Author: Rhys Gregory

A delivery driver who was caught driving with his foot on the dashboard whilst on a facetime call was one of the many drivers caught by officers conducting Op Tramline checks earlier this month. During the first week of December officers from the Road Crime Unit took part in Op Tramline – a national roads policing operation using an unmarked heavy goods vehicle. Provided by National Highways, the HGV tractor unit is used by police forces across the country to carry out patrols across strategic road networks targeting HGV drivers and commercial vehicles. The elevated position of the HGV cab…

A man who committed a string of sexual offences has been jailed following a South Wales Polcie investigation. Nicholas O’Connor, aged 35, of Cwmrhydyceirw, has been sentenced for two years after he was found guilty of several sexual offences. O’Connor appeared at Swansea Crown Court on Friday (December 19), to be sentenced for the following convictions: Seven counts of Exposure One count of Attempt sexual assault Four counts of Sexual assault During a trial at Swansea Crown Court, it was heard that, between September 21 2024, and October 23 2024, O’Connor exposed himself to nine different women in the Swansea…

Passengers are being encouraged to plan their journey over the Christmas period, with key engineering taking place over Christmas and January. No train services or rail replacement buses will be operating on 25 and 26 December. Services will finish earlier than normal on Christmas Eve and on New Year’s Eve and will start later on 27 December. On New Year’s Day, TfW will be running a full mainline service and a reduced hourly service on local Cardiff and Valleys services (Vale of Glamorgan via Barry, Rhymney, Aberdare and Merthyr). Planned engineering work Between 24-31 December, Network Rail will be undertaking…

A ceremony was recently held to mark the official opening of the site since works began in 2022. Situated at the foot of the historic Bodelwyddan Castle, the site celebrated its official opening following the completion of the first phase of works. Denbighshire County Council’s Chairman Arwel Roberts officially opened the country park at the ceremony. The project received £900,000 from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, with the work looking to address the condition of the parkland beginning in 2022. As a part of the works to reopen the parklands, woods and orchards to the public,…

Swansea Council is seeking views from residents for the installation of secure cycle storage units across the city. Using grant funding from the Welsh Government Active Travel Fund, the council is looking to install a number of cycle hangars is residential areas, where there is the most need. The innovative and secure ‘Cyclehoop’ bike hangars are already being used in other parts of the UK and provide an alternative option for cyclists who struggle with finding storage space in their home. Each bike hangar is made out of solid steel and can house up to six bikes. Residents will be…

Neath Port Talbot Council has welcomed the UK Government’s confirmation of a further £22 million for businesses affected by changes at Tata Steel, announced this week by the Secretary of State for Wales, Jo Stevens MP. The additional funding channelled through the Tata Steel Transition Board will help more local firms invest, grow, and create jobs in 2026. Cllr Steve Hunt, Leader of Neath Port Talbot Council, said: “The news of additional funding before Christmas is fantastic boost for local businesses. We’ve seen strong interest and uptake in these business support funds, and this means our Business Support and Economic…

A recent Estyn report has championed the community at Ysgol Bro Preseli in Crymych. Inspectors found pupils were developing pride in their local area, thriving in their learning and social development and were prepared for the next stages of their learning. Ysgol Bro Preseli is an all-age school with 932 pupils currently on roll, including 118 in sixth form. The Estyn report found most pupils at Ysgol Bro Preseli have extremely positive attitudes to learning and they treat staff with respect and listen carefully to the contributions of their fellow pupils. It adds that in almost all cases, teachers demonstrate…

A by-election will be held in Fishguard North East following the sad death of County Councillor Jordan Ryan in November. A Notice of Election will be published on Monday 5th January 2026.  Anyone wishing to stand for election must submit their nomination papers to the Returning Officer between the 6th January and 14th January, between 10am and 4pm, further details regarding nominations can be found on the Notice of Election when it is published. For further information and to obtain nomination papers please email [email protected] or call the Elections Helpline number 01437 775844. The Statement of Persons Nominated will be published…

RCT’s Cabinet has endorsed important recommendations for the Council to work with partners to install a life-saving defibrillator at every one of its schools in Rhondda Cynon Taf. These emergency devices would be made accessible to the wider local community on a 24/7 basis, where appropriate and possible. The potential for this initiative was first raised as a motion to the Full Council meeting in November 2024, which was unanimously supported. As a result, officers were requested to consider the feasibility of having a defibrillator placed at every one of the County Borough’s schools, and to explore if these could…

A bid for funding to build a new health and wellbeing hub in Newtown has been submitted to Welsh Government by Powys Teaching Health Board and Powys County Council. The submission of the plan (known as an Outline Business Case) follows decisions by Powys County Council’s Cabinet and Powys Teaching Health Board on 16 December 2025 to support the bid. If the bid for funding is approved, and planning permission is granted, then construction work could start as early as 2027. The proposed new hub, due to be built on the site of Y Parc offices, would see a wide…