Cynon Valley
WOMAN, 39, DIED IN DRUGS TRAGEDY
A WOMAN overdosed on a mix of drugs, an inquest has found. Natalie Jones, pictured above, and her boyfriend Jonathan Williams were found dead on February 21 last year at her flat in Hirwaun. The bodies were discovered after police forced entry to Ms...
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FIRST MINISTER’S LUCKY ESCAPE
WALES’ First Minister Eluned Morgan has spoken about a plane crash she and her family were involved in while returning to Wales from a holiday in Spain when she was just 11. Mrs Morgan’s mother had to be pulled out unconscious and her brother was left...
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FAMILY LEFT WITH NOTHING IN BLAZE
A FAMILY lost everything when fire ripped through their dream home on Boxing Day evening. Sarah Nicholas, her oldest son Kenzie, 17, and her partner Gavin Griffiths were settling down for the evening after a lovely day when a neighbour banged on the...
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BIKER DIES IN CRASH AFTER FUNERAL
A BIKER has died in a crash while he was travelling back from being part of a motorcycle convoy at a boy’s funeral in Pontypridd. Chris Bailey, pictured, who was a dad to a baby boy, died on December 19 at the A438 between Glasbury and Clyro near his...
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PET BAN FOR MAN FILMED ABUSING DOG
A MAN has been banned from keeping animals for life after he kicked and hit a dog. The cruelty caused by Christopher Michael Pillage, 40, came to light when the RSPCA obtained footage showing him kicking a dog named Snoopy, pictured, which was deaf and...
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ELFIS IS A HIT AFTER NATIVITY MIX-UP
A BOY mistakenly dressed as Elvis instead of an elf at his school Christmas Nativity after a family mix-up over his costume. Nine-year-old Oscar Wilkins, pictured, had been assigned the part of Elvis the elf in last week’s production at his primary...
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BEAUTY FIRM GOES UNDER OWING £1.9M
A WELSH beauty brand has collapsed into liquidation, leaving debts of nearly £2m. Mallows Ltd, which traded as Mallows Beauty, was set up by Laura Mallows in 2019. The biggest creditor is the Development Bank of Wales.
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VALLEYS GET MORE TRAIN SERVICES
RAIL passengers will soon see more trains running later into the night and earlier in the morning. The changes, set to come into place this month, will also see more trains operating on Sundays, as well as the reopening of a station. The changes are...
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LOCKED SAFE LED TO DRUGS GANG
FIVE people have been sentenced to 19 years and two months in prison after police raided a property in Rhondda Cynon Taf. On March 26, officers from South Wales Police’s Organised Crime Unit searched a property in Tylorstown, where they found a locked...
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DEFEND YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW.
Plans for licensed premises in your neighbourhood could be hidden from view if new government proposals for secret alcohol licensing notices get the green light.
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‘I’VE LOVED EVERY DAY OF MY CAREER’
SHE survived poverty and homelessness – and she was initially turned down for the career she dreamed of. But nothing could stop Aberaman’s Donna Ockenden, making it as one of Britain’s most senior healthcare leaders.
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STROKE SURVIVOR’S BID TO HELP OTHERS
A MAN who had a stroke at the age of 28 has taken on a challenge to raise funds and awareness. Aaron Davies, now 31, from Aberdare, wasn’t found until two days after he had the stroke on Christmas Day 2021.
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AREA WITH WALES’ CHEAPEST HOMES
A COMMUNITY has been named as the cheapest place to buy a home in Wales. Homes in Ferndale’s CF43 postcode area sold for an average of £99,469 in the 12 months to the end of July, according to latest figures from the Office for National Statistics....
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COUPLE’S CHAPEL GAMBLE PAYS OFF
A LONDON couple gambled their life savings on transforming a derelict chapel in Hirwaun, but after 12 years of work they say it was all worth it. Alan and Hayley, pictured, bought the chapel for £25,000 and now £200,000 later, it looks incredible.
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BUILDING GIVEN NEW LEASE OF LIFE
A LISTED building which had sat empty on a high street for 35 years has been brought back into use. The former Rates building on Aberdare High Street has been converted into apartments and a new hospitality space.
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ON YOUR MARKS FOR RACE PLACES
ENTRIES are open for this year’s Nos Galan Road Races. The event, which is in its 67th year, returns to Mountain Ash on New Year’s Eve. Spaces across all race categories usually sell out within days and are being released in waves.
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LAND RAVAGED BY MOUNTAIN FIRE
IMAGES show the scale of devastation caused by a large mountain fire that burned for days above Cwmbach and Mountain Ash. South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said the blaze at Cefn Pennar in Mountain Ash could be seen from as far as Merthyr.
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DRAG QUEEN SET TO SPARKLE ON TV
A DRAG queen from Treorchy is one of the 12 competitors announced for season seven of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. Ellis Lloyd Jones, better known as Catrin Feelings, pictured, will be representing Wales in the biggest drag competition on TV.
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Praise for venue once on the brink of closure
A POPULAR venue has been recognised as a top-rated attraction in Wales in Tripadvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Awards for 2025. Blackwood Miners’ Institute was on the brink of closure after the council proposed to withdraw its funding – a controversial...
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FOUR ARRESTED AFTER HOUSE FIRE
FOUR people have been arrested after a fire destroyed a terraced house. The incident happened at around 1.30am on Monday morning at a terraced house on Protheroe Street, Ferndale, pictured, and neighbouring properties were also evacuated.
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NEW LAW TO ENSURE SAFETY OF COAL TIPS
A BILL to protect former mining communities from the danger of disused coal tips has been passed by the Senedd. The Disused Mine and Quarry Tips (Wales) Bill is the first legislation of its kind in the UK and will create a new authority designed to...
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MAJOR NEW WIND FARM PLANNED
THE locations of three major wind farms planned by the Welsh Government have been announced – and one of them is in Rhondda Cynon Taf. Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru says it would create 650 construction jobs through the three projects which have the potential to...
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‘THE GREATEST OF HIS GENERATION’
INTERNATIONALLY renowned Welsh tenor Stuart Burrows, pictured, has been remembered for his “warmth, humility and extraordinary musicianship”, following his death at the age of 92 after a short illness. Born in Cilfynydd, near Pontypridd, his voice was...
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TUNNEL PROJECT MOVES FORWARD
THE ambitious project to reopen the Rhondda tunnel, pictured, as a cycling and walking route has moved closer to reality. A partnership has been formed between the Rhondda Tunnel Society and Railway Paths, a charity that owns and maintains former...
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END OF THE ROAD – FOR ROADWORKS
THE most expensive road construction ever in Wales was officially opened on Thursday, June 12 – 23 years after it started. After more than two decades of disruptions, motorists can at last breathe a sigh of relief as smooth traffic returns to an area...
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‘EVEN DOCTORS ARE USING FOOD BANK’
MORE than 16,634 emergency food parcels were provided to people facing hardship across RCT between April 2024 and March 2025. Inside, Charmaine Walsh, who is a food bank support manager, has shared some of the situations that local people who use food...
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SIX-YEAR-OLD AIMS FOR POOL GLORY
A SIX-YEAR-OLD pool player is already competing against teenagers - even though he’s only just taller than the table. Teddie Tandy, pictured, travels across Britain to compete - after learning to play during the Covid lockdown.
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DRIVER FLED AFTER HITTING WOMAN
A FATHER-OF-TWO killed a 76-year-old woman when he reversed into her while she was walking back from the bingo. Dylan Edmunds, pictured, fled the scene and returned to the pub to meet up with friends.
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AIR RIFLE POINTED AT CARE WORKER
A CARE worker feared for her life while visiting a vulnerable man who pointed an air rifle at her face and told her “I want you to feel as scared as I do”, a court has heard. The worker said she thought Christopher Rees, 47, was going to shoot her.
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ROCK GROUNDS READY TO ROLL
A NEW image of how a hotel and spa on the site of former council offices in the Valleys could look has been released, pictured. The council has released a concept of how the proposed Rock Grounds development in Aberdare could look as the...
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EXTRA PROTECTION FROM COAL TIPS
A NEW law which will set up a public body to ensure Wales’ coal tips do not threaten the safety of people living near them has received unanimous backing in the Senedd. The Disused Mine and Quarry Tips (Wales) Bill will update legislation from the late...
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GARETH EVANS CREATES HAVOC
FILM director Gareth Evans, pictured, talks in an accent so muddled it’s hard to tell whether he’s British or American, let alone Welsh. But the Hirwaun-born talent is keen to talk about his latest action film, Havoc, which was shot in Wales and stars...
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WEST HAM WINNER FOR PHOTOGRAPHER
A BUSINESS owner has been left baffled after he was reported to trading standards by a member of the public. Wayne Hankins received a visit from trading standards after he was reported for displaying a harmless photo in the window of his photography...
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‘UNABLE TO ACCESS’ LIFE-SAVING GEAR
CONCERNS have been raised after a 999 call handler was unable to provide a code for a defibrillator that was mere metres away from a man who was having a heart attack. Worried members of the public acted quickly to provide treatment for a man who...
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TRIBUTES AFTER TRAGEDY ON A48
POLICE are investigating a crash which left three men dead. It happened on April 1 on the A48 near Bonvilston in the Vale of Glamorgan. Two of the men have been named as Barrie John, pictured, from Ferndale, and Lawrence Howells, 51, from Porthcawl....
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SERIAL FLY-TIPPER CAUGHT ON CAMERA
A SERIAL fly-tipper has been given a community order and ordered to pay more than £1,000. Jeremy Boyes was caught, pictured, disposing of waste illegally near his home. Boyes, 55, turned a local beauty spot into a fly-tipping hotspot.
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TRANSPORT CASH IN COUNCIL BUDGET
MORE than £18m will go towards improvements to roads, footpaths, bridges and street lighting in Rhondda Cynon Taf next year. The council’s cabinet on March 19 agreed a supplementary capital programme worth £18.41m for 2025-26. This includes £6.94m for...
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MAN’S ‘CAMPAIGN’ OF CHURCH BURGLARIES
A THIEF carried out a “campaign” of burglaries targeting churches, including Our Lady of Lourdes in Mountain Ash, a court has heard. Raymond Weatherley, pictured, broke into the places of worship – usually by smashing windows – and stole any electrical...
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‘EAR INFECTION’ WAS BRAIN TUMOUR
A 19-YEAR-OLD has died just months after headaches initially diagnosed as an ear infection turned out to be an aggressive brain tumour. Jac Sexton had just begun his career as a barber when he began experiencing dizziness.
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COUPLE’S LIFE OF LOVE AND JOY
A COUPLE have shared memories of their 63 years of happily married life together with care home residents and colleagues. John Lewis, 84, and his wife Mair, pictured, revealed their journey of love at a special event to coincide with Valentine’s Day.
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IN CONSTANT FEAR OVER NEW FLOODS
THE weekend marked five years since Storm Dennis hit South Wales, leaving devastation in its wake and affecting about 1,500 homes and businesses in Rhondda Cynon Taf alone. Some residents who were hit by the flooding, pictured, have criticised the work...
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FEARS OVER FUTURE OF HIGH STREET
CALLS have been made for urgent intervention in a town centre after a clothing chain announced it was shutting its store. New Look will close its Porth shop this month and the Porth Chamber of Trade has written to politicians and the council to...
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‘OUTRAGEOUS’ LEGAL THREAT TO WORKERS
COUNCIL workers who were clearing debris which could have led to an “uncontrolled massive amount of water” putting lives at risk were placed under caution by Natural Resources Wales and told they could face prosecution for moving waste material. The...
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‘MORNING SICKNESS PUT ME IN A COMA’
AT FIRST, Atlanta McIntyre thought she had routine morning sickness as she was expecting her second child. But as her pregnancy went on, the 29-year-old realised something wasn’t right – she’d developed an extreme form of the condition.
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FROM DIESEL POWER TO BATTERY STORAGE
PULSE Clean Energy has launched a battery storage facility as part of a £175m investment. The energy storage specialist acquired what was originally a diesel energy generating plant at Hirwaun Industrial Estate to convert it into a battery storage...
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IT’S BEEN A MAD YEAR FOR MARTIN
IT’S been a very stressful year for BBC TV’s Homes Under The Hammer presenter and property expert Martin Roberts, pictured, at his pub and hotel renovation project, and he admits it’s only his family and dreams of what the building will one day become...
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FORMER CHAPEL IS FULL OF SURPRISES
A FORMER chapel converted into a home has gone up for auction. The Tonypandy property looks like an unassuming place of worship from the outside, pictured, but step through its doors and you’ll be met with some weird and wonderful decor.
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BIN BAGS POLICY HAILED ‘A SUCCESS’
THOUSANDS of people have signed two petitions against the move from black bin to black bag collections in Rhondda Cynon Taf amid claims of a lack of consultation. However, councillors were told the move had been “a success”.
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GROWING BACKLASH TO BIN BAGS PLAN
THOUSANDS of people have signed petitions against the move from black bin collections to black bag rubbish collections. In July, Rhondda Cynon Taf council’s cabinet approved a plan to standardise the collection of household waste in the Cynon and Taf...
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COUNCIL LEADER SLAMS FLOOD ALERTS
THE leader of RCT council has claimed people could have been warned earlier than they were, ahead of the floods that followed Storm Bert’s downpours on November 24. Cllr Andrew Morgan claims Natural Resources Wales had data on high river levels for...
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NEW APPEAL TO FIND RICKY
RICKY Harris was last spotted on CCTV on the afternoon of November 18 last year – and hasn’t been seen since. Now, a year after his baffling disappearance, police have issued a renewed appeal to find him. Ricky, from Aberdare, was last seen on CCTV at...
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TOILET CLOSURES AS PART OF CUTS PLAN
SOME public toilets and bowling greens look set to be closed as part of early council budget cuts worth more than £10m As part of what the council calls its early budget reduction measures, it has identified £7.32m worth of cuts.
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MATTHEW’S BATTLE FOR MORE TIME
LAST year, Matthew Collins, pictured, was diagnosed with an incurable and aggressive brain tumour and told he likely only had 12-18 months left to live. But he refused to accept his prognosis and has raised almost £200,000 in his determination to live.
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CONCERNS OVER CARE HOME PLAN
RESIDENTS, staff, families and the local community are fighting to save a care home after RCT council proposed closing it. Some elderly residents fear their worlds “will come apart” if Ferndale House is closed, with residents forced to move elsewhere.
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SCHOOL ‘REWARDS BAD BEHAVIOUR’
A SCHOOL paid for a petting zoo, inflatables and sport sessions to keep pupils occupied while teachers walked out in a row over ‘vile’ behaviour. Teachers at the school describe a ‘hostile’ environment where they are regularly called the c-word, sworn...
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FIRMS TOLD TO CUT CUSTOMERS’ BILLS
WATER companies will have to take £157.6m off consumer bills next year after a “damning” report revealed they continue to miss targets on pollution and more. In an annual report, regulator Ofwat revealed that there has only been a 2% reduction in...
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ROGUE GARDENER CONNED CUSTOMERS
A ROGUE gardener fleeced customers out of more than £20,000 and left them with dodgy and uncompleted work. He gained work after providing photos of previous jobs which turned out to be fake.
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HONOUR FOR RUGBY HEROES AFTER FIRE
EIGHT heroic young rugby players ripped down a fence to allow people to escape from an explosion as buildings collapsed around them. The actions of the players may have saved many lives. The Rhydyfelin RFC players have now been honoured for the bravery...
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HIGH PRAISE FOR THE EISTEDDFOD
THE Senedd celebrated the success of the “best ever” Eisteddfod, with more than 186,000 people flocking to the event this summer. Heledd Fychan, who represents South Wales Central, praised the “hugely successful” 2024 Eisteddfod at Ynysangharad War...
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