Rhymney Valley Express

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...

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...

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...

THOUSANDS FOLLOW ‘REALISTIC’ RUNNER

A WOMAN is running marathons and half marathons for fun after worrying there wasn’t a place for her in the running world. Now Jade Driscoll, pictured, has set up her own running club and her impressive running journey has racked up more than 11,000...

MURDER ACCUSED TEENAGER IN COURT

A TEENAGER has appeared in court accused of murdering Lainie Williams. Cameron Cheng, 18, pictured, appeared at Cardiff Crown Court via videolink, where he spoke only to confirm his name. Many tributes have been paid to Lainie, who was pronounced dead...

MURDER ACCUSED TEENAGER IN COURT

A TEENAGER was remanded into custody accused of the murder of Lainie Williams, pictured, in Cefn Fforest. Cameron Cheng, 18, appeared before Newport Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

DUO IN FRAME FOR AWARDS SUCCESS

A MAN and his 11-year-old granddaughter have been shortlisted in the Closeup Photographer of The Year Awards 2025. Harry and Hollie Williams, from Caerphilly, were successful in the studio art and young photographer categories respectively.

AMY FACING NEW MASTECTOMY

STRICTLY Come Dancing star Amy Dowden admitted “there’s no guarantee” as she updated fans on her health. On Monday, the Caerphilly-born dancer revealed she is set to undergo a second mastectomy – but it is not to treat a new cancer diagnosis.

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.

JOB CUTS AT BRACE’S BAKERY

BRACE’S Bakery has confirmed plans to shut one of its factories and axe jobs amid rising costs and pressures within the bread market. Brace’s wrote to its members of staff stating that as a result of “increasingly difficult” market conditions directors...

EX-SCHOOL WORKER SET UP CAMERA TO FILM TEEN IN SHOWER

‘AS IF THEY WEREN’T DEALING WITH ENOUGH’

THE family of a critically ill boy have been left homeless after a fire engulfed their home while he was having surgery at Great Ormond Street Hospital. In summer 2024, parents Sian, 29, and Jason Waite, 37, from Newbridge, took their family of six on...

AMBULANCE BLOCKED BY CARS AT SCHOOL

FAMILY REUNITED AFTER 70 YEARS

WHEN John Kennedy received a phone call via an ancestry website, his 70-year search to find his family finally ended. That culminated in tears and high emotions when the 82-year-old finally got to hug his siblings. The family met for the first time...

HIGH COURT HALTS PLANS TO CLOSE LIBRARIES

PLANS to shut 10 libraries this week can no longer go ahead until a judicial review concludes. The libraries in Caerphilly county borough were due to shut their doors on Monday, September 8, to help the council address a £29m budget gap, despite an...

‘A PROUD WELSHMAN’

HUNDREDS of people have paid their respects to Senedd member Hefin David. The Labour MS for Caerphilly died suddenly at his home in Nelson at the age of 47 on August 12, the day before his birthday. Dr David’s funeral took place at St Catwg’s Church,...

COUNCIL TELLS MAN TO RIP UP HIS DRIVE

A MAN who spent £5,000 on a driveway to help his disabled wife has been ordered to rip it up. Stephen Price, from Hengoed, has vowed to fight Caerphilly council’s decision to refuse him retrospective planning permission. The 65-year-old plumber and...

COUNCIL USE OF ‘GAGGING ORDERS’ SLAMMED

BID TO CHANGE THE LAW AFTER DAD’S DEATH

IT IS just over a year since Ellie James became a widow after her husband Owain died from the brain tumour he had previously defied the odds to beat. Ellie, a mum to beautiful Amelia, who was just 18 months old when her dad was diagnosed, admits that...

BIN ROUNDS TO BE CUT IN BID TO AVOID FINES

A NEW recycling system and cuts to bin collections are the only way Caerphilly council can meet national waste targets and avoid huge fines, senior councillors have heard. Cabinet members agreed on July 23 to reduce collections of nonrecyclable waste...

‘HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO ANOTHER HUMAN BEING?’

A WOMAN deliberately drove into a man on a motorbike and left him with an injury which saw his bone pierce through his ankle. After she initially hit the motorcyclist, she reversed over his leg and caused severe pain. Amy Palfrey, 21, got out of her...

WOMAN BROKE HER BACK IN BALCONY PLUNGE

A WOMAN has broken her back after falling from a second-floor balcony at her hotel in Rhodes. Holly Seaford travelled to the Greek island for a holiday with her partner last week but fell from the high balcony in a freak accident in the early hours of...

NO-CONFIDENCE VOTE OVER FUTURE OF COUNCIL LEADER

THE leader of Caerphilly County Council has survived a no-confidence vote, after opposition figures criticised his handling of plans to close 10 libraries. Sean Morgan “ignored the request of the majority of councillors” when his cabinet agreed the...

HERO NURSES SAVED MAN FROM BLAZE

A CONFUSED 89-year-old man had thought the fire alarm sounding at his home in Caerphilly borough was coming from the television while his kitchen was ablaze. Rhys Bevan, from Pontllanfraith, could have died had it not been for a huge stroke of luck...

DROP-OFF ‘DANGER’ OUTSIDE SCHOOLS

IT IS “a matter of time before a child is hurt or killed by a car” near two village primary schools, a concerned resident has warned. Earlier this month, a car driven along Commercial Street in Pengam, Caerphilly county, allegedly hit a child car seat...

MUM’S TORMENT OVER HER PARTNER’S DEATH ON HOLIDAY

ROW ERUPTS OVER FUTURE OF MANOR HOUSE

THE decision to close a historic South Wales manor house has been branded a “retrograde step” amid ongoing uncertainty over the heritage site’s future. The Grade I-listed Llancaiach Fawr manor, near Nelson, has been “mothballed” and on the market...

THE BIG CHEESE

Caerphilly celebrate after beating Ynysybwl 27-16 to lift the Worthington’s Mid District Division Two Cup PICTURE: Replayimages/mike Jones CAERPHILLY topped a triumphant season with a trophy treble after defeating Ynysybwl 27-16 at the Wern in...

Wind farm plan slammed

COUNCIL planners have found that a proposed windfarm on a mountain in Wales with the potential to power thousands of homes would have a negative impact. As a development of national significance, the proposed Mynydd Maen windfarm on the mountain...

DANGEROUS DRIVER KILLED DOG WALKER, WHILE HE ‘SHOWED OFF’

A DRIVER killed a dog walker after flipping his car as he took a bend at speed while “showing off” and losing control of his vehicle. The victim suffered multiple injuries and died at the roadside. Daniel Boucher, 28, struck and killed 66-year-old...

DAD DIED TRYING TO SAVE HIS SON FROM SEA

A WELSH dad and son had been playing with their family at a beach in Australia when they drowned after a huge wave hit. Robin Reed, 46, was playing with his children at Round Hill Head in the Seventeen Seventy area of Queensland on Sunday, April 13,...

26 COUNTRIES AND COUNTING...

AFTER months of pedalling across continents and through 26 countries, Nathan Hurley from Blackwood, has reached Sydney Harbour, pictured, completing a remarkable 16,250-mile journey that began last year.

DEATHS ‘TRAGIC AND NEEDLESS’

A DRIVER has been jailed for causing the deaths of a South Wales mother and daughter after speeding in heavy rain during a storm. Firas Zeineddine was convicted because data from his own Tesla car recorded him driving at more than 90mph on the M4 in...

WOMAN LEFT TRAUMATISED BY CAR PARK ROBBER

AN ELDERLY woman was left traumatised as a serial criminal robbed her in broad daylight in a busy Asda car park. Heather Porter, 76, was loading her shopping bags from the Caerphilly supermarket into her car at around 4.30pm on April 23 last year when...

WOMAN GLASSED FRIEND IN ROW OVER DOG

A YOUNG mum glassed her former best friend in a shocking attack in a packed bar – leaving her needing 41 stitches. Ebony Jones, 26, shattered the halfpint glass across the face of support worker Megan Smith in a drunken row. A court heard...

SERIAL ABUSER POSED AS THE ‘PERFECT MAN’

A WOMAN says she is “broken but still breathing” after a five-year relationship with an abusive man who made her life hell. Natalie, who asked us not to use her surname, is speaking out on the nightmare she endured at the hands of Martyn Evans not...

‘Docs said I had athlete’s foot... then I had my toes amputated’

DRIVER ADMITS KILLING PAIR IN M4 CRASH TRAGEDY

Display to mark air disaster

A POIGNANT commemoration has marked 75 years since Wales’ worst ever air disaster. On March 12, 1950, an Avro Tudor airliner carrying Welsh rugby fans returning from a Five Nations match in Ireland was coming in to land at RAF Llandow. But,...

HUNDREDS IN TRIBUTE TO RUGBY PLAYER

GEMMA Williams had a smile that would light up a room, and she fitted more into her 39 years than most of us do in a lifetime. That is the way her proud family will remember the former Wales rugby player who died last month after battling cancer for...

‘THE FINAL NAIL IN THE COFFIN FOR OUR TOWN’

COUNCILLORS in Caerphilly have backed a new budget after a protracted argument over raising council tax and spending reserves. The Labour group, which controls the local authority, ultimately won a majority vote on proposals the council leader said...

Greyhound racing ban on way

THE Welsh Government has announced it will ban greyhound racing in Wales. The move will see Wales become the first nation in the UK to introduce such a ban. Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-davies said he had “listened” to the debate and there had...

EIGHT ARRESTS AFTER ‘VIOLENT DISORDER’ IN TOWN CENTRE

SEVEN men were due to appear in court following reports of violent disorder in Blackwood. One eyewitness described the incident like “something out of Lord of the Rings”. Footage was shared widely across social media on Thursday and Friday showing...

TEEN DRIVER IN ROADS TERROR

A TEENAGE driver led police on a pursuit then rammed their cars at a roundabout, a court has heard. Jay Malone has never passed a driving test and only held a provisional licence at the time. A judge described the 19-year-old’s actions – which...

‘DOCS GAVE ME TWO YEARS TO LIVE’

A DAD-OF-FOUR has more than halved his body weight in less than a year after being told by medics that he could die within two years. At 5ft 7in, Paul Williams weighed 25st at his heaviest last year, which is classified as “severely obese”. The now...

‘WORSE THAN THE BRONX!’

PEOPLE living and working in a South Wales town say it has become so rife with crime it’s become a “nogo area” after dark. Locals in Blackwood, Caerphilly borough, have reported seeing teens intimidating elderly people so much they no longer feel safe...

ARSENAL OF GUNS FOUND BEHIND SOFA

DUMPED ON A MOUNTAIN

PEOPLE have been left disgusted after two dogs were “dumped” on a freezing mountainside. The German shepherds were found after a man reportedly witnessed an individual leaving them at Bedwas mountain on Wednesday afternoon last week before driving...

ANGER OVER DELAYS AS RUBBISH PILES UP

SOME Caerphilly residents have reportedly waited weeks for their bins to be emptied, owing to a “perfect storm” of problems with collections. Caerphilly County Borough Council said bad weather and recent changes to collection rounds, along with “high...

NEW BID TO FIND KYLE

POLICE are continuing to appeal for information about the whereabouts of a man on the 12th anniversary of his disappearance. It has been 12 years since 24-yearold Kyle Vaughan’s car was found on the A467 between Crosskeys and Risca in Caerphilly...

MAN CHARGED OVER CRASH TRAGEDY

A MAN has been charged after a mother and daughter died in a motorway crash last year. Cheryl Woods, 61, and Sarha Smith, 40, of Caerphilly, were killed in a multi-vehicle crash on October 20, 2023. The women were involved in the crash on the M4...

TEACHERS WALK OUT OVER SCHOOLS MERGER PLAN

Christmas on Candy Cane Lane

A FAMILY known for Christmas lights display have gone bigger and better this year with a massive inflatable Grinch which almost towers over their home. Scores of people have come to view the lights, with the joy on children’s faces making it all worth...

DAD WAS ON THE PATH TO ‘DEVASTATING ATTACK’

A DAD was caught with a bomb-making manual and exchanged messages such as “black lives don’t matter” with another convicted terrorist. Daniel Niinemae, from Risca, Caerphilly, was on a path to a “devastating” attack, a court heard. At Winchester...

‘IT FLOODED IN MINUTES’

FLOODING hit large areas of Wales after Storm Bert delivered torrential rain on the weekend. Weather warnings were issued and roads were closed. A railway line was underwater in the Cynon Valley with pictures showing Cwmbach train station entirely...

STAR OPENS UP ABOUT GROWING UP GAY IN A RELIGIOUS FAMILY

WIND TURBINES ‘BIGGER THAN BLACKPOOL TOWER’

PEOPLE interested in seeing the Victorian-era winding engine in action at New Tredegar’s Winding House are still able to visit the venue once a month. The Winding House was mothballed by Caerphilly council earlier this year, but volunteers continue to...

DENTAL WORK ‘NIGHTMARE’ FOR TEACHER

A WOMAN has been awarded a £15,000 payout after alleged inappropriate dental treatment. Tracey Dowling, a teacher from Caerphilly, went to Mydentist desperate for veneer treatment to improve her smile, but she said the treatment led her to become...

EDEN’S LIVING LIFE TO THE FULL

EDEN Lewis was just 15 when she was told she had months to live. In 2022, doctors broke the chilling news that her cancer treatment wasn’t working, leaving her family “broken and confused”. Two years later, however, the 18-year-old has been...

BABY WHO BEAT THE ODDS

DURING a time that is supposed to be filled with joy, parents Amy and Ryan Tomlinson were having to decide whether their seven-monthold son would be intubated or taken to receive end-of-life care. The difficult decision had to be made after their son,...

COUNCIL BOSS IN LINE FOR A £200K PAYOUT

THE chief executive of a cash-strapped Welsh council who has been absent for almost a year has left her role with a reported £200,000-plus payout. Christina Harrhy left Caerphilly County Borough Council following a secret meeting of councillors on...

ROGUE GARDENER JAILED

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. Serial fraudster Darryl Baldwinskeet, 41, of Pontyclun, was...

‘MAKE A STAND AGAINST MANOR PLANS’

SUPPORTERS of the Llancaiach Fawr heritage site will meet to discuss challenging a plan to mothball it. Trade union Unison opposes the mothballing plan and has branded it the “end of an era”. The Tudor mansion described by supporters as “the jewel in...

PROTESTS OVER PLAN FOR CUTS

COUNCIL workers in Caerphilly were due to protest against the authority’s proposed cuts to services including its meal deliveries to the elderly. Caerphilly County Borough Council announced proposals in July to cut the Meals Direct service by November...