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Swan killer sentenced for ‘disgusting’ act

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Swans: The family in Withybush Woods (pic. The Herald)

A 19-YEAR-OLD man who killed a family of swans at Withybush Woods in Haverfordwest with three other people appeared at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court today (Mar 28).

Joseph Lawson, who now lives in Derbyshire, pleaded guilty to possessing an air weapon in a public place, possessing 0.9 grams of cannabis and jointly killing swans.

Lawson had also failed to attend the previous hearing relating to the death of the swans, and was charged with failing to appear at court.

Prosecutor, Vaughan Pritchard-Jones said: “This case has attracted public and press attention. A family of swans were shot and suspicion fell on three men and one youth.

“Enquiries were made, and police spoke to a lady who live in the same block of flats as Lawson. He turned up and asked her to hide his air rifle and said the police were after him.”

The court heard that the lady in question was very unwell, and agreed to hide the rifle.

He continued: “He turned up the next day to collect it, and she overheard that he wanted to get rid of the gun because he didn’t want the police to match the pellets with it. He asked her to give him an alibi. However, she told the police and he was arrested with three others.

“This was a joint enterprise, and they are all equally responsible. One adult pleaded not guilty, the youth was given a referral order and the other adult, Phillips, was given a four month custodial sentence, suspended for 12 months.”
He told the court that in total, four people went out shooting, and Lawson believed that Mattson, who has pleaded not guilty, had permission to shoot on private land.

Mr Pritchard-Jones said that Lawson claims he has suffered from a lack of sleep since the incident.
He said: “His intentions were to get a rabbit or a duck to eat. They started to try and find them, but found none.”

In his statement, Lawson said: “I had the gun. I am not from here, and I don’t know the area very well. We went to the woods and saw a pond but there were no ducks.”

He explained that there was a conversation about shooting ducks, to which the youth said would be ‘funny as f**k’.

He said: “I am easily led, and I shot the swan. As soon as I did it I put my head down in disgrace. I could not believe what I had done.”

He said in his statement, that he told the group that they needed to kill the swan to put it out of its misery, to which his co-defendant, Benjamin Phillips, said ‘It’s f***ing evil leaving it like that’.

He added: “It’s the lowest thing you can do, like. I’ve been feeling very low and have thought about suicide. I get help by phoning my mum.”

Mr Pritchard-Jones explained that four swans were injured in total. The wing of a cygnet had been ‘completely severed’, and was alive when it was recovered, but had to be put down by a vet.

The male swan was found dead with two pellets in its body: One in its wing, and another in its abdomen. Another cygnet also had tearing injuries, which implied that a pellet had passed through it.

Probation officer, Julie Norman, said: “This is a very unpleasant case. He bought the rifle a few days before, and the plan was to go out shooting ducks.

“It was around 8pm so would have been pitch black. He said there was peer pressure on him, and he made one shot, and the others took the rest.”

She continued: “He has mental health issues. Alongside that, he has chronic substance misuse and self harms. He has scars on his arms, and he self harmed yesterday (Mar 27) in police custody.”

Defence solicitor, David Williams, said: “I wish to express on his behalf his sincerest apologies and deep remorse of becoming involved in this incident.

“He is a young man and has never been to prison before. He has significant mental health problems. He has struggled with his mental health from the age of 8-years-old. His recent self harm was when he handed himself in yesterday.”

Mr Williams also explained that Lawson has psychosis and borderling split personality disorder.

Lawson told the court: “I am very sorry for my actions and what I have done.”

Chair of the bench, Cllr David Simpson, told Lawson: “We think that what you have done is disgusting. If you have read the local paper, you will have seen the anger and venom produced from this. People have been disgusted.”

Lawson was sentenced to four months in prison, suspended for 12 months. He must also pay £115 victim surcharge, £85 prosecution costs and £60 towards veterinary costs.

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Rugby Weekly – Tenby’s promotion push continues

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It’s crunch time for all rugby clubs around the county, whether promotion is their aim or fighting relegation or even just trying to improve their league position, it’s now or never. 

Last weekend saw an important win for Fishguard in division two west which should put any relegation fears to bed completely. James Griffiths added an impressive 18 points for the Seagulls as they defeated Nantgaredig 33-19. 

Elsewhere in the second division, Milford were beaten 32-8 by a good Lampeter outfit. The Mariners are still a little too close for comfort with the drop zone but should have enough quality to see them safe. 

At the other end of the table Tenby sit in second place and have played fewer games than leaders St Clears and third place Lampeter. They won impressively again last weekend, beating Pontyberem 64-19 at Haywood Lane. Fletcher Broadhurst impressed with two tries as did Hywel Baker who also grabbed himself a brace. Another excellent performance in an outstanding season so far in which promotion would be the absolute icing on the cake. 

In Division Three West, Pembroke were well beaten by Laugharne 74-15 in which the outstanding Liam Price and Nico Setaro both crossed the whitewash 4 teams a piece. The latter also added 7 successful conversions. 

There was a local derby at Pill Parks where Llangwm hosted Pembroke Dock Quins and it was an exciting clash. The visitors won narrowly 28-23, Craig Barnett and Gethin Bradney both scored two tries for the Quins. The Wasps battled hard and will be proud of their performance, Gethin Thomas impressed for the hosts with two tries of his own but it wasn’t enough to secure the points. 

St David’s hosted the high flying Cardigan outfit and were unable to score in reply to the visitors 20 points, with it ending 20-0. The Saints however won’t be losing too much sleep over it as they have had a great season so far. 

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Stephen Crabb leads inquiry on retaining community bank services  

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PRESELI Pembrokeshire MP, and Chair of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee Stephen Crabb is leading an inquiry in Parliament that will investigate the closure of high street banks in Wales, as well as access to cash.

In November 2023, Pembrokeshire saw the closure of Lloyds Bank in St Davids, and in the coming months both Barclays Bank and Halifax in Haverfordwest are set to close. In recent years, Wales has experienced a rapid decline in the number of high street banking services available to the public. Already in 2024, 23 high street bank closures have been announced in Wales, while automated teller machines (ATMs) declined by nearly a quarter between 2018 and 2023.

The Committee willconsider how declining high street banking services are impacting vulnerable people and small businesses across Wales, who are often more reliant on cash than digital banking. It will also examine how Wales is being affected by the loss of high street bank services, and whether the problem is worse in Wales than other parts of the UK.

Mr Crabb is a staunch advocate for retaining community banking facilities, especially in rural communities like Pembrokeshire where many local branches remain the only source of face-to-face banking provision for miles.

Recently Mr Crabb challenged Barclays Bank senior management on their decision to close the bank branch in Haverfordwest– a move that will see Barclays not only pull out of the county town, but means they won’t have a branch left anywhere in Pembrokeshire. He has also engaged with LINK – the UK’s largest cash machine network – and continues to campaign on the basis that a Banking Hub is established and that ATM machines should be retained or installed, especially in areas worst affected by the closures.  

Following the launch of the inquiry, MP Crabb added: “It is really sad to see so many banks across Wales closing as online banking grows in popularity. Despite the advantages of online banking, for a rural community with an ageing population like Pembrokeshire, bank branches hold huge importance as they offer face-to-face customer service.”

“I am acutely aware of the inconvenience that the bank closures locally have already caused following hundreds of replies from constituents to my ‘online banking survey’ ”

“I am looking forward to gathering further evidence on this subject through the committee’s inquiry, and will continue to put pressure on the relevant stakeholders to ensure that adequate alternative provisions are made through the establishment of banking hubs as well as the instalment of ATM machines where necessary.”

“In this inquiry, we are particularly keen to hear from those likely to be directly affected by the shift away from cash and physical banks. I encourage anyone with first-hand experience of losing banking services to give evidence to the Committee”

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Trains resume between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock as works end

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TRAIN services resumed this morning (Thursday 28 March) after ten days of essential round-the-clock work to upgrade track and drainage between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock.

The railway was closed from Monday 18 March to Wednesday 27 March to allow Network Rail teams to replace more than 200 metres of track and 300 tonnes of ballast (track stones) between Pembroke station and Pembroke Dock.

Work to improve the drainage between Narbeth and Kilgetty stations was also completed at the same time.

Nick Millington, Network Rail Wales and Borders route director, said: “This essential work in Pembrokeshire demonstrates our commitment to improving the reliability of the service we provide to passengers along our route.

“We know that replacing the track can be disruptive and very noisy, so I would like to thank the residents of Pembroke for their patience while our team carried out this crucial work.”

Colin Lea, Planning and Performance Director at Transport for Wales said: “We’re pleased that our colleagues in Network Rail have completed this essential work and that Transport for Wales rail services resumed today.

“We’d like to thank passengers for their patience while this work has progressed and look forward to welcoming passengers back in time for the Easter weekend.”

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