Pembrokeshire paddleboard firm owner jailed over river deaths

A former paddleboard firm owner has been jailed for 10 years and six months after the deaths of four people on a river in south-west Wales.

Paul O’Dwyer, Andrea Powell, Morgan Rogers and Nicola Wheatley died after paddleboarding in “extremely hazardous conditions” on the Western Cleddau river in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire in October 2021.

Nerys Bethan Lloyd, 39, an ex-police officer from Port Talbot, pleaded guilty to gross negligence manslaughter last month.

She was sentenced during a two-day hearing at Swansea Crown Court, which heard she was unqualified to lead a paddleboard tour of this kind.

Neither Lloyd nor co-instructor Mr O’Dwyer were qualified to lead the tour, and Mrs Justice Stacey criticised the “abysmal” approach to health and safety during her sentencing remarks.

Citing her police and RNLI training, the judge said Lloyd “knew better”, although acknowledged she was “horrified” at what happened.

The group of seven participants, led by Lloyd and Mr O’Dwyer, set off after 09:00 on 30 October 2021.

Four of those who went on the tour died.

During the sentencing hearing, the court heard there had been heavy rain in the days before and “the river was in flood conditions” with a “visibly strong current”.

On Tuesday, the court was shown photos of a weir the group was trying to navigate.

This included a section called fish pass, which was 11m (36ft) long and on an incline of about one in seven, or 14%.

The court was shown conditions on the weir on the day of the incident, with Mark Watson KC, prosecuting, telling the court on Tuesday it showed “immense turbulence” of the water.

Mr O’Dwyer initially exited the river safely, but then re-entered the water in an attempt to rescue the others.

Mr O’Dwyer, from Port Talbot, Ms Rogers, from Merthyr Tydfil, and Ms Wheatley, of Pontarddulais, Swansea county, all died at the scene.

Ms Powell, from Bridgend, died in hospital on 5 November 2021, about a week after the incident.

Mrs Justice Stacey said the group “fell down the face of the weir” in no more than 20 seconds.

They were sucked into a hydraulic jump – or spin – a recirculating flow similar to a washing machine.

She added: “The ankle leashes attached to the boards of those stuck in the hydraulic spin, which are totally unsuitable for fast-flowing water, made it even harder for them to get free.”

The judge said it was clear to her Lloyd intended for the group to go over the weir down the fish pass if possible “which would be more interesting” than carrying the boards round the weir.

Mr O’Dwyer had researched alternative routes, but all were “dismissively rejected by you”, the judge said.

Mr O’Dwyer deferred to Lloyd as the company owner to decide the final route but raised valid concerns, such as the drop over the weir.

Mrs Justice Stacey said Lloyd’s interest “seemed to be more in an exciting route than safety” and it was clear from CCTV she went straight down the middle of the weird rather than making any attempt to get to the side.

She added she showed “a blatant disregard for a very high risk of death”.

Lisa Rose, specialist prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service special crime division, said Lloyd was not qualified to take inexperienced paddleboarders out in such conditions.

“There are no words that can articulate the devastation this tragedy has caused, and I can only hope that this sentence provides a sense of justice for those affected,” she said.

Helen Turner, Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector said the victims placed their trust in Lloyd to deliver a safe and enjoyable paddle, “but through her incompetence, carelessness and complacency she failed to plan or assess the obvious risk at the weir or to take even basic safety measures”.

Mrs Justice Stacey said in her sentencing remarks said that Mr O’Dwyer and Lloyd did not intend to harm any participants.

“But you chose to lead the group over a weir in conditions that could not have been more treacherous, placing all of them in extreme danger,” the judge added.

The judge paid tribute to the families of those who died for their “dignity and courage in the midst of overwhelming grief”.

Detective Superintendent Cameron Ritchie, of Dyfed-Powys Police, described the paddleboarding tragedy as “completely avoidable”.