Residents raise concerns over self appointed ‘community helper’

Emily Price 

Residents in west Wales have raised concerns about a self appointed “community helper” who has been “assisting” with emergency incidents without authority to do so.

Ajay Owen launched Support and Rescue Services (SARS) Cymru in 2024 – an organisation he claims provides emergency responses to communities in need.

The company’s website states it can provide support during adverse weather events and liaise with emergency services and local authorities to coordinate responses during emergency incidents.

It also reports to have a “100% success rate” in cases of missing people and animals.

SARS Cymru volunteers travel in vehicles fitted with amber flashing lights and wear hi-vis vests with patterns and colours similar to those worn by police officers.

However, locals have expressed worry that CEO Ajay Owen is attending local incidents and interacting with emergency services without formal authority or training.

The SARS Cymru Facebook page has over 11,000 followers and appears to present as an official emergency service.

It publishes regular updates on road closures, flooding and power outages across Wales and advertises an emergency telephone number which diverts calls to a mobile phone number Owen says he uses for “business purposes”.

The SARS Cymru Facebook page also shares images of volunteers attending emergency scenes alongside Dyfed Powys Police, Welsh Ambulance Service, National Grid and Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue.

However, the fire service has confirmed to Nation.Cymru that it is “not affiliated” with SARS Cymru and that in an event of an emergency locals should call 999.

A spokesperson said: “We would like to reassure the public that all emergency incidents within our area are managed by trained and authorised personnel operating under strict procedures to ensure safety and effectiveness.

“Our crews work closely with partner agencies to provide a coordinated response during incidents, and we do not delegate authority to individuals or organisations outside of these recognised partners as part of our operational response model.”

A Dyfed Powys Police spokesperson said: “Dyfed-Powys Police is not affiliated with SARS Cymru.”

‘Ridiculed’

Ajay Owen also administers several Facebook community groups across Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion.

Residents told us that anyone that questions his motives is “quickly removed” from the groups or “publicly ridiculed”.

On Owen’s personal Facebook page, we found a number of posts hitting out against local businesses and public servants.

The CEO criticised Pembrokeshire County Council social workers and likened adoption to “trafficking children in a legal way”.

He has also submitted complaints against police officers, firefighters and council staff and branded communities “selfish” for not showing gratitude for his voluntary work.

In a now deleted post, the SARS founder targeted several locals – including a butcher and fireman – with criticism and attempts to escalate matters to employers and authorities.

Backlash

Owen received a backlash from community members after he shared screenshots of private messages and images of the children of locals that had become embroiled in disagreements with him.

He later published a long apology before retracting it and then deleting the post.

The SARS founder said he had posted the images of children to give locals “a taste of their own medicine” after some residents shared an image of him and his vehicle number plate amid concerns about his behaviour.

A Pembrokeshire local told Nation.Cymru: “These actions have caused significant fear and anxiety in the community, with residents worried that online disagreement could jeopardise careers.

“The pattern of behaviour is escalating rather than diminishing, with multiple examples of volatility, manipulation, and aggressive behaviour.

“Residents report stress, fear, and anxiety as a result. Several local businesses and individuals have had their reputations affected, and repeated interference with councils, emergency services, and community groups shows this is more than isolated incidents.”

‘Petty’

Nation.Cymru found that some of Owen’s social media posts had been repeatedly edited, often changing or being removed completely.

In one post about residents in Crymych, Owen warned: “Don’t be petty because I can out-petty you all.”

He told Nation.Cymru he had reported several residents to police for “harassing him” and sending “threatening” Facebook messages.

Owen said he had banned “numerous residents” from local community social media groups because he feared a “backlash” following his previous decision to stand for Reform UK at the May Senedd election.

The SARS founder fell out with Reform’s Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire branch earlier this year after he leaked messages from an internal group chat and appeared in a news article repeating false claims about asylum seekers and children at a Pembrokeshire school.

On Tuesday (November 25) after Owen was made aware that locals in Pembrokeshire had sought the help of news outlets to expose his behaviour, he published an online response that was over 5000 words long.

Helpline

Defending his organisation, Owen compared SARS Cymru to the work of charities such as the British Red Cross and St John Ambulance adding that he has made clear SARS Cymru is “not an emergency service”.

He said: “Our situational updates come directly from members of the public who take their time to report to us any issues they’re facing such as traffic build-up, road traffic accidents, power cuts, emergency incidents, etc.

“We then follow all pages such as Dyfed-Powys Police, Fire Service and other statutory services from across Wales to ensure we can be the one-stop shop for members of the public to source their information from – no one wants to go from page to page.

“We’ve posted numerous times that we do not report the posts to relevant agencies – if it is a non-emergency then we will help wherever we can.”

On the use of his company’s emergency telephone number – Owen said that anyone who calls the SARS helpline with a real emergency is told to call 999.

‘Selfish’

The SARS founder defended his comments about “selfish” communities that hadn’t shown him thanks saying he and his volunteers just wanted “some recognition” for their work.

We asked Owen whether he had any formal agreements or training with emergency services – or if he was turning up at incidents without permission.

He claimed he had previously worked with a health board and had volunteered with a first aid charity, adding that he was looking to re-train next year, although he didn’t specify what this would entail.

When we pressed the SARS CEO on whether an emergency service had ever requested his assistance, Owen said: “I’m not answering any questions because I don’t need to, if you did your research you’d know.”

Named

On the various complains he had made about public servants, Owen said he had made a substantial amount of them on behalf of the community.

He said: Naming a public officer/‘servant’ is not defamatory. Why would it cause distress – every time I’ve named someone online, I’ve made them very much aware that it will be very public — no objections have been raised at all when I have stated that.”

Owen said he sometimes uses the SARS Cymru Facebook page to publish “personal posts” because he wanted to make sure that it isn’t viewed as a “professional” page.

Nation.Cymru noted that some of the personal posts published to the SARS social media related to online spats and arguments between Owen and locals.

He said: “We are all human and we are doing this because we do actually love the community – just some communities are more complex and stuck in the times such as the past and won’t move forward.”

Owen added: “Our posts are information relayed either from official sources or from members of the public.

“As you know, with autism, it can sometimes come across as though we are quite ‘robot-y’, and too straight to the point.

“I point this out on numerous occasions. I try to be friendly, but come across as sarcastic – when I’m angry, I come across as rude – it’s just who I am as an individual – that’s part of being autistic.”

‘Hate’

On concerns about Owen’s behaviour he said: “The community pushback has been significant – it’s unfortunate that people feel this way. If anyone has any organisation concerns, they can email or WhatsApp.

“I have received numerous unkind messages threatening my life and my family. I have also received numerous apology messages.”

He added “This goes to show that locals have nothing better to do – their campaign of harassment and hate continues to grow strongly, further supporting my cause and my views of how sly, small and narrow minded the community is – my view will not change.

“All these incidents have been reported to the police, including comments which have since been deleted in the community group for all (the one myself is blocked from) – over 100 screenshots have been submitted, including the threats.”

Following the publication of our story, Owen sent abusive messages to a Nation.Cymru journalist branding them “scum” before threatening to report them to the press regulator.