Author: Rhys Gregory

Perry Allen McCarthy, from Penarth, has been sentenced to 21 years in prison for 18 child sex offences committed over a four-year period. The 65-year-old was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday, May 2. Detective Constable Joanna Cecerko from South Wales Police said: “I want to commend the victim for her courage in coming forward – thanks to her report and support from her family, justice has been served. “It has been a traumatic time for everyone involved and I am hopeful the outcome at court brings the victim and her family some comfort which they deserve.” McCarthy had…

Businesses across Swansea which have benefited from grant funding are urging others to apply. As of March 2025, 220 grants to local businesses worth a combined £1.85m had been issued by Swansea Council through the UK Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund. This helped leverage over £2.2m in private investment, while creating 100 new jobs and safeguarding 165 jobs. Figures also show 187 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year have been saved and that 83 new enterprises have been created. Applications are now once again open with a new round of pre-start, growth, innovation and carbon reduction grants available. Christos Georgakis, of…

Margam Country Park will mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day this spring with a powerful and visually striking programme of events designed to honour the end of the Second World War in Europe and pay tribute to the generation who lived through it. In partnership with the Friends of Margam Park, staff and volunteers have worked together to create a series of installations, exhibitions and commemorative displays that will be open to the public from late April through September, encompassing both VE Day on the 8th May and VJ Day on the 14th August. Inside Margam Castle, visitors will…

The tennis courts at Parc-y-Darren in Ystalyfera have officially reopened following a significant upgrade made possible through partnership funding and support from Neath Port Talbot Council. The £134,647 project – made possible thanks to a £121,182 grant awarded by Sport Wales (using Welsh Government funding) via its Court Collaboration Fund, made up of officers from Wales Netball, Tennis Wales, Basketball Wales and Sport Wales, and a £13,465 contribution from the council – has transformed the courts into a high-quality, multi-use space for the local community The upgrade included: •    Full resurfacing of the tennis courts •    New court markings •  …

Residents and businesses can now find out more and have their say on the exciting redevelopment proposals for the Rock Grounds site in Aberdare – to help refine the latest plans ahead of the final planning submission. The previous milestone for the scheme was in September 2024, when the Council’s Cabinet Members progressed the development by agreeing to the Council appointing a partner (Final Frontier Space Holdings) to design, develop and construct the project. The agreed use of the site is to establish a quality hotel, restaurant, bar and spa for the prominent town centre location. Importantly, the facilities complementing…

A Welsh business is developing a potentially revolutionary way of managing diabetes after receiving funding from the world’s largest research collaboration programme. Afon Technology Ltd is working on a world-first wearable non-invasive blood glucose sensor, which measures levels in real-time – eliminating the need for frequent and painful finger pricking. The Caldicot-based business received more than £2million in funding from Horizon Europe – the EU’s flagship £80 billion research and innovation programme – to fast track the development of its pioneering breakthrough. Called Glucowear, the sensor is worn on the wrist and uses ultra-low power microwave signals to monitor glucose…

The Welsh Government has completed a £2 million equity investment in tidal energy firm Inyanga Marine Energy Group, reinforcing Wales’ commitment to developing renewable energy. The investment, to be announced by First Minister Eluned Morgan at today’s Marine Energy Wales Conference in Cardiff, will help test improved tidal turbines in real sea conditions at the Morlais tidal energy site off Ynys Mon (Anglesey). The investment will fund improvements to the turbines, enabling them to produce up to 60% more energy. The turbines will power most of the tidal energy projects planned for the Morlais site. Morlais is located in an…

This year marks a major milestone for Rachel Bedgood, founder and CEO of CBS The Screening House, as she celebrates 20 years of running her own award-winning business. Launched in 2005 from a single desk and a clear vision, CBS has grown into one of the UK’s most respected DBS and pre-employment screening providers. Today, the company supports clients ranging from G4S and the British Heart Foundation to ITV, offering bilingual services in Welsh and English. The company employs 20 people and some of those team members have been with Rachel from that first year. The team now plans to…

The Corporate Healthcare Team at leading UK law firm Acuity Law is celebrating after completing 40 deals in the dental sector in Q1 of 2025. The Corporate Healthcare Team’s specialist dental mergers and acquisitions (M&A) division, understood to be the largest dedicated dental M&A team of any UK law firm, finalised the deals for individual and corporate providers covering purchases, sales, investments, restructurings and refinancings. Q1 coincided with the end of both the NHS year and the tax year which were key drivers in the deal volumes. Jon Lawley, Partner, Head of the Dental M&A division, said: “The team’s efforts…

We’re all aware of how prevalent electric vehicles are becoming on our streets, but it’s fair to say that many myths still make people unsure about them. From fears about the range to the costs involved, we’ll debunk these common misunderstandings regarding EVs. Myth 1: Electric cars can’t be driven for long trips Perhaps the biggest falsehood surrounding EVs is that it’s a bad idea to take one for a longer journey, due to the fear that you’ll run out of electricity and be stranded. While it’s true that some earlier EV models had a limited range and were suited…