Nerys Bethan Lloyd was in court following the deaths of four paddleboarders on the River Cleddau in Wales. Her company organised a river tour, when the group got into difficulty
A former police officer who is accused of causing the deaths of a group of paddleboarders has appeared in court.
Nerys Bethan Lloyd, 39, owner of tour company Salty Dog Co Ltd, attended court following the tragedy on the River Cleddau in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Four people died after a group became trapped in Haverfordwest town weir on October 30, 2021.
Dyfed-Powys Police were alerted to a number of paddleboarders in distress at around 9.02am. It was earlier reported that the group got caught up in a flooded weir.
Paul O’Dwyer, 42, Andrea Powell, 41, Morgan Rogers, 24, and Nicola Wheatley, 40, were declared dead. Lloyd was charged with five offences relating to the incident on October 4 this year. Lloyd has been charged with four counts of gross negligence manslaughter and one offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
She spoke only to confirm her name, date of birth and address during a short hearing at the court on Tuesday morning. District Judge Mark Layton said members of the families of those who died had attended the court in person and online.
He told them: “I take this opportunity to offer my condolences to you for your very sad loss.” Speaking to Lloyd, the judge said: “Your case is one that cannot be dealt with by this court. The date you will appear before Swansea Crown Court is January 3 at 9.30am. You are released on unconditional bail.”
No details of the case were given to the court. Speaking at the time, Rosemary Ainslie, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “The charges relate to a commercial paddleboarding river tour on October 30 2021, where four of the group became trapped in Haverfordwest town weir and tragically lost their lives.
“The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against the defendant are active and that she has the right to a fair trial. It is extremely important there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”
The defendant will appear for a plea and trial preparation hearing at Swansea Crown Court on January 3.
