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A former owner of a paddleboarding company in southwest Wales, responsible for the deaths of four individuals, has been denied permission to appeal her prison sentence. The application was rejected by a panel of three Appeal Court judges, who dismissed arguments from David Elias KC that the sentence imposed was “manifestly excessive.” Lady Justice May affirmed the original sentencing judge’s decision as appropriate, particularly given the tragic outcome involving multiple victims.
During sentencing in April 2025, the court heard that neither Nerys Bethan Lloyd nor her co-instructor, Paul O’Dwyer, possessed the necessary qualifications to lead the paddleboard tour. The presiding judge, Mrs Justice Stacey, condemned the inadequate attention to health and safety measures, describing the approach as “abysmal.” Although Lloyd had received police and RNLI training and was considered experienced, the judge noted that she “knew better” and expressed horror at the consequences. The group consisted of seven participants and departed after 9:00 BST on 30 October 2021.
On that day, heavy rainfall in preceding days had caused the nearby river to be in flood conditions, with a strong and turbulent current. The court was shown photographs of the weir the group attempted to navigate, including a section called the fish pass — an 11-meter-long incline with a gradient of about one in seven (14%). The water conditions around the weir exhibited significant turbulence. Within roughly 20 seconds, the group was swept over the weir into a hazardous hydraulic jump – a powerful spinning water flow sometimes likened to a washing machine. The judge explained that the ankle leashes attached to their paddleboards, which were entirely unsuitable for swift water, further trapped the participants, complicating their attempts to escape.
Four of the participants, including O’Dwyer, lost their lives. Three died instantly at the scene—O’Dwyer from Port Talbot, Morgan Rogers from Merthyr Tydfil, and Nicola Wheatley from Pontarddulais in Swansea county. Andrea Powell from Bridgend survived the initial incident but died in hospital a week later on 5 November 2021. The court highlighted serious safety failings: none of the four participants wore wetsuits, one chose not to wear a life jacket, no safety briefing had been conducted beforehand, and proper leash equipment for the conditions was absent. Moreover, Lloyd did not have next-of-kin information for participants. O’Dwyer had attempted to rescue others after initially exiting the river but was unsuccessful.
At sentencing, Mrs Justice Stacey remarked that Lloyd had intended for the group to go over the weir via the fish pass, describing it as “more interesting” than the alternative of portaging around it. Although O’Dwyer researched safer routes, Lloyd—the company owner—dismissively rejected these options. Stacey noted Lloyd’s preference for an exciting route over safety concerns, pointing out that CCTV footage captured her directing the group down the center of the weir instead of avoiding the most dangerous areas. This behavior demonstrated “a blatant disregard for a very high risk of death,” the judge stated. Lloyd’s lawyer informed the court that she accepted “full blame for the mistakes” leading to the tragedy and claimed there was a plan to exit the water before the weir, but the strong currents carried them over despite these intentions
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
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