Author: Rhys Gregory

A Pontypridd man has been jailed for a campaign of online abuse which has been described as unprecedented by online investigators in south Wales. It was what appeared to be an isolated act of indecency in Ferndale in November last year, which unravelled a trail of online abuse which identified victims across the UK and as far as the USA. Owain Thomas was sentenced to 15 years in prison at Merthyr Crown Court on Friday (5 July) after pleading guilty to 158 online sex offences against children. The 29 year-old from Pontypridd used the internet to befriend children and incite…

Cardiff Bay will be home to mythical creatures and more this summer when the BRICKLIVE Fantasy Kingdom heads to Mermaid Quay. From Saturday 3rd August – Sunday 1st September, nine models made with a total of nearly 750,000 LEGO® bricks will take centre stage in Tacoma Square, in the heart of Mermaid Quay. [aoa id=”1″] Free to view, the display will feature an 11ft fire-breathing dragon, a unicorn and two hunting wolves as well as a wizard, princess, knight and huntswoman. Collectively the models took over 2,000 hours to build.  There will also be 10 cute dragon whelps (baby dragons) displayed…

The store which is known to sell handbags and clothes worth thousands of pounds has been targeted yet again. South Wales Police have arrested a 42-year-old man from Riverside, Cardiff, on suspicion of commercial burglary. Police CCTV operators alerted officers to someone smashing the shop window at around 5am this morning and the suspect was arrested in Despenser Street, Riveside, within 15 minutes. He is in custody and a number of designer items have been found. This is the third time so far this year that the Vivienne Westwood store in Cardiff has been targeted by criminals. In May and…

Three Advanced Paramedics from the Welsh Ambulance Service have passed their university courses to become the UK’s first ever ambulance service prescribing paramedics.  [aoa id=”1″]Following the change in UK legislation in April 2018 and Welsh amendments this year, Advanced Paramedics can now be to be trained to prescribe from a formulary of medications to enhance community-based care, improve patient access to healthcare options and expand patient choice.[/aoa] Advanced Paramedics Berwyn Jones, Georgina Passmore and Elton Green have now successfully completed their training which started in the autumn of 2018, with another two of their colleagues Mike Jenkins and Emma Nurse…

A stunning housing development in Swansea, financed by Principality Commercial and developed by Westacres, will provide an array of high-quality homes to families in the area. [aoa id=”1″] Situated in the heart of Caswell Bay, Summerland housing development will provide 30 luxurious homes to the open market through Westacres, with a further 31 homes being developed on an affordable basis for Pobl Group; 19 of these are 3-bedroom family homes being sold through shared ownership. [/aoa] The detached properties, which will be built to an exceptional standard consist of three to five spacious bedrooms and an open plan kitchen. The…

Hannah Blythyn AM hosted a successful event showcasing the food and drink sector from across North East Wales at the National Assembly for Wales. [aoa id=”1″] As part of the ‘Year of Discovery’ in Wales, the Assembly Member for Delyn held the “Discover North East Wales” event at the Senedd to shine a spotlight on the expanding culinary sector as part of the region’s wider tourism offer. This is the second event in as many years held by Hannah Blythyn AM in a bid to showcase North East Wales to a national audience. [/aoa] She said: “It was fantastic to…

Flexible working options are key in making construction a more attractive and progressive career choice for female talent, according to an RICS poll which revealed the top recommendations industry professionals believe will help employers encourage more female talent into the property sector. [aoa id=”1″]Women make up around 14% of the construction industry’s workforce, therefore it comes as no surprise that 48% of respondents to RICS’ poll* voted flexible working options as the top recommendation to help encourage and retain more female talent in the property and construction sector. This was followed by the need for more firms to raise awareness of their…

Farmers in Flintshire have become victims of a professional gang of quad bike thieves, with more than £15,000 of ATVs stolen in one night.   [aoa id=”1″]FUW member John Wrench, a beef and arable farmer, of Beeches Farm,  Hawarden, discovered the theft of his 2011 Yamaha Grizzly 350, worth £2500, at the same time as three other bikes were taken when six farms in the same area were robbed. [/aoa] “The worst thing is that the thieves broke through a security door and roller shutter to get into the shed the bike was kept in, there’s no way we could have prevented…

South Wales Police is investigating a fatal road traffic collision which occurred on the B4265 at Fonmon in the Vale of Glamorgan. At approximately 5.45pm on Wednesday, July 3 a blue BMW 1 series and an orange Kia Picanto collided at the junction with Fonmon. The two occupants of the Kia Picanto were conveyed to the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff. However despite the best efforts of medical staff the driver of the Kia, Jeanette Macdonald from the Barry and St Athan areas died of her injuries. The other occupant of the Kia, a 19-year-old woman remains in hospital in…

One of the UK’s leading independent insurance brokers has signed up to support Pembrokeshire’s popular charity event, the FootStep Challenge Weekend. Towergate Insurance Brokers is sponsoring the endurance event which incorporates the family-friendly FootStep Run, the TenFoot Swim and the first ever TenFoot Swim and Run. [aoa id=”1″]This is the third time the event, which has been named after the Tenby to Saundersfoot challenge, has been held. Over the years it has grown in popularity; this year 300 people have signed up for Saturday’s swim and swim and run and another 400 have signed up for Friday night’s fun run,…