Paddleboard firm owner's appeal bid over sentence for four deaths fails

Paddleboard firm owner's appeal bid over sentence for four deaths fails 6 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google BBC A former paddleboard firm owner has been refused permission to appeal against her sentence over the deaths of four people on a river in south west Wales. Paul O'Dwyer, Andrea Powell, Morgan Rogers and Nicola Wheatley died after paddleboarding in "extremely hazardous conditions" on the Western Cleddau river in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire in October 2021 . Nerys Bethan Lloyd, 39, an ex-police officer from Port Talbot, pleaded guilty to gross negligence manslaughter in March 2025 and was jailed for 10 years and six months. Three Appeal Court judges rejected David Elias KC's submissions that the sentence was "manifestly excessive". Lady Justice May told the court they found the trial judge's approach to have been proportionate given the number of victims. At the sentencing in April, the court heard Lloyd was unqualified to lead a paddleboard tour of this kind. Neither Lloyd nor co-instructor O'Dwyer were qualified to lead the tour, and Mrs Justice Stacey criticised the "abysmal" approach to health and safety. Citing Lloyd's police and RNLI training, the judge said she "knew better", although acknowledged she was "horrified" at what happened. The group of seven participants, led by Lloyd and O'Dwyer, set off after 09:00 BST on 30 October 2021. Three particpants died along with O'Dwyer. This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version. You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App . You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts. Paddleboarding Haverfordwest Wales