Llanelli Star
WORRIES OVER SCARLETS’ FUTURE EASED
FEARS over the Scarlets’ future have eased after a dramatic week of top-level talks at the top of Welsh rugby. The long-term future of the Llanelli-based region had been put at risk after the Welsh Rugby Union unveiled controversial plans to cut the...
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FARMER’S £68K FROM ILLEGAL DOG BREEDING
A FARMER made tens of thousands of pounds illegally breeding puppies and selling them online, a court has heard. Animal welfare inspectors found John Gibbon was breeding dogs without a licence and housing them in poor conditions with little access to...
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ROUNDABOUT DRIVERS FINED £1M IN 3 YEARS
A ROUNDABOUT in Llanelli has seen drivers pay out more than £1m in fines over a three-year period. Trostre Roundabout has five exits, one of which is designated as a bus lane – and drivers erroneously going down that bus lane are proving to be a major...
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WIFE WAS THE ‘PUPPET MASTER’
A WIFE who was jailed for 19 years alongside her lover for plotting to kill her husband was the “puppet master”, according to the intended victim of the murder plot. Christopher Mills, who lived with his wife Michelle in Llangennech, Llanelli, said...
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MURDER PLOT PAIR JAILED FOR 19 YEARS
A WOMAN who plotted with her secret lover to murder her husband so they could start a new life together has been jailed for 19 years. Michelle Mills, 46, and Geraint Berry, 47, planned to kill Christopher Mills so they could continue their affair, and...
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MAN GLASSED IN PARK ATTACK
TWO men from Llanelli launched an assault on an ex-partner’s new boyfriend after a fallout on the phone. Daniel Merriman, 33, and Jake Dighton, 32, have both been jailed. Swansea Crown Court heard how on June 14, Lee Ayre was in a park in Llanelli...
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DINE AND DASH SUSPECT IN HOTEL RETURN
The Diplomat Hotel in Llanelli claims this woman racked up a bill and then left without paying. A WOMAN suspected of carrying out a “dine and dash”, leaving a hotel £800 out of pocket, returned to the same establishment a year later – only to be...
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COLLEAGUES’ FAREWELL TO RESPECTED PC
HUNDREDS of mourners gathered on Friday for the funeral of a young police constable from Llanelli who died after he vanished on a night out with friends in Bristol at the weekend. Rehaan Akhtar, 28, had been serving for South Wales Police at the time...
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TRIBUTES TO ‘KIND, HUMBLE’ FOOTBALLER
A LLANELLI football club has paid a heartfelt tribute to one of their players who they said “will be deeply missed” after his body was recovered from Bristol harbourside following a night out. Rehaan Akhtar, pictured, was reported missing on...
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PENTRE AWEL PLAN CHANGES
HUNDREDS of people have signed up for gym and swimming membership at Llanelli’s new multi-million-pound leisure centre – but a big change in how the wider site is developed is currently under discussion. The new leisure centre opened last month and is...
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‘DEVASTATING’ FLOODS LEAVE DOGS TRAPPED
A DOG sanctuary was “devastated” by the horrendous flooding which left dozens of dogs trapped in the loft. Alison Clark, founder of Glanrhyd Dog Sanctuary in Trimsaran, said the rescue centre, which is currently home to 37 dogs, has “lost everything”...
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PRIMARY CLOSED BY POLICE AFTER ONLINE MESSAGES
A LLANELLI primary school was shut down because a threat was made about “individuals attending the premises armed with knives”, it has been revealed. A decision was taken to close Dafen CP School on Monday, after messages were received online which...
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Wiring blunder led to false accusation over abuse images
THREE people were wrongly accused of downloading child abuse images due to a broadband wiring error by a BT engineer, a tribunal has heard. A mistake in the wiring inside a street cabinet made years earlier meant internet activity linked to the real...
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WIFE PLOTTED WITH LOVER TO KILL HUSBAND
A WIFE and the former solider she was having an affair with plotted together to kill the woman’s husband. Michelle Mills and Geraint Berry met through Mills’ job with a veterans charity. After embarking on an affair, they began planning to murder her...
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TROSTRE SET FOR EXTENDED FESTIVE PAUSE
TATA Steel UK is ceasing production for around five weeks in Llanelli and at other key South Wales operations due to what it described as continued low market demand. The stoppages will start at its pickle line in Llanwern in late November, then its...
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TREATMENT OF PARTNER ‘SADISTIC’
A MAN repeatedly beat his partner with a variety of weapons, throttled her, ripped her clothes off, bit a chunk off her ear and rubbed her face in a cat litter tray and tried to make her eat it, a court has heard. Swansea Crown Court heard that when...
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MIU TO OFFER WIDER RANGE OF TREATMENT
HEATH bosses have decided the future of Llanelli’s Minor Injury Unit (MIU) at Prince Philip Hospital. The unit will become an urgent care centre, continuing to operate for 12 hours a day, between 8am to 8pm, but incorporating a broader range of...
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FANS’ MARCH FOR SCARLETS
PEOPLE in Llanelli people are being urged to march against plans that could see the town’s Scarlets rugby club axed. The Save Our Scarlets call is being made by town councillors as the campaign to save the rugby region in the face of the Welsh Rugby...
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BIKER ‘LUCKY TO BE ALIVE’
ALL Joey Bray remembers from the crash that “could have killed” him is the medics cutting him out of his motorcycle gear as he lay on the side of the road. He crashed his motorcycle into a signpost at 45mph on his way back from work on August 18 –...
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‘TIME TO SAVE OUR SCARLETS’
LLANELLI town councillors say the loss of the Scarlets, their stadium and jobs would be a “travesty”. Councillors will table a motion at a meeting of Llanelli Town Council today and argue that the regional rugby side’s multi-million-pound contribution...
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FANS CAN PLAY KEY ROLE IN FUTURE OF SCARLETS
chairman Simon Muderack is confident the club can thrive if it survives the structural changes after the WRU revealed its “optimal solution” last Wednesday, which included a reduction from four pro teams to two. Muderack, pictured, was speaking at a...
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DOUBTS OVER NEW HOSPITAL
HEALTH bosses have admitted they may never be able to afford a new hospital in West Wales almost 20 years after the ambitious plans were first proposed. The idea of constructing a new “super-hospital” in the region was first discussed back in 2006,...
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SCARLETS ARE ‘HERE TO STAY’
THE Scarlets have secured significant new investment after entering into a partnership with US-based House of Luxury (HOL). Under the terms of the proposal, HOL’s dedicated sports and entertainment investment division intends to acquire a majority...
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TALKS OVER MARKET MOVE
PROPOSALS to relocate Llanelli Market and potentially demolish the ageing multi-storey car park above have been unveiled by Carmarthenshire Council. The authority is looking at four options, including moving the indoor market to the former Woolworths...
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SAMPLE CHECK EXPOSES DODGY EXPENSE CLAIMS
SOME staff who submitted travel claims included mileage from their home to office or depot, while other claims were found to be duplicates, a Carmarthenshire Council report said. In-house auditors checked a sample of 20 mileage claims and found that...
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REGIONS AT RISK IN WRU SHAKE-UP
THE Welsh Rugby Union is planning to radically restructure the professional game in Wales – which could see the number of pro teams reduced. A consultation process between the WRU, the four professional clubs – Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets –...
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EXERCISE PLAN TO TACKLE PUPIL OBESITY
ALL primary schools in Carmarthenshire will have to offer two hours of physical education per week after council chiefs approved a hard-hitting report about childhood obesity levels. The report, which also urged action to get more youngsters swimming...
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‘WE CAN’T WAIT ANY LONGER’
SPECIAL school campaigners have challenged Carmarthenshire Council to meet with them to discuss the options for Ysgol Heol Goffa. Council chiefs in Carmarthenshire want a clearer understanding of costs before deciding to build a much-needed...
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REHAB CENTRE FOR OLD OFFICES?
A FORMER office building by a retail park in Llanelli which could have become a Lidl store and coffee shop is being offered as a potential venue for a drug rehabilitation service. Carmarthenshire Council’s vacant Ty’r Nant office is around 50 metres...
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DELAY A ‘KICK IN THE TEETH’
COUNCIL chiefs in Carmarthenshire want a clearer understanding of costs before deciding to build a much-needed replacement special school in Llanelli. Cabinet proposed two options to replace Ysgol Heol Goffa on Monday. Estimates for the 150-place...
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SHAKE-UP ‘MUST BENEFIT TOWN’
POLITICIANS in Carmarthenshire are calling for guarantees from health bosses that any shake-up to services in the region must not have a detrimental impact or put extra pressure on Llanelli or Carmarthen’s hospitals. Hywel Dda University Health Board...
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SHAKE-UP OF ‘FRAGILE’ SERVICES
SOME West Wales hospitals could be set to lose services. Hywel Dda University Health Board’s Clinical Services Plan focuses on nine healthcare services that are “fragile and in need of change”, it has said. The services, and potential changes at the...
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GUN AND NAZI MEMORABILIA IN BEDROOM
A MAN had a loaded semi-automatic gun in his bedroom along with a large amount of Nazi memorabilia including a swastika flag and framed picture of Adolf Hitler, a court has heard. The Belgian-made firearm was fitted with a silencer and had five live...
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ANGER OVER UNCERTAINTY FOR SCARLETS
SCARLETS fans and Llanelli’s MP have criticised Welsh rugby bosses’ planned funding shake-up, which has spread fears that one of Wales’s four regions could be facing the axe. On Saturday night our WalesOnline website reported that the WRU has informed...
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TWO OPTIONS FOR NEW SCHOOL TO BE EXPLORED
TWO options for a new special school in Llanelli are to be investigated, a senior councillor has said. One option would be a 150-pupil school, the other a 250-pupil school. Both options would result in a larger provision than the current...
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FREE FAMILY PASS CRASH DAD HAD ‘HEART OF GOLD’
TRIBUTES have flooded in from the family and friends of Sanjit Evans, a young father-of-three who tragically died in an E-bike crash. Mr Evans was riding his bike along Llethri Road in Llanelli when he was involved in the crash. His friends have...
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HEALTH CENTRE SITE APPEAL IS DROPPED
HEALTH bosses have withdrawn a planning appeal after proposals for a health and wellbeing centre featuring a drug and alcohol support service were turned down. Hywel Dda University Health Board said alternative sites were now being looked at and that...
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HOSPITAL PATIENT JAILED OVER GARDEN ATTACK
A 22-YEAR-OLD hospital patient has been jailed for punching a female retired detective 33 times in a hospital garden. Joni Hartson, 22, launched a brutal attack on a former royal protection officer. A court heard the pair were both patients at...
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FRESH HOPE FOR PRIMARY SCHOOL SITE
AFTER years of searching, a site may have been found for a replacement primary school in Llanelli. Education chiefs in Carmarthenshire are exploring the feasibility of using the Llanelli Leisure Centre site for a new Ysgol Dewi Sant. The leisure...
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TWO KILLED AS CRASH CLOSES ROAD OVERNIGHT
TWO people have died after a serious crash which shut a main Llanelli road for almost 10 hours overnight. Emergency services were called to the A4183 on the outskirts of Llanelli late on Wednesday night following the collision involving a silver BMW...
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NO IMMEDIATE 24/7 RETURN FOR TOWN MIU
THE future opening hours of Llanelli’s Minor Injuries Unit have been narrowed down to four possible options. At a board meeting of Hywel Dda University Health Board, it was agreed to carry out further public consultation on these options, which were...
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FRAUDSTERS TARGET TOWN ‘MONEY MULES’
MORE than 120 people living in the Llanelli area handed over their personal bank details to criminals involved in money laundering in exchange for financial gifts, police have confirmed. Officers from Dyfed-Powys Police’s economic crime team...
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PARENTS IN 250-PLACE SCHOOL PLEA
PARENTS fighting for a promised new school for children with special educational needs in Llanelli have made their final pleas to council chiefs, asking for a new school to accommodate up to 250 pupils. Pressure is growing for a new school to be built...
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SENTENCE OF SON’S KILLER ‘A SLAP IN THE FACE’
A FATHER has described the sentence handed down to his son’s killer as an “insult”. Last week Jason Thomas was jailed for two and a half years after admitting the manslaughter of 22-year-old Liam Morgan-Whittle. The attack happened in the early hours...
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‘OUR LIVES HAVE BEEN COMPLETELY DESTROYED’
A MAN who murdered his son’s girlfriend after wrongly believing she was trying to scam him has been jailed for at least 20 years. Richard Jones, 50, left Sophie Evans, 30, naked on her kitchen floor after beating and strangling her to death in her...
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SIX OPTIONS FOR SCHOOL FUTURE
SIX options for the future of Ysgol Heol Goffa and special education in Llanelli have been published. Since last summer, pleas have been made by parents and carers over the need for a new Ysgol Heol Goffa to be built in the town, despite a county...
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BIKER’S CRASH AFTER 100MPH POLICE CHASE
A BURRY Port rider on a stolen motorbike led police on a 100mph chase through Swansea before crashing into a car being driven by a heavily-pregnant woman, a court has heard. Just days after pleading guilty to that offending and being banned from the...
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EIGHT OPTIONS FOR MIU FUTURE
A RANGE of eight draft options on how Llanelli’s Minor Injuries Unit could be run in the future have been presented to some members of the public, including options which would see it open for 24, 16 or 12 hours, it is understood. Hywel Dda University...
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MAN MURDERED SON’S PARTNER
A MAN brutally murdered his son’s girlfriend in her own home before placing a set of keys on her naked body and casually driving away. Richard Jones then went about his morning’s business, ordering a new debit card at the bank and buying a custard...
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KEY TALKS FOR FUTURE OF MIU
THE current overnight closure of Llanelli’s Minor Injuries Unit, which health bosses insisted was a temporary measure, is set to be discussed by the public at a series of meetings – with as-yet-unknown options for the future of the unit to be...
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MURDER ACCUSED THOUGHT HE WAS BEING SCAMMED
A MAN accused of murdering a 30-year-old mother-of-two who was in a relationship with his son admitted the killing to his ex-partner and then told her: “Don’t say a word please.” Richard Jones, 50, was subsequently charged with murder after his ex...
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9.75% RISE IN TAX PROPOSED
A COUNCIL tax rise of 9.75% has been proposed by leaders in Carmarthenshire to help deal with significant spending pressures while trying to protect essential services like education. The figure could change between now and the end of February when...
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KILLER’S PARTNER JAILED FOR 2 YEARS
A LLANELLI woman who tried to help her partner cover up the killing of a man who died a month after a fatal blow outside a Gorseinon pub has been jailed for two years. Kelvin Evans, 64, was left gravely ill in hospital after being attacked by...
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HOSPITALS IN FLU WARNING
VISITORS hoping to see loved ones in hospital over the new year period are being asked to stay away if they are suffering from any sickness symptoms as the current healthcare crisis continues across the country. Hywel Dda University Health Board –...
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ANXIOUS TIME FOR TEARFUL PARENTS
TEARFUL pleas have been made over the need for a new Ysgol Heol Goffa to be built in Llanelli despite a U-turn on the plans due to soaring costs. Parents are anxiously awaiting the outcome of a report into additional learning needs in Llanelli and...
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FAKE CIGARETTES SALE STUBBED OUT
A CORNER shop made around £1m from selling counterfeit cigarettes, a court has heard. More than 100,000 cigarettes and eight kilos of tobacco were seized during the investigation into the store and its bosses as well as tens of thousands of pounds in...
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DAD KILLED ON WALK HOME
A “GENEROUS” father, grandfather and partner was killed when he was run over by a car while walking home, an inquest has heard. Gary John Matthews was struck by a Volvo V40 as he was walking on Ashburnham Road next to Seaview Terrace in Burry Port...
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MIU NIGHT RETURN ‘OPTION ON TABLE’
RESTORING Llanelli’s minor injury unit (MIU) to a 24/7 service is “one of the options that will be on the table” when the situation is reviewed next year. The unit at Prince Philip Hospital operated 24/7 before Hywel Dda University Health Board...
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EX-POLICE WORKER’S CAMPAIGN OF ABUSE
A FORMER police worker groomed a young girl and subjected her to a seven-year-long campaign of rape and abuse, a court has heard. Alexander Wilson – who worked for two different police forces before latterly becoming a train manager – denied his guilt...
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FURY AS FITNESS PLANS COLLAPSE Trio jailed as part of gang
A LLANELLI gym owner has left a community furious after major plans for a health and fitness centre collapsed, owing almost £1.2m to creditors – many of them local businesses. Michael Davies had a grand plan for the building that once housed Play...
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LEADERS’ HEALTH SWITCH REQUEST
LLANELLI Town Council wants to see the town’s health services move from Hywel Dda to be under the management of the Swansea Bay University Health Board. Historically the town has always been part of Hywel Dda University Health Board and its...
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MIU CAMPAIGN WILL CONTINUE
CAMPAIGNERS have vowed to continue fighting for the return of round-the-clock care at Llanelli’s Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) at Prince Philip Hospital after handing a petition of nearly 15,000 signatures to health chiefs. Starting last Friday, the unit...
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‘ANIMALISTIC’ POLICE ATTACK
A MAN behaved in an “animalistictype way” when he punched, kicked, bit and spat at police officers before smearing faeces around the walls of his cell, a court has heard. Just weeks earlier Kallum Nicholls had assaulted and racially abused other...
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‘ACCIDENTS DON’T STOP AT 8PM’
LLANELLI’S minor injuries unit will have its hours cut next week, but protesters camped outside the town’s Prince Philip Hospital continue to oppose the move to reduce the service from 24 hours to 12 hours a day for six months, saying it could be the...
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7 , 000 OPPOSE MIU CHANGE
MORE than 7,000 people have signed a petition against Llanelli’s Minor Injuries Unit closing overnight for six months. Councillors at a full meeting of Carmarthenshire Council have also unanimously accepted a motion by Plaid Cymru calling for Welsh...
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FEAR CLOSURE MAY COST LIVES
THE Llanelli branch of mental health charity Mind claims the overnight closure of the town’s Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) will have an impact on vulnerable people seeking help. Mind Llanelli’s chief executive Jen Caton fears lives could be lost as a...
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ANGER MOUNTS OVER HOSPITAL UNIT CLOSURE
CAMPAIGNERS are calling for an urgent public meeting with health bosses over the controversial decision to close the Minor Injuries Unit at Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli overnight for six months from November due to safety issues. The decision...
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