Ex-paddleboard firm owner admits manslaughter
After the four people died, the owner of a paddleboard tour company has pleaded guilty to negligence to manslaughter.
Paul O’Dwyer, Andrea Powell, Morgan Rogers and Nicola Wheatley died in October 2021 while rowing on Cleddau, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire.
Nerys Bethan Lloyd, 39, is a former police officer in Port Talbot and a former owner of Salty Dog, which runs the trip, with four people and four other survivors participating.
The company has since been dissolved.
She also pleaded guilty to a crime under the Health and Safety Act bill in the Swansea Royal Court on Wednesday.
The case was previously postponed due to “legal aid issues.”
Lloyd will continue to be released on bail until the sentence was announced in April.
After the plea hearing, the Crown Prosecutor’s Office (CPS) said that despite “severe flooding and bad weather warnings”, the paddleboard trip was still on October 30, 2021.
It added: “The river is fast and the weir is in an extremely dangerous state”, with three participants trapped behind the top of Haverford-Town Will.
Tour coach Mr. Odwell initially left the river safely, but then re-entered the water to rescue others.
Four victims died of drowning.
CPS added that Lloyd was not properly qualified, her program and supervision were insufficient, prosecuted after a joint investigation by the Stained Pig Police Department and the Health and Safety Supervisor (HSE).
Lisa Rose, a professional prosecutor for the CPS Special Crime Department, added that this was an “avoidable tragedy.”
“Although we had to be checked for the status of the river before we could tour, Nerys Lloyd had not checked the weirs,” she said.
“Most participants have limited experience and Lloyd is not eligible to eliminate the paddlers under such dangerous conditions.
“There is no safety briefing or formal risk assessment and participants are not advised to cross the weir or have options for guiding the water.
“The final decision to continue the activity was Lloyd’s decision, so she took full responsibility.
“I hope these beliefs provide some sense of justice for those affected, and our minds remain in touch with the victim’s family and friends.”
