South Wales Evening Post
STITCH-UP!
A WELSH MP claims the Welsh Rugby Union is trying to “stitch up” the Ospreys as he called for a change in leadership at the top of the governing body. Earlier this week, the WRU chose Ospreys’ owners Y11 as their preferred bidders to buy Cardiff. The...
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WRU TOLD TO ‘THINK AGAIN’ ON OSPREYS
SWANSEA Council has hit out at the Welsh Rugby Union’s plans to cull a professional team, saying bosses have indicated to them there is no viable future for the Ospreys. In an explosive statement released following a meeting between council leader Rob...
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‘PAY UP OR GO TO JAIL’ THREAT TO COVID LOAN FRAUDSTER
THE owner of mobile phone shops who fraudulently pocketed £150,000 in loans designed to help businesses hit by the Covid pandemic has been ordered to pay back his ill-gotten gains. Zahid Afzal initially made legitimate applications for “Bounce Bank”...
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MOTHER & SON IN STREET BRAWL
A MOTHER and son became involved in a heated and violent brawl in the street with neighbours, a court has heard. A judge described the disturbance involving Bethan and Adam Jones as “shameful” and said he felt sorry for the “decent people going about...
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MAN FLED COUNTRY AFTER ‘BLEACH ATTACK‘
THE boss of a Welsh wellness retreat has pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm after a guest’s face was burned by a corrosive substance. Police launched an international manhunt for Dean Mazye after he fled abroad following the incident at...
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HUNDREDS OF JOBS LOST AS FIRM CEASES TRADING
HUNDREDS of jobs have been lost at a major Welsh employer as it announced it has entered administration. Almost 300 staff at Consumer Energy Solutions, which has sites in Swansea and Rhondda Cynon Taf, have lost their jobs after City Energy Group,...
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OFF THE TRACKS, ON THE BUSES!
BUSES will replace trains for 11 days as refurbishment works are carried out at a viaduct near Swansea.com Stadium, it has been announced. Network Rail has apologised for any inconvenience the works will cause. It says the works, to assist with track...
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Weather warning for snow and rain
AN AMBER weather warning for snow – meaning ‘danger to life’ – has been issued across large parts of Wales from later today as Storm Goretti sweeps across the UK. The Met Office said rain associated with the storm will turn to snow this evening,...
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‘BRING YOUR LOVED ONES HOME FROM HOSPITAL’
SWANSEA Bay University Health Board has declared a Business Continuity Incident (BCI) - the highest level of operational escalation in NHS Wales - as services face exceptional pressure due to a critical shortage of available beds. A Business...
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PARTNER LEFT ON CRUTCHES BY ATTACKER
IT WAS once the largest and most popular theme park in Wales, but today its remains sit quietly in a rural part of West Wales with the hustle and bustle of generations of thrill-seeking visitors now a distant memory. Oakwood Theme Park announced in...
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MAN POURED PETROL OVER HOME AND TRIED TO IGNITE IT
A MAN poured petrol over the family home, garden and outdoor hot tub and tried to ignite it with a cigarette lighter, a court has heard. Lee Bromfield then headbutted his former partner after she went outside to try to calm him down, leaving her with...
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17-YEAR-OLD SERIOUSLY HURT IN CITY DISORDER
A 17-YEAR-OLD boy from Clase in Swansea was taken to hospital on New Year’s Eve with injuries described as “very serious”. South Wales Police has said the teenager’s family is being supported by specialist officers. Four other teenagers have been...
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COUNCIL WORKER JAILED AFTER RACIST TIRADE
A COUNCIL worker subjected people in a shop to a tirade of vile racist abuse and told them to “go home” and “get back on the boats”. Kurtis Ball continued to use offensive and racist language even after being arrested and then went on to threaten and...
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PAIR LEAVE MAN ON ROAD AFTER BRUTAL ATTACK
A COUPLE carried a brutal attack on a man in the street by repeatedly punching and kicking him to the head and stamping on his groin. Olivia Lewis and her then-partner Patrick Mcginn then simply walked away leaving their victim on the ground. The pair...
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ATM QUEUE LED POLICE TO DRUG DEALERS
A QUEUE of people using a cash machine led police to drug dealers, a court has heard. Eagle-eyed police officers recognised the people waiting to get money from the machine as known drug users, and following them led police to a car being used by...
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DRUG DEALERS IN BALACLAVAS THOUGHT THEY WERE ‘PROPER LITTLE GANGSTERS’
FOUR young men who thought they were “proper little gangsters” with balaclavas and a getaway car were arrested an hour after police started hunting for them, a court has heard. Harvey Young, Maddox Vaughan, Ryan Naaif and Harrison Davies were running...
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SWANS UNVEIL NEW US CELEBRITY INVESTOR
SWANSEA City have confirmed Martha Stewart is the latest celebrity to invest in the club. Stewart, an American TV host and cook book author, was in attendance for the club’s win over Wrexham on Friday night, and is a close personal friend of fellow...
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CRASH SPARKS HOUSE WORRIES
A CAR has smashed into a house on a quiet street in Swansea with such force that it’s led to worries over the structural integrity of the damaged property. Police are at the scene at Cwrt y Cadno in the Birchgrove area of the city on Tuesday afternoon...
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STRANGER REPEATEDLY STABBED TEENAGER
A MAN repeatedly plunged a kitchen knife into a stranger outside a social club in an attempt to kill him, a court has heard. Kane Evans stabbed his teenage victim a total of 10 times to the chest, abdomen and arm, with the wound to the stomach...
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19 YEARS IN PRISON FOR MURDER PLOT LOVERS
A NEW sinkhole has opened up on a busy Swansea road days after another one, which closed a nearby stretch of highway for weeks, was repaired. Swansea Council closed a section of Brynymor Road last month after a sinkhole appeared. Investigations and...
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£22M MORE FOR TATA WORKERS
THE UK Government has announced that businesses and workers affected by changes at Tata Steel in Port Talbot will be able to access an extra £22 million in support. The last blast furnace at the steelworks was shut down in September, 2024, as part of...
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ARREST OVER UNSOLVED KILLING OF COUPLE
AN 86-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the murders of Harry and Megan Tooze more than 30 years ago. The couple were found dead with gunshot wounds at their Ty Ar y Waun farmhouse in Llanharry on July 26, 1993. South Wales Police...
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‘RUINED’
TORRENTIAL rain flooded multiple streets across Briton Ferry yesterday as much of South Wales was hit by heavy and persistent rainfall with an amber warning for rain in place. Cars were submerged, drains have been overflowing and people have been left...
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MORGAN’S BATTLE HELPED SAVE SISTER
THE family of a little Swansea boy who died just days before his fourth birthday said the tragedy ended up helping to save his sister’s life. Morgan Ridler, from Gorseinon, died after being diagnosed with a rare and complex form of cancer. Morgan’s...
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FIRM HAD £50M READY TO INVEST IN CITY AIRPORT
COUNCIL chiefs are granting a long-term lease to the operators of Swansea Airport despite a last-minute plea from a businessman to market the site to other bidders. Businessman Michael Henry said in a written question that his company had £50 million...
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BURGLAR ‘MADE HIMSELF AT HOME’
A BURGLAR broke into a man’s house in the dead of night and “made himself at home” in the property, a court has heard. Daniel Allen smashed his way into the victim’s house while the homeowner was away and trashed the place while drinking the cans and...
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NEW PLAN FOR CITY TRANSPORT HUB
A NEW transport hub on The Strand is being looked at as part of a wider plan to guide future development in Swansea from the waterfront up to the very top of High Street. Improvements to the High Street railway station plaza, Swansea Market and Lower...
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TEENAGER WAS PLIED WITH DRINK BY RAPIST
A MAN plied a teenage girl with alcohol before raping her in his flat after promising he would call her a taxi, a court has heard. A judge told the 48-year-old defendant that his victim had been at a stage in her life when she was “entering the adult...
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COMMUNITY INSPIRED BY OLIVIA’S BRAVE BATTLE
THREE years ago, a small community came together to help a little girl fight for her life. Now, that same community has rallied once again – not for one family alone, but for the charity that has carried them through the most devastating chapter of...
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KITCHEN KNIFE ATTACKER ‘SAT ON SOFA AND LAUGHED’
A MAN plunged a kitchen knife into the chest of an 81-year-old man in a seeming revenge attack after wrongly coming to believe his victim was dating his partner, a court has heard. Peter Rees had gone to live with his girlfriend and her pensioner...
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TWO KILLED IN HORROR CRASH ON A48
TWO people were killed as a result of a horror four-car pile-up after a 90-year-old driver took a wrong turn and drove more than 450m down a busy dual carriageway in the wrong direction. The fatal crash happened on the A48 in Carmarthenshire between...
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DAD RODE MOTORBIKE LIKE ‘CLOWN’
A DAD rode his motorbike like a “clown” around Swansea for an hour and a half, weaving through traffic, undertaking cars, doing U-turns in the road, mounting the pavement and going the wrong way around roundabouts, a court has heard. Ben Norman then...
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PAIR WERE ‘PROWLING STREETS’ LOOKING FOR A VICTIM
TWO men were “prowling the streets” late at night looking for vulnerable people to rob, a court has heard. When Christopher Palmer and Ceri Gibson identified a target they “befriended” him and, after seeing how much money he had in his pocket, led him...
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EMERGENCY UNIT IN ‘EXTREME PRESSURE’ WARNING
HEALTH bosses in Swansea have asked people to “think carefully” as they are “under extreme pressure due to extra demand”. A large amount of patients with flu and other winter-related illnesses has put pressure on the Emergency Department (ED) at...
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FAMILY IN FIGHT FOR TRUTH OVER WORKER’S DEATH
THE family of an Amazon worker who died in hospital after collapsing during his shift at its warehouse in Swansea have relived the moment they discovered the tragic news, and their two-year long battle to find out the truth of what happened to...
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COLLEAGUES SAY A FINAL FAREWELL
HUNDREDS of mourners gathered yesterday for the funeral of a young police constable 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 of his tragic...
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FORMER SCHOOL HEAD STRUCK OFF
A MARRIED headteacher who exposed himself to staff on school premises and a school trip has been struck off the teaching register. The “predatory” and “sexualised” behaviour of James ‘Jamie’ Richards, former headteacher of Swansea’s Cadle Primary, saw...
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TRIBUTES TO OFFICER FOUND DEAD AFTER NIGHT OUT
A MAN from Llanelli who died following a night out with friends in Bristol was a “greatly respected” police officer with South Wales Police, it has been confirmed. Rehaan Akhtar, who was 28, was the subject of a missing person search after he was last...
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MAN GUILTY OF STRING OF SEXUAL OFFENCES AGAINST WOMEN
A FOOTBALL club chairman sexually assaulted and exposed his penis to a string of women during a prolonged period of offending. Nicky O’connor’s sexual offending was carried out in various locations in Swansea as well as in Carmarthenshire and Merthyr...
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REVELLER ‘BLOODIED IN ATTACK BY YOUTH’
A MAN was left bloodied and unconscious after being approached by a group of teenagers and attacked by one of them on Beaujolais Day. Police were called to Morgan’s Hotel in Swansea at around 5pm on Thursday after a 32-year-old man was pushed to the...
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FAMILY’S HORROR AT HOME INTRUDER
‘REPUGNANT’ racist abuse was directed at a father and son who woke to find a man lying asleep on a bedroom floor who then assaulted them upon being woken. He threatened to kill the father and son and used offensive language, calling them...
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TWO-MONTH BUS STRIKE AMID ‘FURY’ OVER PAY
BUS services across South Wales are set for major disruption as hundreds of workers at First Cymru prepare to launch a two-month continuous strike in an ongoing dispute over pay. Industrial action will begin on November 20 and continue until January...
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COUNCILS IN BOMBSHELL WARNING ON TAX RISES
WELSH councils have warned that plugging a £436m budget gap for next year would require an average council tax increase of 22% or the loss of 14,000 jobs. The Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA), which represents Wales’ 22 councils, said local...
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PASSENGERS SET FOR XMAS BUS STRIKE MISERY
BUS drivers and First Cymru workers have “significantly escalated” strikes by extending them over the Christmas period. Staff are demanding a pay award of £15 per hour to bring them in line with Cardiff Bus and Arriva in North Wales. It is affecting...
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‘POPULAR’ RUGBY PLAYER DIES AT 44
TRIBUTES have been flooding in for a popular rugby player and dad who has died following his battle with cancer. Andrew Spittle, 44, died in October after a battle with kidney cancer which had spread to his brain. Andrew, a father-of-two and loving...
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THUG PUNCHED PARTNER IN STOMACH AFTER C-SECTION
A VIOLENT thug took cocaine, strangled his partner when she was pregnant with his child and then punched her in the stomach after she had undergone a C-section. The victim said his behaviour became worse after he started using drugs and he dangerously...
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CHILD RAPIST MADE THREAT TO KILL VICTIM
A MAN who raped and sexually assaulted a vulnerable young girl threatened to kill her if she did not withdraw the allegations, a court has heard. Mohammed Raihan contacted the child after he realised she had reported the abuse to the police and made a...
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GANG JAILED FOR DRUG OPERATION
A MUM had not told her daughters she was in court facing a lengthy prison sentence for dealing cocaine, a court has heard. The mother was one of three people involved in a “sophisticated and lucrative” operation supplying the class A drug which...
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ONE-PUNCH KILLER JAILED OVER DEATH
A MAN killed a pub customer with a single powerful punch to the head, a court has heard. Steven Vonk turned and walked away after flooring his victim, then texted a friend to say: “Can’t say I’m sorry because I’m not.” Swansea Crown Court heard that...
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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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BOY FOUND HIDING IN LORRY
A TEENAGE boy has been arrested on suspicion of entering the UK illegally after he was found hiding in the back of a lorry in Llanelli. The lorry, which is reported to have travelled from Slovakia into Llanelli, had stopped near the Gestamp plant,...
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OPPOSITION HALTS TRAIN STATION BID
PLANS for a major redevelopment around Neath railway station have been paused after widespread opposition from residents and local businesses. Neath Port Talbot Council has now announced it will reassess the scope and design of the proposed Neath...
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‘NIGHTMARE’ FOR NEW NURSES TO FIND JOBS
AFTER years of studying and hundreds of hours working for free for the NHS to qualify, resident doctors in Wales say there are no jobs and they’re struggling to make ends meet. It comes at the same time almost half of junior doctors in Wales told the...
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SLEEPY DRIVER’S TRAIL OF DESTRUCTION
A 22-YEAR-OLD who was disqualified from driving fell asleep at the wheel twice, drove at 80mph in a 20mph zone and proceeded to crash into two cars, causing one of them to fly across a road. Aaron Davies, from Gorseinon, then fled the scene Swansea...
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PUSH FOR NEW SITES FOR GREEN ENERGY
A NEW search for potential wind and solar farm sites should take place in Swansea as part of a drive to increase renewable energy production, a report said. The Swansea local area energy plan, as it’s known, also sets out proposals to decarbonise...
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JOY OVER WORKERS’ PAY ROW VICTORY
MORE than 1,100 healthcare support workers in Swansea and Neath Port Talbot will receive payments they have long been campaigning for by Christmas. Some of them staged a protest last Tuesday about the pay band issue and handed in a petition signed by...
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REGIONS FACING FIGHT TO SURVIVE
THE Welsh Rugby Union has outlined its plan to cut a Welsh region going forward following a unanimous board decision. The union’s intention is to move to three teams by 2028 at the latest following a six-week consultation process. The four current...
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RAIDS SHUT VAPE SHOPS
EIGHT vape shops have been ordered to close for months following raids by trading standards officers. The Swansea businesses are suspected of selling illegal nicotine products. Earlier this month officers from Swansea Council and South Wales Police...
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BEACHES CLEAN UP AFTER PLASTICS SPILL
A SUSPECT wanted in connection with a “bleach attack” at a Welsh wellness retreat was arrested in Romania and extradited back to the UK, a court has heard. Police launched a manhunt for the owner of the Hafan y Coed centre in Abercrave in the upper...
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WOMAN AND LOVER GUILTY OF PLOT TO MURDER HUSBAND
A WIFE and the former soldier she was having an affair with plotted together to kill the woman’s husband. The jury trying Michelle Mills and two former servicemen accused of plotting to murder her husband have found Mills and one of the servicemen,...
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UPGRADES COST TO PROVIDE FREE SCHOOL MEALS ‘TO DOUBLE’
THE cost of forking out for school kitchen and dining hall upgrades so that every primary pupil gets a free meal has almost doubled in Swansea. It was originally expected to cost £5.86 million but the final bill is now anticipated to be £11.48 million...
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‘I WAS ON THE BRINK OF DEATH’
WAKING up from a drug-induced coma Spencer Lowry found himself covered in severe burns all over his body after spending 22 hours unconscious against a radiator. The traumatic incident was at the height of a 28-year battle with drug addiction. And it...
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INQUIRY CALL INTO SCHOOL DEMOLITION
AN MP has called for a full public inquiry into the demolition of a Swansea Valley school which was knocked down in 2024 due to fears of a potential landslip. Godre’r Graig Primary School near Ystalyfera was closed in 2019 after safety issues were...
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PARK ARSON ATTACKS COSTING THOUSANDS
POLICE are investigating the latest incident of arson plaguing a Welsh park, which has caused thousands of pounds’ worth of damage. Parc Melin Mynach in Gorseinon, Swansea, has been targeted in a campaign of anti-social behaviour in recent months. On...
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STEELWORKERS FACING XMAS PAY CUT DUE TO SHUTDOWN
STEELWORKERS are facing “catastrophic” pay cuts of more than a third over Christmas due to an extended shutdown at three Tata Steel sites in Wales, the Senedd has heard. David Rees, who chairs the Senedd’s cross-party group on steel, warned the 65%...
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ATTACKER ACTED ‘LIKE TEENAGER HAVING FIRST DRINK’
A FORMER soldier who is now in charge of protecting UK energy infrastructure from terrorism and cyber threats drunkenly beat up a man in a Swansea bar, a court has heard. James Erasmus headbutted and repeatedly punched his victim before putting him in...
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OAP LOST NEARLY £60K IN CRYPTO SCAM
A VULNERABLE pensioner in the early stages of dementia was swindled out of nearly £60,000 in a cryptocurrency scam that used a deepfake video of Money Saving Expert founder Martin Lewis. Adrian Kearney, 71, was left with substantial debts after being...
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TATA SET FOR FIVE WEEKS PAUSE AT KEY SITES
TATA Steel UK is ceasing production for around five weeks at its 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, its tinplate business at...
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‘EX WOULD STAY UP TO MAKE SURE I WAS SAFE’
SEEING homeless people in her home city of Swansea, Emily Clarke always stops to offer advice. The young mum remembers the time she was living on the streets in a tent, forced to use a patch of waste ground for a toilet. Despite having a job as an...
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ESTUARY FEARS MAY HIT PLANS
HOUSING and other planned developments could be put on hold for months in a large area of Swansea because of concerns about a protected estuary. Swansea Council’s development manager Ian Davies said all new planning applications in the affected...
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HUSBAND FOUGHT OFF CARAVAN INTRUDERS
A MAN has described how he opened his caravan door late at night to find two masked men armed with guns who jumped on him and attacked him. Christopher Mills said he was “fighting for his life” as he struggled with armed intruders who were carrying...
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WOMAN ‘PLOTTED HUSBAND’S MURDER’
A WIFE, her ex-marine lover and another soldier hatched a plan to murder the woman’s husband, a court has heard. Two masked men armed with imitation guns burst into the caravan where the couple were staying and attacked the husband in what the...
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