A former police officer has been sentenced to 10 years and six months for the manslaughter of four people who tragically drowned during an “avoidable tragedy” while paddleboarding.
Paul O’Dwyer, 42, Andrea Powell, 41, Morgan Rogers, 24, and Nicola Wheatley, 40, all lost their lives in October 2021 on the River Cleddau in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire. Their paddleboards went over a weir in “extremely hazardous conditions.”
Nerys Bethan Lloyd, the owner and sole director of Salty Dog Co Ltd, which had organised the ill-fated tour, was sentenced at Swansea Crown Court. The organised group of eight had set off shortly before 9am. The court heard an assessment of the area had been carried out which involved Lloyd studying the stars. Mark Watson KC, for the prosecution, told the court none of the victims were aware of the weir or how to navigate it.
“The weir had a narrow fish ramp at its centre, which was only slightly wider than the width of a paddleboard,” he said. “Save for that ramp, the entire face of the weir dropped sharply down to the river below. On the morning of October 30, 2021, this was a drop of approximately 1.3m between the water levels above and below the weir.”
Text messages between the defendant and fellow organiser Paul showed he had suggested an alternative route in Milford Haven but had been “rebuffed” by Lloyd. Lloyd went ahead of the group and safely made it down the fish ramp. When the participants followed her, they were swept over the weir, where some became trapped.
Lloyd has previously said she did shout instructions but the court heard evidence that only Kerry O’Dwyer, Paul’s wife who was also on the trip and survived, heard these vague instructions. As this was the first the group had heard of the fishing ramp the instruction would have been largely “meaningless”, the court heard.
“You were not sucked into the weir in an out-of-control way as you later claimed,” the judge told Lloyd. “Of those who survived only Kerry heard your instructions. The instructions were vague and meaningless and could not have been acted upon due to the strength of the current.
“Even if you had tried to warn them they would not have heard you. The weir came out of nowhere to the others travelling at speed. All they could do was brace themselves. One by one in little more than 20 seconds the group fell into the weir.” The judge described this as like the paddleboarders falling into “a washing machine.”
“Somehow Melody (Johns), Gemma (Cox), Jemma (Dugdale) and Kerry managed to get out of the hydraulic spin, possibly helped by others landing behind them. Andrea, Nicola and Morgan could not escape the tremendous power of the water.
“Paul steered to the right side of the weir and lifted himself and his board onto the right side of the bank. He jumped back into the water with his board to try and save them. This was all witnessed by a number of passers-by who called emergency services.”
One of the passers-by, Joel Williams, attempted to help by throwing a rope to Paul, but he was unable to reach it. Paul’s body was later discovered further downstream. Andrea, the only one who could be resuscitated at the scene, tragically passed away six days later, on November 5, 2021.
In court on Wednesday, Lloyd’s defence counsel, David Elias KC, spoke about how his client was fully aware of the consequences of her actions. He explained, “Nerys has known since that day, ‘I’m going to jail for this,’ as she said. She understands she will be sentenced today, but that won’t change anything that happened that day, nor will it alter the immense suffering she feels from the consequences of it. It will always be at the forefront of her mind.”
During sentencing the judge, Mrs Justice Stacey, told Lloyd that she had watched CCTV footage of the incident, which she described as “too distressing” to play in court.
Lloyd was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison. She will serve at least two-thirds of her sentence in custody, with the remainder on license.
Former police officer Lloyd pleaded guilty to four counts of gross negligence manslaughter and one offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act when she appeared in court in March. In a statement, the Crown Prosecution Service said an expert had concluded “the tour should not have taken place” and “Lloyd did not have a suitable qualification”, with her planning and supervision “inadequate”.
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