Paddleboard firm owner jailed over river deaths
A former paddleboard firm owner has been jailed for 10 years and six months after 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 last month.
She was sentenced during a two-day hearing at Swansea Crown Court, which heard she was unqualified to lead a paddleboard tour of this kind.
Neither Lloyd nor co-instructor Mr O’Dwyer were qualified to lead the tour, and Mrs Justice Stacey criticised the “abysmal” approach to health and safety during her sentencing remarks.
Source: BBC | Language: English