attended the scene.

The force’s investigation continues, and its appeal for witnesses stands — with anyone travelling on the road at the time asked to check dashcam footage.

Information can be passed to the force online, by email to [email protected], by direct message on social media, or by calling 101, quoting reference DP-20260703-277.

The crash was the third fatal collision on Carmarthenshire’s roads in less than a fortnight. A motorcyclist died in a four-vehicle crash on the A40 between St Clears and Whitland on 21 June.

A 48-year-old man died the following Sunday in a collision between two motorcycles on the A4069 near Brynamman.

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LLANELLI: Rapist jailed for 22 years for ‘depraved’ child sex offences

A Llanelli rapist who subjected a young girl to years of sexual abuse has been jailed for 22 years at Swansea Crown Court.

Damien Jones, 40, of Heol Cae Pownd, Cefneithin, denied any wrongdoing — but a jury found him guilty of 16 offences following a trial in May.

He was convicted of:

• Four counts of rape of a girl under 13
• Two counts of sexual touching of a girl under 13
• Three counts of sexual assault with penetration of a girl under 13
• Four counts of inciting a girl under 13 into sexual activity without penetration
• Three counts of inciting a girl aged 13 to 15 into sexual activity with penetration

The offences took place between 2013 and 2021 and related to one victim — a girl who was under 15 at the time.

Sentencing him on Monday (6 July), the court imposed a 23-year special sentence as an offender of particular concern — comprising 22 years in custody followed by a one-year extended licence period.

Jones can apply for release after serving two-thirds of the custodial term — but it will be for the Parole Board to decide whether he is safe to be freed.

He will be a registered sex offender for life, and was made subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and an indefinite restraining order against his victim.

DC Leanne Morris of Dyfed-Powys Police‘s South Powys CID praised the bravery of the victim in coming forward.

“I would like to take this opportunity to first and foremost commend the bravery shown by the victim in this case,” she said.

“They have shown incredible courage to provide their account to us, as well as appearing in court to give evidence during this trial,” DC Morris added.

She said the force was “incredibly grateful for their strength and fortitude in ensuring that Jones has been brought before the courts and ultimately sentenced”.

Describing Jones as “clearly an incredibly dangerous individual”, she said the sentence “reflects the nature of his depraved crimes” — adding: “Thankfully he is now no longer a danger to the public.”

The investigation team, she said, had shown “excellent professionalism and hard work in obtaining this result”.

Anyone affected by rape or sexual assault can find help and support through Dyfed-Powys Police. Reports can be made via the force’s website or by calling 101.

Children who need to talk to someone can contact Childline free and in confidence on 0800 1111.

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MILFORD HAVEN: Major incident declared as fire sends black smoke over town — the second major industrial blaze in the region in weeks

A major incident was declared after a fire broke out at the Impala terminal in Milford Haven on Monday evening, sending a large plume of black smoke over the town.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service was called at 5.11pm on Monday 6 July to reports of a fire at Impala Terminals Infrastructure UK Ltd, at Robeston West.

Crews from Milford Haven, Haverfordwest and Pembroke Dock were sent to the scene, where thick black smoke was visible for miles around.

The fire service said the blaze involved a decommissioned oil tank and around 60 gas cylinders. “The fire involves a decommissioned oil tank containing residual crude oil and approximately 60 cylinders including a mixture of propane and oxygen cylinders,” a spokeswoman said.

A major incident was declared but was later rescinded as crews brought the situation under control. All persons at the site were accounted for.

Dyfed-Powys Police received reports of the fire at around 5.10pm. A spokesperson said officers “attended swiftly, working alongside emergency service partners as part of a coordinated multi-agency response.”

One casualty was reported, believed to have suffered minor injuries, and received care at the scene. The Welsh Ambulance Service sent resources to support the response but was not required to take any patients to hospital.

Pembrokeshire County Council emergency planning officers joined the multi-agency response, while the council’s highways staff helped emergency crews with road closures around the Impala facility. Those roads have since reopened.

Residents in the immediate area were advised to keep windows and doors closed while thick smoke lingered, and the public was asked to avoid the area to allow access for emergency vehicles.

The fire service said there was not believed to be a wider risk to the public. Crews left the scene late on Monday after the fire was extinguished, a spokeswoman confirmed on Tuesday morning.

In a statement, Impala Terminals confirmed an incident had occurred at its Milford Haven terminal at 5.10pm on Monday. “The site emergency team and emergency services are managing our response to the emergency,” the operator said, adding that all employees and contractors were accounted for.

The company said its “first priority is to protect the safety of our people, the surrounding community and the environment,” and that it was not able to confirm further details at this stage.

The Impala terminal, formerly the Puma Energy site, sits at a former oil refinery and is used to store and distribute petroleum and hydrocarbon products.

It is also the intended location for a new green energy scheme. The site is earmarked for a £50m green hydrogen production facility that developers say could create up to 70 local jobs, with a hydrogen pipeline linked to the project approved by planners earlier this year.

Monday’s blaze was the second serious industrial fire in the region in a matter of weeks. In June, a fire at the Tata Steel works in Port Talbot prompted reassurances from the company over supply and its £1.25bn furnace project.

The fire service said further updates would be provided as information became available.

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LLANSTEFFAN: Dispersal order threat after up to 100 youths descend on beach and castle

Police have warned parents after a crowd of between 80 and 100 young people caused trouble at Llansteffan beach and castle on Saturday night — drinking, littering and climbing the walls of the Grade I listed monument.

Police have threatened to impose a dispersal order at Llansteffan after up to 100 youths descended on the village’s beach and castle on Saturday night.

Officers from the Carmarthen neighbourhood policing team said they were made aware of a group of between 80 and 100 young people at the beach and castle area on Saturday (4 July).

The group were causing anti-social behaviour by drinking, littering and climbing the castle walls, Dyfed-Powys Police said.

The behaviour caused distress to members of the public, according to the force.

Police issued a direct warning to parents dropping their children off in the area — saying any offences reported or witnessed will be dealt with by officers and other relevant agencies.

That includes parents knowingly buying alcohol for their children to take to the location, the force said.

“We will not tolerate this behaviour and want our beaches and castles to be places that families can all visit throughout the summer,” the force said in a statement.

Officers warned that if the behaviour continues, they will look to put a Section 34 dispersal order in place.

The power, under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, allows a senior officer to authorise a dispersal zone — with officers then able to direct people to leave the area and ban them from returning for up to 48 hours.

Failing to comply with a direction to leave is a criminal offence and can lead to arrest.

Llansteffan Castle is a Grade I listed monument in the care of Cadw, the Welsh Government’s historic environment service, with its earliest fortifications dating to the 12th century.

Perched on a headland overlooking the Tywi estuary, the castle and the beach below draw thousands of visitors each summer.

It is the second time this summer the castle has found itself at the centre of police attention — offensive graffiti was sprayed across the walls of the North Tower and East Bastion in May.

The force’s Rural Crime Team treats damage of that kind as heritage crime — handled with the same seriousness as criminal damage anywhere else — and its appeal over the graffiti, believed daubed between 1 and 10 May, remains open.

Anyone witnessing offences at the site can report them to Dyfed-Powys Police online or by calling 101 — or 999 if a crime is in progress.

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A40: Van driver dies in collision with coach between Llandeilo and Nantgaredig

A man died at the scene when a Ford Transit van and a coach collided on the A40 in the Tywi Valley on Friday afternoon. Dyfed-Powys Police are appealing for witnesses and dashcam footage.

A man has died following a collision between a van and a coach on the A40 in Carmarthenshire on Friday afternoon.

Dyfed-Powys Police said the crash happened on the stretch of the A40 between Llandeilo and Nantgaredig at around 4.25pm on Friday (3 July).

The collision involved a Scania coach and a Ford Transit van.

The driver of the van, a man, died at the scene, the force confirmed.

His next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers.

A 14-year-old passenger was travelling on the coach along with its driver.

Both were taken to Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen as a precaution with minor injuries.

The A40 was closed in both directions between Llandeilo and Nantgaredig following the collision, with diversions in place around the Dryslwyn area.

Emergency services including an air ambulance attended the scene, according to BBC Wales.

The coach involved was operated by Ffoshelig Coaches, the BBC reported, adding that the firm did not wish to comment when approached. The Carmarthen-based company has been operating in the county since 1921.

Officers are now appealing for anyone with information that could help their investigation to come forward.

Anyone who was travelling along the road at the relevant time and has dashcam footage is also asked to get in touch.

Information can be passed to the force online, by email to [email protected], by direct message on social media, or by calling 101, quoting reference DP-20260703-277.

It is the third fatal collision on Carmarthenshire’s roads in less than a fortnight.

A motorcyclist died in a four-vehicle crash on the A40 between St Clears and Whitland on 21 June, and a 48-year-old man died in a collision between two motorcycles on the A4069 near Brynamman the following Sunday.

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DRUGS GANG: Eight convicted over cocaine conspiracy that flooded Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire

Eight people have been convicted of conspiring to supply cocaine into Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire, Dyfed-Powys Police have said.

The group brought high-purity cocaine into the two counties over a nine-month period, in what officers described as large-scale commercial trafficking.

The investigation began when a courier van was stopped by officers on the M4 near Pont Abraham, Carmarthenshire, on 8 August 2025.

Inside, police said they intercepted more than 1.6kg of high-purity cocaine, worth almost £190,000.

Further enquiries identified eight people involved in what the force called a complex conspiracy, ranging from suppliers and couriers to wholesale customers and local distributors.

Officers said Tommy Lee Jones, of Monkton, played a leading role as the head of the Pembrokeshire gang, sourcing multiple kilograms of cocaine from Cardiff suppliers Ahmed Al-Farraji and his associate Adam Noraddin.

According to the force, Jones would make regular contact with the suppliers before large cash payments were handed over, with the drugs then delivered in high-end cars from Bristol and Birmingham to rural locations in Pembrokeshire, including Stepaside, Lamphey, Hundleton and Monkton.

Police said Kalum Haines, Leon Haines and Zak Fecci were trusted members of the gang who took possession of drugs directly from the upstream suppliers and acted as distributors in Pembrokeshire.

Ryan Hare carried out the same role in Carmarthenshire and was identified as being responsible for organising the collection and delivery of the drugs seized on 8 August, officers said.

Usman Afsar was said to have acted as a courier, driving from Bristol to Pembrokeshire and meeting gang members riding e-bikes in Pembroke.

Detective Sergeant Mark Jones, of the force’s Serious and Organised Crime Team, said the case had been built over several months.

“After a number of months of enquiries, we built a case clearly evidencing that Ahmed Al-Farraji travelled from Cardiff to meet with Tommy Lee Jones in rural locations,” he said.

“Upstream supply couriers would also drive from Bristol to Pembrokeshire on these dates and supplied Tommy Lee Jones with large amounts of cocaine.”

He added: “These deliveries were then collected by loyal customers of his and distributed throughout two counties. We estimate that the total amount of controlled drugs handled by the gang between February and November 2025 was that of large-scale commercial trafficking.”

The defendants were arrested in a week-long operation, with warrants carried out in Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, Cardiff and Bristol.

The following people were convicted of conspiracy to supply class A drugs:

Tommy Lee Jones, 33, of Castle Quarry in Monkton; Ryan Hare, 27, of Heol Cae Pownd in Cefneithin; Kalum Haines, 22, of Woodland Park in Neyland; Leon Haines, 26, of Ashdale Lane in Pembroke; Zack Fecci, 20, of Hawkstone Road in Pembroke Dock; Ahmed Al-Farraji, 25, of Topaz Street in Cardiff; Usman Afsar, 41, of Woodborough Street in Bristol; and Adam Noraddin, 25, of Plas Nanthelyg in Cardiff.

The force said Jones, Hare, Kalum Haines, Leon Haines and Fecci admitted their involvement, while Al-Farraji, Noraddin and Afsar were found guilty after a six-week trial.

Officer in the case DC Sam Burson said the group had brought large quantities of drugs into local communities.

“These individuals have worked together as an organised criminal gang bringing large amounts of class A drugs into our towns and villages,” he said.

“They have shown an utter disregard to the safety of the communities in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire, and contributed with the adverse effect that drugs have on the social and economic wellbeing of the places that we live and work.”

He added: “Through detailed and thorough investigative analysis, we have brought charges against and dismantled a group of people who thought they could profit from their criminal activity. The strength of evidence against them has, however, resulted with positive outcomes and the conviction of these individuals.”

The conviction comes weeks after a police watchdog raised concerns about how many organised crime threats the force was identifying, rating it only “adequate” in that area.

The defendants will be sentenced at a later date.

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BRYNAMMAN: Motorcyclist dies in A4069 Black Mountain collision as police appeal for witnesses

A motorcyclist has died following a collision on the A4069 near Brynamman, Dyfed-Powys Police have said.

The crash happened at around 1.10pm on Sunday on the stretch of road between Brynamman and the Black Mountain.

Officers said it involved a silver Triumph motorcycle and a red Honda motorcycle.

The rider of the silver Triumph, a 48-year-old man, died at the scene, the force said.

Police said his next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers.

The rider of the red Honda, a 42-year-old woman, suffered serious injuries and was taken to hospital, where she remains.

Officers said her next of kin have also been notified.

The road was closed while collision investigators carried out their work, and reopened at around 8pm.

The A4069 over the Black Mountain is a well-known route, popular with motorcyclists and drivers for its sweeping climbs and views over the Tywi Valley.

Dyfed-Powys Police are appealing for anyone who was travelling along the A4069 at the time to come forward.

Officers said they are particularly keen to hear from any motorists in the area who have dashcam footage.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Dyfed-Powys Police.

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Murder investigation launched after man dies in town centre incident

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DYFED-POWYS POLICE: Force rated only ‘adequate’ as inspectors raise alarm over organised crime

Police across southern Wales are spotting strikingly few organised crime threats compared with the rest of the country, a watchdog has warned.

And it comes even as the region boasts some of the highest numbers of raids and disruptions in England and Wales.

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) looked at how Dyfed-Powys Police, Gwent Police, South Wales Police and regional crime unit Tarian work together to fight serious and organised crime.

Its report, out today, found that by July last year the region had pinned down just 93 organised crime threats.

The next lowest region in England and Wales had found 219.

Even allowing for the fact that southern Wales is a small region, inspectors said, “this gap is concerning.”

It sits awkwardly next to the headline the forces have trumpeted — that Tarian logged 2,650 disruptions in the year to June 2025, the second highest of any regional crime unit in the country.

Inspectors said the region needed to find “more diverse types” of organised crime, warning it was too focused on crime gangs while missing dangerous individuals and other threats.

Two-thirds of the threats it did find were drug-related — a bigger share than the national average.

The watchdog rated Tarian and South Wales Police as “good.” But it marked both Dyfed-Powys Police and Gwent Police only “adequate” — the second of four possible grades.

For Dyfed-Powys Police, which covers Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Powys, inspectors spelled out what was dragging the grade down.

The force’s specialist organised crime team could only handle one investigation at a time, the report found.

In one case, an operation “had made little progress for 12 months” — until the team was finally free to pick it up.

Inspectors also found some frontline officers were shaky on the basics, with a few “unfamiliar with basic” organised crime terms. The force also needed to do better at keeping tabs on crime bosses once they leave prison.

It wasn’t all bad for Dyfed-Powys. The report praised the force’s victim-first approach to fraud, a £3m pot from the police and crime commissioner to tackle serious violence, and 14 officers funded to take crime-prevention talks into schools and universities after the Welsh Government pulled its funding.

The force had also sharpened up its record-keeping, logging 822 disruptions in the year to June 2025, up from 541 the year before.

South Wales Police, which covers Swansea and Neath Port Talbot, fared better, earning a “good” grade.

The force had roughly doubled its disruptions, from 1,698 to 3,395 in a year — the biggest tally of any force in the region.

But even here inspectors sounded a note of caution, with analysts telling them there was “at times too much focus on hitting targets” — leading to some disruptions being logged that didn’t meet national standards.

Inspectors singled out the force’s “Clear, Hold, Build” projects — a tactic that floods a troubled area with police and partners, then works to keep crime down for good.

On one estate, the report found that after an 18-month project, calls to the control room fell by 67% and overall crime dropped by 28%.

At the time of the inspection, the force was planning two more such projects, in Swansea and Cardiff.

The Swansea project has since taken shape in Dyfatty, where a major crackdown launched last year cut anti-social behaviour by 69% and later saw empty shops reborn as a community hub.

The report lands as forces across the region keep hammering drug networks, including a multi-area operation that jailed a cocaine gang flooding south Wales with class A drugs and a string of dawn raids by South Wales Police’s organised crime team.

Tarian itself came in for praise. Set up in 2003, the unit became what inspectors believe may be the only regional crime team in England and Wales to hire a dedicated expert in artificial intelligence.

Assistant Chief Constable Gemma Morris, who leads Tarian, said much of the unit’s work was “necessarily covert and often unseen by the public.”

“This report provides an important opportunity to demonstrate the effectiveness of that work and the difference it makes in protecting our communities,” she said.

She said serious and organised crime “causes significant harm to our communities,” and thanked Tarian’s officers and staff, along with colleagues across the three forces and partner agencies.

ACC Morris said inspectors had recognised many of the unit’s strengths, “including our strong relationships with partners and our commitment to innovation.”

“At the same time, we acknowledge that there are areas where we must continue to improve, and we are already taking forward plans to address the recommendations identified,” she said.

She added: “Our focus remains firmly on protecting the public. We will continue to work closely with our regional forces and partners to disrupt organised crime, safeguard those most at risk, and ensure that offenders are brought to justice.”

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• DYFATTY CRIME CRACKDOWN: Major police operation targets Swansea hotspot
• Romance scam victims left devastated as dating fraud surges across South Wales

NEWCASTLE EMLYN: ‘Poo in the pool’ culprit forced charity swimming baths to close 18 times

A community-run swimming pool in Newcastle Emlyn has been left badly out of pocket after a man admitted deliberately fouling the water on multiple occasions.

The repeated contamination forced the charity-run pool to close again and again over several months, cancelling swimming lessons, refunding customers and losing vital income.

Pool staff said there were 18 separate incidents between 2 February and 21 May this year, each one shutting the pool while cleaning and safety checks were carried out.

Dyfed-Powys Police said a 19-year-old man from the Cardigan area was identified and interviewed, and fully admitted the offences.

The force gave the period of the incidents as running between November 2025 and May 2026, and said the matter had been resolved through an adult community resolution.

A community resolution is an out-of-court disposal, often used for first-time offenders, aimed at making them face up to the impact of what they have done. It is not a criminal conviction.

The investigation has now been closed.

For the pool, the damage had been mounting for months — and its frustration was plain to see.

Through the spring, its Facebook page filled with closure notices. At first there was gallows humour: one post in March noted it was “the second time this week” and joked that it was “Friday 13th after all.”

But as the closures kept coming — four Fridays in a row at one point — the tone hardened.

Staff brought in mandatory showers before swimming, cleared the pool early for water checks, and pleaded with users to help, initially believing many of the incidents might be down to sickness bugs.

By the time the cause became clear, the pool was warning it could not keep absorbing the losses. “As a charity-run swimming pool, repeated closures have a significant impact on our ability to operate,” one post said.

The pool is run as a charity and is separate from the neighbouring Newcastle Emlyn Leisure Centre, which is operated by Carmarthenshire County Council. The two sit independently on the same school campus.

In a statement after the investigation closed, the pool said the financial hit had been significant, with money lost to refunds, cancelled bookings and reduced footfall.

“Our funds have been depleted by these incidents and any donations or offers of financial help would be greatly appreciated,” a spokesperson said.

The pool thanked its customers for sticking by it, and praised the staff who trawled hours of CCTV to identify the person responsible.

It said there had been no further contamination incidents or closures since.

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https://www.europesays.com/uk/1046056/ Carmarthenshire bus crash recap: Six hospitalised after bus flips in crash near roundabout – The Mirror #BreakingNews #CarCrashes #DyfedPowysPolice #Headlines #News #Police #RoadTrafficAccidents #TopStories

Carmarthenshire bus crash live: Six hospitalised after bus flips in crash near roundabout – The Mirror

Carmarthenshire bus crash live: Six hospitalised after bus flips in crash near roundabout  The MirrorNineteen injured after bus overturns…
#NewsBeep #News #Headlines #breakingnews #carcrashes #DyfedPowysPolice #police #roadtrafficaccidents #UK #UnitedKingdom
https://www.newsbeep.com/607663/

KIDWELLY: Major incident as bus overturns on A484

Emergency services are dealing with a major incident after a service bus overturned beside the A484 near Kidwelly.

Dyfed-Powys Police said the collision happened on the road near the Kidwelly roundabout at Parc y Bocs, and declared a major incident.

The single-decker bus, a scheduled First Cymru X11 service, came to rest on its side in a field next to the road at Kingswood, just outside Kidwelly. It is not a school bus or a private coach.

Two Wales Air Ambulances landed at the scene, alongside fire crews, paramedics and police.

In a joint statement, Dyfed-Powys Police, the Welsh Ambulance Service and Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service said 13 people were assessed and discharged at the scene, and a further six were taken to hospital.

No injuries were believed to be life-threatening, the services said.

The three services said all those who had been looked after at a rest centre at the John Burns Centre in Kidwelly had now left, and thanked the public for their patience and the centre for its support.

The A484 is closed between the Kidwelly roundabout and Llandyfaelog, and drivers have been asked to find alternative routes.

Local councillor, Lewis Eldred Davies informed residents that those catching the X11 bus service to and from Kidwelly and Carmarthen, “the bus is currently taking the alternative route via Four Roads whilst emergency services are dealing with RTC between Parc y Bocs roundabout and Kingswood”.

A force spokesperson said emergency services were on scene and asked members of the public to stay away from the area until further notice.

Hywel Dda University Health Board said its teams were responding to the major incident, and warned that emergency department waiting times were likely to be longer as staff treated those with the greatest need first.

The board urged anyone needing help to use NHS 111 Wales as a first step if they were unsure where to go.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service say that firefighters from Tumble, Carmarthen and Kidwelly were at the scene.

The fire service added that: “All passengers have been safely removed from the bus and are receiving appropriate care. A rest centre has been set up at the John Burns Centre, where welfare arrangements are being made to ensure their comfort and safety.”

Bus operator, First Bus said it was supporting the driver and are working with the emergency services to understand what had caused the accident.

Zoe Hands, Managing Director of First Bus Franchising which covers Wales, said: “Our X11 service was involved in an incident earlier this afternoon (Tuesday 23 June) on the A484 close to the junction with Old Forge Lane, near Kidwelly.

“A team from our depot at Ammanford travelled to scene immediately to support our driver and look after our customers.

“The safety of everyone who travels with us is always our absolute priority and we are working with the police and ambulance service to care for those who need it and understand the circumstances which led to this incident.”

In the Senedd, the Trefnydd and Leader of the House, Heledd Fychan, told members the government was aware of the incident, and said the Deputy Minister for Transport would update the Senedd once more information was available.

Gareth Beer, the Reform UK MS for Sir Gaerfyrddin, said his thoughts were with everyone affected by the collision near Kidwelly.

“My heart goes out to the passengers, drivers, and their families during this worrying time,” he said.

He thanked the emergency services for their “swift response, dedication, and professionalism,” and urged motorists to avoid the area, find alternative routes and follow officers’ guidance so crews could work safely.

The road between the roundabout at Parc y Bocs and Llandyfaelog is expected to remain closed for some time while emergency services respond to the incident and carry out enquiries.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service are advising motorists if they are stuck in traffic due to a road closure, to take steps to stay safe in the heat.

It advises to Stay Cool by turning on air conditioning if available, or opening windows to allow airflow when safe. Avoid sitting in direct sunlight – use sunshades or cover windows if possible. If the engine is off, ventilate the car safely to prevent overheating.

It says motorists should Keep Hydrated by drinking water regularly, even if you don’t feel thirsty, avoiding caffeine, or sugary drinks as they can worsen dehydration.

It also urges people to protect the most vulnerable – particularly children, older people, pregnant women, and those with long‑term health conditions – and to never leave anyone (or pets) alone in a vehicle, even for a short time.

Carmarthenshire bus crash live: Major incident declared for roundabout collision

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/carmarthenshire-bus-crash-wales-live-37336169

Carmarthenshire bus crash live: Major incident declared for roundabout collision

https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/carmarthenshire-bus-crash-wales-live-37336169

A40: Motorcyclist killed in four-vehicle crash between St Clears and Whitland

A motorcyclist has died following a collision involving four vehicles on the A40 in Carmarthenshire.

The crash happened on the stretch of road between St Clears and Whitland at around midday on Sunday, 21 June.

Dyfed-Powys Police said it involved a grey Audi, a blue Seat, a grey Vauxhall and an orange KTM motorbike.

The rider of the motorbike died at the scene. Officers said their next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers.

A 38-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of causing death by careless driving. He has been released on conditional bail while enquiries continue.

The road was closed for several hours so collision investigators could examine the scene, reopening by 8.30pm.

The force is now appealing for anyone who saw the crash, or who has dashcam footage from the area, to come forward.

In an appeal, a spokesperson said: “Dyfed-Powys Police is appealing for witnesses to a fatal collision on the A40 between St Clears and Whitland, or anyone with information about it to get in touch.”

Information can be passed to Dyfed-Powys Police online, by emailing [email protected], by direct message on social media, or by calling 101.

People can also contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Anyone getting in touch is asked to quote reference DP-20260621-177.

DYFED-POWYS POLICE: Officers to knock on every home in the force area — all 257,416 of them

Police officers in the Dyfed-Powys force area are setting out to knock on the door of every home across four counties over the next three years.

The Dyfed-Powys Police neighbourhood policing and prevention team has launched the initiative, called Operation Connect, with the aim of visiting and connecting with every household in Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Powys.

The force has set itself a target of knocking on 257,416 residential doors — the number of homes currently active on local council tax systems — within three years.

It is the second phase of a wider drive to improve how the force communicates with the public, following the launch of its two-way messaging system, Dyfed-Powys Connects, in September 2025.

Chief Inspector Dominic Jones said it was vital that officers made every effort to connect with the people they serve.

“It is vital that we make every effort to connect with those who live and work in our communities, as our public deserves to know their local police teams and feel a genuine sense of trust and confidence in Dyfed-Powys Police,” he said.

“I know how much our neighbourhood policing teams care about their areas, and we are undertaking this work because we truly care about the communities we serve.”

During the visits, police community support officers will help residents fill in short “priority surveys” designed to capture what local people are worried about.

The force says that information will help officers target their work at the issues that matter most in each area, and provide measurable data on community confidence.

It is a sizeable undertaking for a team of its size. The force says it has 189 officers and staff across its neighbourhood teams — 131 PCSOs and 58 police constables — meaning each would need to visit around 1,362 properties to cover the whole area.

That works out at roughly six homes a day per officer, every day, across a 12-month period.

The force says it will report back to communities on what it finds and what it does about it, through a “You said, we did” approach.

“By reporting back on our progress through ‘You said, we did,’ we will continue to build, solve problems, and maintain lasting relationships with the communities we serve,” Ch Insp Jones added.

Officers will carry cards pointing residents to the Dyfed-Powys Connects service, a free messaging system that sends information from local policing teams directly to people’s phones and inboxes.

The force stresses that the service is not a way to report crimes or incidents, and is not monitored around the clock — anyone needing to report a crime should still use the usual channels.

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LLANELLI: Cocaine dealer jailed after claiming Albanian crime gang forced him to sell drugs

Brooklyn Thomas told police he was coerced into dealing after running up a £10,000 debt — but a judge said the account, if true, showed only the “dark world” he had entered.

A cocaine dealer from Llanelli has been jailed after telling police he was forced into selling drugs by an Albanian organised crime gang.

Brooklyn Thomas, 27, claimed the gang had provided him with sex workers, leaving him with a £10,000 debt he was then told to work off, Swansea Crown Court heard.

But the judge said that even if the account were true, it served only to illustrate the “dark world” of drug dealing and the people of “evil intent” within it.

The case was first reported by WalesOnline.

The court heard Thomas was arrested in April after a police officer in Llanelli spotted two men talking on their phones near the town’s railway station.

Both men separately walked into a nearby pathway before emerging shortly afterwards and going their own ways, prosecutor Sian Cutter said.

The officer, suspecting a drugs deal had taken place, followed Thomas to a BMW and arrested him.

Officers seized two phones and £210 in cash, and a search uncovered six underweight 1g deals of high-purity cocaine hidden in his underwear.

When police examined his phone, they found a recently received message reading: “I am walking down to grab some cash now. Are you able to do one?”

A search of his home turned up two sets of weighing scales with traces of cocaine, along with a small amount of cannabis.

The court heard messages on his Samsung phone relating to cocaine supply stretched back to January 2025, including references to “one of the boys” delivering deals for him.

Further messages about drug supply were recovered from Facebook, Snapchat and WhatsApp.

In his first police interview, Thomas said he had been selling drugs under coercion from the crime group.

He told officers he had met members of the gang after using a website to pay for a sex worker, and that after they provided him with several that day, he was left owing £10,000 and told he would have to work to clear the debt.

Claims of Albanian organised crime have surfaced in other Llanelli-area drugs cases. In May, a man trafficked from Albania was jailed over an £82,000 cannabis factory overlooking Llanelli’s North Dock after telling police he was working off a debt to the gang that smuggled him into Britain.

In January, another man was jailed over a cannabis factory in nearby Kidwelly, having claimed he turned to organised crime to repay debts linked to his journey to the UK.

Thomas, of Campbell Street, Llanelli, admitted possession of cocaine with intent to supply, being concerned in the supply of cocaine, possession of criminal property and possession of cannabis.

He had previously entered a basis of plea, which was later withdrawn. He has previous convictions for dishonesty but none for drugs.

Matt Murphy, for Thomas, said his client had a supportive mother but a father who had been a drug user and first gave him cannabis at 16.

He said Thomas had trained as a painter and decorator and later worked in a car parts factory, but had struggled to find permanent work with limited qualifications.

His time on remand had acted as a “reset”, the barrister said.

Judge Huw Rees said Thomas came from Pwll — an area he knew to have “lots of good people” — before moving to the Morfa area of Llanelli and falling “in with bad company”.

The judge said there was already “far too much” Class A drugs in Llanelli and Burry Port without Thomas adding to it.

He told the defendant to reflect on the worry he had caused his mother, who had given him “nothing but unconditional love and support”.

Thomas was sentenced to three years in prison, with credit for his guilty pleas. He will serve up to half in custody before being released on licence.

“Nobody in this court wants someone from Pwll to come before the courts again,” the judge told him.

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DYFED-POWYS: Police don’t fully understand young adult crime in their own area, watchdog finds

Dyfed-Powys Police does not fully understand the pattern of crime committed by young adults in its own force area, a review by the region’s policing watchdog has found.

The review, by the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Select Committee, looked at how well crime and anti-social behaviour services support 18 to 25-year-olds across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and Powys.

It concluded that the force “does not fully understand their crime and ASB offending age profiles” — a gap the committee says makes it harder to know where help should be aimed.

When the review began, the force was unable to provide a breakdown of anti-social behaviour offences by the age of the offender at all.

In a further gap, the gender of offenders aged 18 to 25 was recorded as “unknown” or left blank in 60% of certain out-of-court outcomes during 2024.

The committee said this lack of detail made it harder to judge whether different approaches were needed for different groups, and where intervention would work best.

It has recommended the force build a dedicated profile of crime by this age group, and update its data systems so that age is routinely recorded across all its figures.

The review also raised concerns about how often young adults are steered into help instead of prosecution.

A type of resolution known as Outcome 22, which diverts offenders into education or other intervention rather than court, was used just three times for 18 to 25-year-olds in the whole of 2024.

By contrast, it was used 142 times for under-18s.

The committee asked whether the diversion schemes were simply not in place for adults, or whether officers were “less inclined to promote diversion after an offender turns 18”.

It also highlighted what happens when young people turn 18 and existing support falls away.

Council youth services often stop at 18, while the Probation service generally only becomes involved once a young adult has already offended — leaving what the report describes as a gap over who is responsible for this age group.

One young person who responded to the review said they had lost a support worker they had bonded with. “I was arrested for anti-social behaviour … the services aren’t long enough,” they said.

The review found young adults were an outlier in one respect — mental health. The force reported a rise in people aged 16 to 25 coming to police in crisis, often linked to self-harm, a trend it said had been climbing since the Covid pandemic.

The report pointed to the importance of agencies being able to respond, referencing the independent review into the 2024 knife attack at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman in Ammanford, in which a pupil was later sentenced for attempting to murder two teachers and a fellow pupil.

In its response, Dyfed-Powys Police acknowledged a training gap and said a dedicated trainer and analyst would be brought in to improve how officers identify and refer young people into support.

The force pointed to its INTACT early-intervention programme, which works to steer those up to 25 away from serious violence and exploitation, and to its first dedicated mental health conference, held in 2025.

Among the services praised by young people was Swansea City AFC Foundation’s Premier League Kicks, which uses free football sessions to engage young people and was one of the best-known schemes in the survey.

Police and Crime Commissioner Dafydd Llywelyn said the review had given “an important area a spotlight”, and that listening to young adults’ voices had been central to shaping its recommendations.

The Select Committee will ask the relevant agencies for an update on progress in six months.

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PEMBREY: Overnight search of Cefn Sidan beach stood down after no one found

An overnight search of Cefn Sidan beach near Pembrey has been stood down after officers found no trace of two people reported to be in possible difficulty.

Dyfed-Powys Police say the search was launched alongside HM Coastguard on Monday evening following a call from a member of the public.

The force say the call came in at around 9.50pm on 8 June.

In their first post, officers said they were responding to a report of “two individuals dressed in dark clothing and waving a torch near the water’s edge”.

Dyfed-Powys Police say it was unclear at the time whether the pair had run into trouble. “It is unclear whether the two individuals have encountered difficulty or harm at the location,” the force said.

A multi-agency search was launched, with the force describing it as ongoing through the evening. “A multi-agency search is underway, but they have not yet been located,” officers said at the time.

Police appealed for anyone who had been at Cefn Sidan that evening to come forward with information.

In an update the following day, Dyfed-Powys Police say the report was reviewed and officers were satisfied no one had been in danger.

“The information has been reviewed and officers are satisfied that there was no risk of harm or danger posed, though the call was made with good intent,” the force said.

Officers say a search of the beach and nearby area was concluded with no one found. “With help from our partner agencies, a search of the beach and nearby area has been concluded with no persons found,” they said.

The force added that no further calls of concern had been received, and no missing people had been reported in the area.

Dyfed-Powys Police thanked the public for their vigilance. “We always take reports of this nature seriously and we want to thank the public for their vigilance,” officers said, also thanking partner agencies for their help overnight.

Cefn Sidan is one of the longest beaches in Wales, stretching for around eight miles along the coast at Pembrey, and forms part of the popular Pembrey Country Park.

Paddleboard firm owner who caused four deaths on River Cleddau loses appeal bid to cut sentence

The former paddleboard firm owner who caused the deaths of four people on a river in south west Wales has lost a bid to challenge her prison sentence.

Nerys Bethan Lloyd, a 39-year-old ex-police officer from Port Talbot, was jailed for 10 years and six months last year after admitting the gross negligence manslaughter of four people on the Western Cleddau river in Haverfordwest.

Three Court of Appeal judges have now refused her bid to bring an appeal against that sentence, rejecting her lawyer’s argument that it was “manifestly excessive.”

Lady Justice May said it was “not arguable” that the term was excessive, adding that the sentencing judge “clearly had all the mitigating features in mind.”

The four — Paul O’Dwyer, Andrea Powell, Morgan Rogers and Nicola Wheatley — died after the group set off in flood conditions on the river in October 2021.

Several of those who died had close links to the Swansea Bay area. O’Dwyer was from Port Talbot, the same town as Lloyd, while Wheatley was from Pontarddulais. Powell was from Bridgend and Rogers from Merthyr Tydfil.

The group of seven participants, led by Lloyd and co-instructor O’Dwyer, set off after 9am on October 30, 2021, having had no safety briefing beforehand.

There had been heavy rain in the days before, and the court that later sentenced Lloyd heard the river was in flood with a visibly strong current.

The paddleboarders went over a weir and were sucked into a recirculating flow of water — described as similar to a washing machine — from which the ankle leashes attached to their boards made it harder to escape.

O’Dwyer initially got out of the water safely but re-entered in an attempt to rescue the others. He, Rogers and Wheatley died at the scene, while Powell died in hospital about a week later.

The case has moved through the courts over more than a year, and we have followed it at each stage.

In March last year, Lloyd admitted the gross negligence manslaughter of all four paddleboarders when she appeared before Swansea Crown Court.

She was then jailed for 10 years and six months in April, when the court heard she had not been qualified to lead a paddleboard tour of that kind, and the sentencing judge criticised an “abysmal” approach to health and safety.

The judge, Mrs Justice Stacey, said Lloyd’s interest “seemed to be more in an exciting route than safety,” and that she had shown “a blatant disregard for a very high risk of death.”

Lloyd had trained as a firearms officer after joining South Wales Police, and the judge said she would have been “well-versed” in the importance of risk assessments.

It later emerged that Lloyd had been sacked by South Wales Police in November 2021 — a month after accepting a caution for fraud relating to a vehicle insurance claim — over a matter the force said was unrelated to the paddleboarding deaths.

At the sentencing, the families of those who died gave impact statements describing the depth of their loss, and the judge paid tribute to their “dignity and courage in the midst of overwhelming grief.”

A Crown Prosecution Service prosecutor said Lloyd had not been qualified to take inexperienced paddleboarders out in such conditions, while a Dyfed-Powys Police senior officer described the tragedy as “completely avoidable.”

A Health and Safety Executive inspector said the victims had placed their trust in Lloyd to deliver a safe paddle, but that through her “incompetence, carelessness and complacency” she had failed to assess the obvious risk at the weir.

The refusal of the appeal bid brings to a close the latest stage of a case that has run through the courts since her first court appearances last year.

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Paddleboard company owner jailed for 10 years after deaths of four in River Cleddau incident
Our report from the sentencing, where the judge criticised an “abysmal” approach to safety.

Paddleboard company owner admits manslaughter of four in River Cleddau incident
How Lloyd pleaded guilty to the gross negligence manslaughter of all four paddleboarders.

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TATA STEEL THEFT: Three workers jailed over £1.2m tin plot at Llanelli’s Trostre works

Three Tata Steel workers who helped steal almost £1.2m of tin from the Trostre works in Llanelli have been jailed.

The men used their positions inside the plant to smuggle out nearly 49 tonnes of tin ingots over 15 months, melting them down and selling them to scrap merchants.

Thomas Ashford, Stewart Jones and Richard Jones each conspired with an outside man, Matthew Membury, in what a judge called “a very sophisticated operation.”

Sentencing the men at Swansea Crown Court on Tuesday, Judge Paul Thomas KC said they had involved themselves in the theft of tonnes of tin on a “most considerable scale.”

The court heard the plot ran between July 2023 and October 2024, with the tin sold on to metal dealers and the profits split between the gang.

Prosecutor Craig Jones said the case involved a “persistent and sophisticated conspiracy” and a gross abuse of trust by employees at the site.

The scheme was set up by Ashford, a supervisor in the casthouse, who had ready access to tonnes of valuable tin.

But the key to it was Stewart Jones, a site security supervisor who controlled who came onto the works.

At first, Jones simply opened the gates to let Membury drive his van in at agreed times, before waving him back out once it was loaded.

He later created a cloned Tata ID pass in the false name of David Davies, allowing Membury to come and go as if he were a legitimate employee.

Once inside, Membury would drive to the casthouse, where Ashford loaded the ingots into his Ford Transit using a forklift truck.

Ashford also brought in one of the men he supervised — forklift driver Richard Jones, a former soldier — to help load the van on some occasions.

Each theft took only minutes, the court heard, and was timed for shift changes when there were plenty of comings and goings.

The conspiracy unravelled after suspicions were raised about ingots going missing shortly after being delivered, and Dyfed-Powys Police were called in to monitor the site.

Officers stopped Membury’s van at the plant gates at 6am on 11 October 2024, finding a load of tin ingots inside — along with three swords.

Ashford was arrested in his car in the casthouse car park, with the two others detained separately.

A financial investigation found £743,826 had been paid into Membury’s bank account in 68 deposits from various firms between July 2023 and September 2024.

He kept £339,770, passing £256,500 to Ashford, £85,500 to Stewart Jones and £62,000 to Richard Jones.

In a statement to the court, Tata said the thefts had a “significant and damaging” effect on the firm and on the morale of its 600 staff at the Llanelli site.

The company said it had spent tens of thousands of pounds improving security, and that workers were no longer allowed to park on site.

The judge said Ashford had initiated the thefts in a “gross abuse of trust” given his position as supervisor at the casthouse.

Of Stewart Jones, the judge said he had been “pivotal” to the operation as security supervisor — paid by Tata to prevent the very thing he was doing, in what amounted to a “betrayal” of the firm.

Mitigating for Stewart Jones, Matt Murphy said his client was “wholeheartedly remorseful” and had been in significant debt at the time, when “the attractiveness of the enterprise was too much to resist.”

David Singh, for Ashford, said his client had been candid and admitted the scheme was his idea, while his “difficult background” provided context to his behaviour without excusing it.

Adam Roxborough, for Richard Jones, said his client had served seven years with the Royal Welch Fusiliers with an “exemplary” record, was involved only on an “ad hoc” basis, and had taken part “because it was easy money.”

Thomas Ashford, 35, of Tairgwaith, Brynamman, and Stewart Jones, 56, of Llanelli, were each jailed for three years and four months.

Richard Jones, 39, of Townhill, Swansea, was given a 20-month sentence suspended for two years, with 250 hours of unpaid work and a three-month curfew.

The court heard Ashford and Stewart Jones will serve between 30 and 40 per cent of their sentences in custody before being released on licence.

Membury, 32, of Landore, Swansea, refused to attend the hearing and will be sentenced at a later date.

He is already serving a 32-month prison sentence imposed in January for his part in a separate revenge arson plot, in which a man’s car was set alight in Swansea Vale over a business grievance.

The judge said Membury’s sentence for the Tata conspiracy would not begin until he appears in court to receive it.

The stolen tin has never been recovered, and a proceeds of crime investigation will now examine the men’s finances.

After the case, a Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson said it had been “a carefully orchestrated operation which included the use of a fake Tata ID pass,” and a gross breach of trust by employees, some in managerial or security positions, that cost the company more than £1m.

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PORT TALBOT: Tata Steel sets out demands for next Welsh Government
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Port Talbot steel gets new role in green energy future
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LLANELLI: Stradey Park Hotel ‘left powered-up with beds made’ as urban explorers film inside closed landmark — sparking police warning

Dyfed-Powys Police have issued a warning after several groups entered the closed Stradey Park Hotel in Llanelli and filmed inside, finding the landmark venue apparently left fully operational.

The force said it had received a rise in reports of trespassing at the Furnace site over the late May bank holiday weekend, with people accessing the building to create social media content.

Officers confirmed that no arrests have been made, and that they are in contact with those involved. Enquiries are being carried out into potential criminal damage and burglary offences.

In a statement, the force urged people not to enter the building, warning of the risks of going into a closed and unsecured property.

One of the groups, B&R Urban Explorers UK, told Swansea Bay News it had heard from another group that the hotel was open, and arrived to find a door wide open.

The group said the electricity was still on, with the lifts in working order, two bars fully stocked, and beds still made — in its words, “as if waiting for guests that never arrived.”

The group said it understood the concerns raised by police about people entering the building, acknowledging that the risks inside any such property are unknown.

It said its approach was to “document things and leave,” and suggested that if access was not wanted, the building should be properly secured.

The footage and photographs, shared widely on social media, show corridors with the lights on, function rooms with chandeliers still hanging, and a kitchen left with crockery and supplies in place.

The scenes are the latest twist in the long-running story of the four-star hotel, which closed with immediate effect earlier this year.

The closure left staff facing redundancy and threw the future of one of Llanelli’s best-known venues into doubt.

The hotel’s operating company, Gryphon Leisure Limited, remains the subject of a High Court winding-up petition brought by HM Revenue and Customs, with other creditors also backing the action, listed under case number CR-2026-000901.

Companies House records show the company is still listed as active, but now also faces a proposed strike-off from the register. No liquidation order or receivership appointment is recorded on the public register.

Local representatives have been working to address concerns about the site. Hengoed councillors Martyn Palfreman and Ed Skinner, working with Llanelli MP Dame Nia Griffith and Elli ward councillor Steve Williams, said they had arranged fencing through the county council and approached the site’s receiver to improve security.

They said they had received an assurance from the UK Border Security and Asylum Minister that the hotel would not be used to house asylum seekers — a reference to the controversial 2023 plan that was eventually withdrawn.

The representatives said their priority was to see the hotel sold as a going concern, and urged people to stay away from the site for their own safety.

Police said work was continuing with partners and the owners to resolve the situation, and that community engagement was ongoing to reassure people living nearby.

Anyone who witnesses trespassing or antisocial behaviour at the site is asked to report it to Dyfed-Powys Police on 101, or to contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

The hotel’s owner, Ahsan Ullah, was approached for comment.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Stradey Park Hotel saga deepens: High Court winding-up petition filed against firm linked to Llanelli landmark
HMRC’s legal action against the hotel’s operating company.

All our Stradey Park Hotel coverage
The full timeline of the hotel’s long-running saga.

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