Former police officer jailed over paddleboard deaths

A former police officer who ran a paddleboarding company has been jailed for more than 10 years after four people drowned during an excursion on a river in Wales.

- HOLLY EVANS

Nerys Bethan Lloyd organised a stand-up paddleboarding tour on the River Cleddau in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, in October 2021 despite “extremely hazardous conditions” and weather warnings in place.

Lloyd failed to warn the group about a weir on the route or how to navigate it. The participants were swept over, with some becoming trapped under the fast-moving water. Paul O’Dwyer, 42, Andrea Powell, 41, Morgan Rogers, 24, and Nicola Wheatley, 40, all died.

Lloyd, 39, from Aberavon, south Wales, was the owner and sole director of Salty Dog Co Ltd, which organised the tour. She pleaded guilty to four counts of gross negligence manslaughter and one offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act in March, and was sentenced by Ms Justice Dame Mary Stacey at Swansea Crown Court yesterday.

David Elias KC, for the defence, quoted a statement written by Lloyd to the court yesterday. He said: “I take full blame [for the incident] that meant four extremely special individuals are not here today. The pain for me has been unbearable, but the pain for the families unmeasurable. There were nine people on the river that day, and every one of them is a victim.”

Mark Watson KC, for the prosecution, told the court on Tuesday that Lloyd and O’Dwyer, who helped act as an instructor, were “not remotely qualified” and that the stretch of river had a “real potential for danger”.

“Although they had undertaken a course earlier in the year, this was a basic, entry-level course, which was wholly unsuited to leading a tour on a river in spate with hazards such as a weir,” he said. He said the group had set off shortly before 9am despite the recent heavy rain and weather warnings being in place.