Pembrokeshire paddleboarders guided to their deaths, court told

A paddleboarder was “guided to her death”, a court has heard during the sentencing of the tour company owner after the deaths of four people.

Paul O’Dwyer, 42, Andrea Powell, 41, Morgan Rogers, 24, and Nicola Wheatley, 40, drowned while paddleboarding in “extremely hazardous conditions” on the River Cleddau in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, in October 2021.

Nerys Bethan Lloyd, 39, from Port Talbot, is the former owner of Salty Dog, the now-dissolved company that operated the tour.

Lloyd pleaded guilty to manslaughter last month and it was revealed she did not have the correct qualifications to run the tour.

The group of seven participants and co-instructor Paul O’Dwyer set off after 09:00 on 30 October 2021.

Mark Watson KC, prosecuting, told the court there had been heavy rain in the days before and “the river was in flood conditions” with a “visibly strong current”.

“Of the eight individuals who went over the weir that day only four survived,” he said.

Mr Watson explained there were desperate attempts of “bystanders who tried to throw lifelines into the weir” but the intensity of the water “was the equivalent of two tonnes of water crossing the 1m of the weir crest every second”.

The court was shown photos of the weir, including the section between the right and left crest called the fish pass, which the group was trying to navigate.

Mr Watson said the fish pass was 11m (36ft) long and on an incline of about 14%.

The court was also shown conditions at the weir on the day after the incident.

Mr Watson explained it showed “immense turbulence” of the water which meant the side walls of the fish pass could “barely, if at all, be seen”.

Once the tour was advertised, there was a “significant amount of interest” and a WhatsApp group was set up, but in the days leading up to the trip, some participants raised concerns.

Mr O’Dwyer responded to a message from Ms Wheatley to tell her that every paddleboard trip they had done was “aimed at beginners”.

He also suggested alternative tours routes to Lloyd, one of which she said sounded “boring” before later adding: “Maybe stick to the original.”

No risk assessments, no wavers and no details of next of kin were found by police.

Lloyd claimed she believed Mr O’Dwyer gave a safety briefing to the group while she went to the toilet but all participants said no safety briefing was given.

In Swansea Crown Court on Tuesday, Ms Roger’s mum Theresa Hall said Lloyd “guided Morgan to her death” and the “physical and mental pain that I now live with is too much to bear”.

Speaking to Lloyd, she said, “you in your arrogance have stopped me being able to fully grieve for my daughter”.

“Every day of my life is absolutely horrendous knowing she died a horrific death”.

Breaking down in tears, she told Lloyd she would never forgive her “for what you have taken away from me”.

Ms Rogers’ dad Robert Rogers said a “warm, courageous, happy shiny star to all she knew was extinguished.”

“As a father to have to bury your own daughter is not a path you want any other human being to walk,” he added.

“The open wound inflicted will never ever heal. My family will have a life sentence of grief for our remaining days.”

Nicola Wheatley’s husband Darren called Lloyd “a coward” who had “hidden behind your carefully orchestrated smoke screen”.

He added: “I hugged and kissed Nicola goodbye, she was so trusting. The next time I would see her would be to identify her body in the mortuary.

“This was not the Nicola that left our house less than 24 hours earlier but it is the face I see every day when I open my eyes.”

With audible anger in his voice he said while they “cried all day” that Christmas, Lloyd was posting pictures on social media celebrating Christmas lights with her family and friends.

Lloyd was straight-faced in the dock as Mr Wheatley spoke directly to her.

Ending his speech he said: “Nerys Lloyd you are a vile person and you disgust me.”

Mark Powell, the husband of Andrea Powell told the court the pair had moved to Wales to raise their son.

Breaking down in tears he explained the last time he saw Andrea “happy and content” was the day before she died when they said goodbye as she left for the trip to Haverfordwest.

He then saw Andrea in the town’s Withybush Hospital where she was in coma and he “burst into tears” seeing the cuts and bruises to her face and body.

Mr Powell said their son Finn “had the most amazing bond” with his mum.

When he told Finn, who was seven at the time of her death, that she had died, he burst into “uncontrollable tears” and that noise would stay with him forever.

He said it was “heart-breaking” to hear Finn say he wanted to die “so he can be with his mother again”.

Mr Powell said the fact she did not die peacefully still distressed him and he “cannot forgive” Lloyd’s lack of remorse.

John Taylor, Ms Powell’s dad said his daughter was the “life and soul of every party”.

“Our past, our present and our future will never ever be the same again,” he said.

He called Lloyd and her business partner Mr O’Dwyer “not remotely qualified”, as they only had a “basic entry level qualification” which was unsuitable for this tour.

An advert for the trip said it was run by “two fully qualified instructors”.

Mr O’Dwyer and Lloyd sat two courses on 23 and 24 April 2021 but Mr Watson said it was “clear from the promotional material for the courses” it was not enough for this trip.

Lloyd – a former police officer – had first aid training from both South Wales Police and as part of the RNLI.

Mr O’Dwyer’s wife Ceri O’Dwyer had a statement read on her behalf.

She said she was “tortured” by what happened and described her husband as the kindest man “with the biggest heart”.

She told Lloyd she was once her friend but was met with “blame, rejection and gaslighting” when she tried to “shift blame” on to her husband.

Paul made a “devastating mistake” but “died trying to save others”.

“Grief is in our household every single day. You carried on as if nothing ever happened,” she added.

“Nerys, I do not believe you will ever learn from this, you’ve had three years to show remorse and yet you have continued like this is an inconvenience to your life.”

Mr O’Dwyer’s dad John added: “You wake up in the early hours and you cry. You carry on with your day but everything is hollow.”

Jemma Dugdale, one of the survivors, said: “This tragedy happened because of poor decision making of people who did not have the skills knowledge or expertise.”

Fellow survivor Gemma Cox said it turned her world upside down and the pain “became unbearable”.

But she said Lloyd had shown remorse to her and her children, adding: “I have seen her suffering day after day for the decisions and mistakes that were made.”

Melody Johns said losing her sister-in-law Ms Powell was “incomprehensible”.