Owner of paddleboarding company jailed over deaths of four people in Pembrokeshire

A woman has been jailed for 10 years and six months over the deaths of four paddleboarders in West Wales.

Nerys Bethan Lloyd - a former police officer - pleaded guilty last month to four counts of gross negligence manslaughter and one offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Paul O'Dwyer, 42, Andrea Powell, 41, Morgan Rogers, 24, and Nicola Wheatley, 40, died after they got into difficulty in the River Cleddau, Pembrokeshire, on 30 October 2021.

The four had been part of a stand-up paddleboarding tour when their paddleboards went over a weir in Haverfordwest, during "extremely hazardous conditions".

Co-instructor Mr O'Dwyer initially exited the water but re-entered the river in an unsuccessful attempt to rescue the others.

Ms Powell was taken to Withybush Hospital where she died of her injuries six days later.

'Blatant disregard' for the risk of loss of life

The tour had been organised by Lloyd, owner and sole director of Salty Dog Co Ltd.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said an expert had concluded the tour "should not have taken place".

Paddleboarding expert Andrew Gratwick said in his written evidence that he considered the weir to be "an extremely serious risk which should have been very obvious to any competent instructor".

Sentencing Lloyd at Swansea Crown Court on Wednesday, Mrs Justice Stacey told Lloyd the weir presented an "obvious and extreme danger" and that she "showed a blatant disregard" for the risk of loss of life.

"This was not a momentary lapse, your whole approach to health and safety was lax," she said.

The judge said there were Met Office weather warnings in place at that time, as well as a flood alert issued through Natural Resources Wales.

She said the footage of the incident was "too distressing to be shown in court".

"Having studied it, I am sure that you made no attempt to investigate or paddle to the steps which were visible from the river," she said.

The judge said she was certain that neither Lloyd nor Mr O'Dwyer intended "any harm to any of the participants" but that the defendant's "whole approach to basic health and safety was abysmal".

The court heard neither had a "suitable qualification for this kind of activity" and that the "final decisions to take part" were hers.

'Extremely dangerous'

Prosecuting, Mark Watson KC said he accepted Mr O'Dwyer "bears a share of the responsibility" but that the defendant was "primarily responsible for the needless loss of life".

During periods of high water levels, Haverfordwest's weir "becomes extremely dangerous with high potential for loss of life", according to evidence submitted by the local kayak club's health and safety officer.

One bystander, who had lived near the River Cleddau for around 35 years, said "he could not recall seeing the river ever flowing so strongly".

Mr Watson added: "All seven participants had been completely taken by surprise by the presence of the weir and in a chaotic episode of some 20 seconds, they were all carried over the weir crest by the strong current."

A voice message service on the day of the incident recorded Lloyd as having said: "It's my fault 100%. I probably shouldn't have gone on the water."

In the back of the ambulance, she was overheard telling friends that she was "going to jail for this".

In mitigation, David Elias KC told the court that Lloyd had accepted "full blame" for the incident.

He said she had no previous convictions, was of good character, had attempted to assist the victims at the scene and had expressed remorse.

In her sentencing remarks, the judge paid tribute to the victims and their families.

"We've heard such moving accounts from the family members of those who died. Statements, which I fear, barely scratch the surface," she said.

Mrs Justice Stacey also commended Joel Williams, a member of the public who recovered Andrea Powell from the river and commenced CPR, for his "incredible bravery".

Speaking outside Swansea Crown Court, Ms Rogers' mother, Theresa Hall, said she lost her "best friend" when her daughter died on the trip.

"It's been three long years and seven months since I lost my only daughter, Morgan, my best friend. Over three years since I laid eyes on her, over three years since I heard her infectious laugh," she said.

Ms Hall said Lloyd's failure to get next of kin details meant it took more than 12 hours for her to be informed of her daughter's death.

"My precious girl was not important to Nerys Lloyd. She couldn't give police Morgan's details, as she hadn't even bothered to get Morgan's emergency contact details in case of an accident. That was despicable," she added.

Ms Wheatley's husband, Darren Wheatley, said the loss of his wife has "devastated" the family.

In a statement read outside court he said: "Losing Nicola has devastated our family and two young children lost their mammy."

"Any sentence served by Nerys in prison will never ease the pain of losing Nicola, and our lives will never be the same again," he added.

(c) Sky News 2025: Owner of paddleboarding company jailed over deaths of four people in Pembrokeshire