Author: Rhys Gregory

Staff from leading recruitment specialist Acorn have shown the true meaning of Christmas this year, taking part in a festive fundraiser, raising over £2,500 so far for mental health charity Mind. Teams from all 38 branches and on-site teams across the UK, including the Acorn Head office in Celtic Springs, Newport, have been donning Christmas jumpers, baking festive cakes, holding raffles and Christmas quizzes with prestigious prizes including a weekend hire of an Audi A8 and even busking in the streets of Exeter, all in the name of a very good cause. The fundraising efforts began on the 3rd December…

A development of high-quality homes is being built in the Narbeth area, with local construction firm R&M Williams already starting work on the site. The Maes Yr Orsaf development will contain 19 four-bedroom properties and will comprise of private and affordable social housing, with work due for completion in 2019. Darryn Parry, managing director of R&M Williams said on the project: “We’re delighted to be providing new-build housing for residents in Narbeth this year. This is a highly sought after area for homeowners, particularly with the reputation Narbeth has for being a shopper’s haven and being so well connected to…

More than half a million pounds has potentially been saved from being defrauded from people’s bank accounts this year within South Wales – thanks to an initiative between high street banks and police. The Banking Protocol allows staff in banks and building societies to contact police if they suspect a customer is in the process of being scammed, and is a partnership between police, the finance industry and trading standards. A total of £520,680 – which could otherwise have been fraudulently taken from victims’ accounts – has been saved between January and November 2018. In that time, South Wales Police…

Jimi Jones wanted to give back to the neonatal intensive care unit at Swansea’s Singleton Hospital as staff there saved his life when he was born. He also smashed his original fundraising goal of £100 thanks to the success of a sponsored walk up Pen y Fan, which was supported by his entire school. His mum Jo Griffiths, 30, said Jimi had come up with the idea himself to celebrate his 10th birthday. She said: “He told me, ‘It’s been 10 years so shall we raise some money to give back?’ “When he was little he didn’t realise what he…

A LEADING law firm is going from strength to strength after celebrating a landmark anniversary. [aoa id=”1″] Edward Hughes Solicitors marked 70 years in business by securing a prestigious quality mark and revealing plans for further expansion in 2019. The company employs up to 30 staff in Rhyl and Colwyn Bay and is one of the longest-standing and most respected companies in North Wales, having again secured the Law Society’s Lexcel Accreditation for Excellence in Legal Practice Management and Client Care. Partners David Jones, Richard Johnson and Alex Fitzgerald all live in Denbighshire and have more than 65 years’ experience…

Cybersecurity is never far from the headlines, with news of data breaches and cyber attacks an almost daily occurrence. In that respect, 2018 was much like many previous years, with a steady stream of stories revealing new cybercrime threats and malware attacks as well as highlighting the same old security weaknesses and system failures. One of the biggest and most serious incidents of the year happened just last month when it was revealed that a security breach at the Marriott International hotel chain compromised the personal data of up to 500 million guests, including not only names, addresses, emails and…

Thousands of meals have been provided to people in need this Christmas thanks to customer donations at Tesco stores across Cardiff. Generous customers in the area donated nearly 18,000 meals for food charities FareShare and The Trussell Trust during the Tesco Food Collection, which ran in stores from 29 November to 1 December. Tesco asked its customers to donate long-life items to help people in need as part of their usual shop, with the supermarket announcing its delight that customers were more generous than ever with an increase on the previous year’s collection. With this year’s UK-wide total of 3.5…

A pioneering scheme to divert low level offenders away from a life of crime is being launched in North Wales. The idea has been championed by North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones who says it will cut reoffending rates as well as reducing police and court time. It’s anticipated part of the Checkpoint programme will be piloted in a selected area of North Wales in the New Year with the aim of rolling it out across the region over the next 12 months. The scheme, which has been developed by Cambridge University, has been successfully trialled in Durham.…

The Christmas spirit is well and truly alive in Wales as a record-breaking 13,250 gifts have been donated to the St David’s Toy Appeal, smashing the original target of 10,000 that had been set and beating the donation record set in previous years. Supporting over 20 incredible charities this year, St David’s wanted to ensure that no child in South Wales is left empty handed this Christmas, and thanks to the generosity of shoppers, the initiative has generated thousands of donations for charities across Wales. Since the appeal’s launch on December 1st, charitable shoppers have been out in force, picking…

Firefighters from South Wales Fire and Rescue Service Barry Station, Red Watch, are set to deliver donated gifts from the community to the children at Ty Hafan on Christmas Day. Ty Hafan, a Welsh registered charity, provides holistic palliative care for children with life-limiting conditions and their families throughout Wales. “We are constantly amazed by the extra mile our friends in the community will go to and the Barry Fire fighters are testament to this.  Over the Christmas season, Ty Hafan will ensure that the little ones with us will receive round-the-clock care from our brilliant nurses but thanks to the kindness of people like…