Woman jailed over deaths of four paddleboarders - as her actions branded 'despicable'

A woman has been jailed for 10 years and six months over the deaths of four paddleboarders in West Wales.

Nerys Bethan Lloyd - a former police officer - pleaded guilty last month to four counts of gross negligence manslaughter and one offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act. Paul O'Dwyer, 42, Andrea Powell, 41, Morgan Rogers, 24, and Nicola Wheatley, 40, died after they got into difficulty in the River Cleddau, Pembrokeshire, on 30 October 2021.

The four had been part of a stand-up paddleboarding tour when their paddleboards went over a weir in Haverfordwest, during "extremely hazardous conditions". Mr O'Dwyer initially exited the water but re-entered the river in an unsuccessful attempt to rescue the others.

Ms Powell was taken to Withybush Hospital where she died of her injuries six days later. 'Blatant disregard' for the risk of loss of life The tour had been organised by Lloyd, owner and sole director of Salty Dog Co Ltd.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said in a statement that an expert had concluded the tour "should not have taken place". Paddleboarding expert Andrew Gratwick said in his written evidence that he considered the weir to be "an extremely serious risk which should have been very obvious to any competent instructor".

Sentencing Lloyd at Swansea Crown Court on Wednesday, Mrs Justice Stacey told Lloyd the weir presented an "obvious and extreme danger" and that she "showed a blatant disregard" for the risk of loss of life. "This was not a momentary lapse, your whole approach to health and safety was lax," she said.

The judge said there were Met Office weather warnings in place at that time, as well as a flood alert issued through Natural Resources Wales. She said the footage of the incident was "too distressing to be shown in court".

"Having studied it, I am sure that you made no attempt to investigate or paddle to the steps which were visible from the river," she said. The judge said she was certain that neither Lloyd nor Mr O'Dwyer intended "any harm to any of the participants" but that the defendant's "whole approach to basic health and safety was abysmal".

The court heard neither had a "suitable qualification for this kind of activity" and that the "final decisions to take part" were hers. 'Extremely dangerous' Prosecuting, Mark Watson KC, said he accepted Mr O'Dwyer "bears a share of the responsibility" but that the defendant was "primarily responsible for the needless loss of life".

During periods of high water levels, Haverfordwest's weir "becomes extremely dangerous with high potential for loss of life.