Conner Marshall: Some probation staff were 'behind with work'

Conner Marshall, 18, died four days after he was attacked

Some probation staff were behind with work at the time a man was mistakenly killed by a serial offender who was under supervision, an inquest heard.

David Braddon, 26, from Caerphilly, mistook Conner Marshall for his estranged partner's former boyfriend at the Trecco Bay caravan park, Porthcawl.

Braddon pleaded guilty to murder and is serving life for beating him.

When the attack happened in 2015, he was under supervision for drug offences and assaulting a police officer.

An inquest into the death of Mr Marshall, from Vale of Glamorgan, is taking place in Pontypridd.

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Probation reforms took place in 2014, with privately-run community rehabilitation companies (CRCs) taking on the work.

Terry Reddington was the deputy head of the delivery unit for Wales and said some staff had fallen behind.

"It was a particular issue for some people in the Caerphilly office, but not all people," he said.

"Some staff could cope. Staff had different experiences. "

David Braddon is serving a life sentence for murder

However, he said the backlog created by the transition had been cleared.

He told assistant coroner Nadim Bashir there was enough staff for the number of cases.

Asked by Emma Zeb, representing Wales CRC, if it was a chaotic time, he replied: "In terms of chaotic, it was a time of change.

"You had people who had been working together in the probation service for 20 years and then they were starting to work for a new agency.

"I think that led to people being at different places at different times."

Diana Binding, former assistant chief executive of CRC denied it was chaotic there, but said she met with Braddon's probation officer Kathryn Oakley who was behind with her work.

"I wouldn't take the view that Kathryn Oakley was very new to the role, she had been working in the probation service for well over a year," she told the inquest. 

"It is a demanding job. Her situation was no different to any other staff member, but they were managing their workload."

The inquest continues.