Paddleboarder 'guided to her death', court hears

Nicola Wheatley, Morgan Rogers, Paul O'Dwyer and Andrea Powell died in the incident in 2021

A paddleboarder was "guided to her death", a court was told during the sentencing of the tour company owner after the deaths of four people.

Paul O'Dwyer, 42, Andrea Powell, 41, Morgan Rogers, 24, and Nicola Wheatley, 40, drowned while paddleboarding in "extremely hazardous conditions" on the River Cleddau, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, in October 2021.

Nerys Bethan Lloyd, 39, from Port Talbot, is the former owner of Salty Dog, the now-dissolved company who operated the tour.

Lloyd admitted to manslaughter last month. It was revealed she did not have the correct qualifications to run the tour.

The group of seven participants and co-instructor Paul O'Dwyer set off after 09:00 on 30 October 2021.

Mark Watson KC, prosecuting, told the court there had been heavy rain in the days before and "the river was in flood conditions" with a "visibly strong current".

"Of the eight individuals who went over the weir that day only four survived," he said.

Mr Watson explained there were desperate attempts of "bystanders who tried to throw lifelines into the weir".

The court heard the intensity of the water that day "was the equivalent of two tons of water crossing the 1m of the weir crest every second".

The weather conditions meant the difference between water levels above and below the weir on that day would have been "a drop of 1.3m".

The court was shown photos of the weir including the section between the right and left crest called the fish pass, which the group were trying to navigate.

Mr Watson said the fish pass was 11m (36ft) in length and on a slope with an incline of about one in seven, or 14%.

The court was also shown conditions at the weir on the day after the incident.

Mr Watson explained it showed "immense turbulence" of the water which "obscures the wall to the fish pass" from above.

"The side walls of the fish pass can barely if at all be seen," he said.

Nerys Lloyd, wearing a dark coat and on the right, outside Haverfordwest Magistrates' Court at a previous hearing

In Swansea Crown Court on Tuesday , Theresa Hall, mother of Morgan Rogers, told the court Morgan's loss follows her like a shadow.

She said Lloyd "guided Morgan to her death" and the "physical and mental pain that I now live with is too much to bear".

Speaking to Lloyd, she said, "you in your arrogance have stopped me being able to fully grieve for my daughter".

"Every day of my life is absolutely horrendous" knowing she died a "horrific death".

Breaking down in tears, she told Lloyd she would never forgive her "for what you have taken away from me".

Robert Rogers, father of Morgan, said a "warm, courageous, happy shiny star to all she knew was extinguished."

"As a father to have to bury your own daughter is not a path you want any other human being to walk," he said.

"The open wound inflicted will never ever heal.

"My family will have a life sentence of grief for our remaining days," he said.

'A coward'

Darren Wheatley, husband of Nicola Wheatley, called Lloyd "a coward" and "a disgraced business owner".

"You have hidden behind your carefully orchestrated smoke screen," he said.

"I hugged and kissed Nicola goodbye, she was so trusting.

"The next time I would see her would be to identify her body in the mortuary.

"I couldn't imagine what she had gone through.

"This was not the Nicola that left our house less than 24 hours earlier but it is the face I see every day when I open my eyes," he said.

With audible anger in his voice he said while they "cried all day" that Christmas in 2021 without their mother, Lloyd was posting pictures on social media celebrating Christmas lights with her family and friends.

Lloyd was straight-faced in the dock as Mr Wheatley spoke directly to her. Ending his speech he said: "Nerys Lloyd you are a vile person and you disgust me."

Andrea Powell's family said they were distraught by her death

Mark Powell, the husband of Andrea Powell told the court the pair had moved to Wales to raise their son.

Breaking down in tears he explained the last time he saw Andrea "happy and content" was the day before the incident when they said goodbye as she left for the trip to Haverfordwest.

He then saw Andrea in Withybush hospital in the town where she was in coma.

He said he "burst into tears" seeing the cuts and bruises to her face and body. She had been resuscitated twice.

Mr Powell said their son, Finn and Andrea "had the most amazing bond".

When he told Finn, who was seven at the time of her death, that the doctors could not save her and she had died, he burst out in "uncontrollable tears".

He said the noise of his son that day would stay with him forever.

He said it was "heart-breaking" to hear his child say "he wants to die so he can be with his mother again".

Mr Powell said the fact she did not die peacefully still troubles and causes him distress.

"How can a serving police officer allow this to happen?"

He said Lloyd was "not fit to hold my wife's life in her hands", adding he "cannot forgive her lack of remorse".

John Taylor, father of Andrea Powell said his daughter was the "life and soul of every party".

"Our past, our present and our future will never ever be the same again," he said.

Mr Watson explained there was an "obvious potential for real danger".

He told the court several members of the group had very limited experience.

Adding that both Lloyd and her business partner Paul O'Dwyer were "not remotely qualified", as they only had a "basic entry level qualification" which was not suitable for the tour they led.

He explained the pair "briefly stopped in the town centre to inspect the river" that day but "did not inspect the weir itself", adding they knew there was a weir on that stretch of river having paddleboarded there in August.

The court heard an advert for the trip said it was run by "two fully qualified instructors".

Paul O'Dwyer and Lloyd carried out two courses on 23 and 24 April 2021.

Mr Watson said it was "clear from the promotional material for the courses" it was not enough for the trip they ran with the group that day.

Lloyd had first aid training from both South Wales Police and as part of the RNLI.

The court heard that Paul O'Dwyer was "not remotely qualified", as he only had a "basic entry level qualification"

A statement from Ceri O'Dwyer, wife of Paul O'Dwyer was read on her behalf. She said she is "tortured" by what happened that day.

She said Paul was the kindest man "with the biggest heart".

Addressing Lloyd, she said that she was once her friend but was met with "blame, rejection and gaslighting" by Ms Lloyd when she tried to "shift blame" on to Paul.

Paul made a "devastating mistake" but he "died trying to save others" saying that was the type of man he was.

"Grief is in our household every single day. You carried on as if nothing ever happened," she said.

"Nerys, I do not believe you will ever learn from this, you've had three years to show remorse and yet you have continued like this is an inconvenience to your life."

John O'Dwyer, the father of Paul O'Dwyer, said the "grief is relentless".

"You wake up in the early hours and you cry. You carry on with your day but everything is hollow," he said.

"He was a true friend.

"Paul you gave everything without expecting anything in return we miss you every single day," he said.

Survivors' pain 'unbearable'

Jemma Dugdale, one of the survivors, said the impact of this incident "cannot be overstated".

"This tragedy happened because of poor decision making of people who did not have the skills knowledge or expertise," she said.

Gemma Cox, another of the survivors, said it turned her world upside down.

"The pain of it became unbearable," she said.

But said Lloyd had shown remorse to her and her children, adding: "I have seen her suffering day after day for the decisions and mistakes that were made."

Melody Johns said losing Andrea Powell, her sister-in-law, was "incomprehensible".

She said the impact of this was "complicated" explaining she didn't book through a company, "these were my friends".