Vigilante group pauses activities amid public backlash

Emily Price 

A vigilante group in Caerphilly has paused its activities amid a backlash from the public after its leader sought out the addresses of suspected asylum seekers and called for Ukrainian refugees to be deported.

Nation.Cymru reported on Wednesday (September 2) how Reform UK’s Blaenau Gwent Caerphilly Rhymney branch had thrown its support behind the newly established anti-immigration group, “Welsh Valley Child Protectors”.

The all-male group had been set up the day after the Reform branch published false claims that asylum seekers and refugees were accessing social homes in Caerphilly ahead of locals.

However, yesterday evening the leader of Welsh Valley Child Protectors, Joshua Edwards, added a “temporary pause” to his group’s Facebook page following the publication of our story which sparked outrage online.

The pause stopped any new posts, comments or reactions from appearing on the the group’s public Facebook page.

Before pausing the account, Edwards published a final post saying: “It’s happened already. I’m being posted all over FB and I’ve had a customer cancel a large job because of this group and my videos.”

Nation.Cymru previously reported that Edwards had posted videos of himself to his group’s Facebook page, which appeared to have been filmed on a handheld device while he was driving his van without wearing a seatbelt.

He also shared images of a poorly attended protest he had organised which saw members of his group carrying Welsh flags and swigging from beer cans whilst marching through Bedwas.

Following our report, Edwards deleted the clips that showed him at the wheel of his van whilst ranting to a camera about “illegal immigrants”.

However, one such clip had already been widely distributed online by outraged social media users.

In one of the clips posted to the Welsh Valley Child Protectors Facebook page, Edwards called on members of the public to send him the addresses of properties where migrants could be living.

He also asked for the addresses of suspected white British paedophiles, although he added that his “main concern” was the “masses of unvetted people” being “dumped” in Caerphilly.

One Facebook commentator revealed the location a block of flats in the county where they said they had seen 15 people who “definitely weren’t British”.

Another commentator responded to this saying residents at the property “don’t come out till [sic] it’s dark” adding that this behaviour was “embedded in them” because it’s so hot during the day in the Middle East.

Edwards and group co-founder Ross Perkins promised they would visit the address.

In another post, Edwards told another group member that there were “a few properties that need attention”.

In a later video, he criticised the number of Ukrainian refugees living in Caerphilly, saying he would place those who returned to Ukraine to visit family in the “same category” as asylum seekers arriving on small boats.

Edwards added that Ukrainian’s who chose to visit relatives should be “deported”.

Gwent Police confirmed they had received a call about Welsh Valley Child Protectors from a concerned member of the public, adding: “We will be reviewing the information they have passed on”.

Plaid Cymru’s Blaenau Gwent Caerphilly Rhymney MS Lindsay Whittle condemned the group’s actions describing the behaviour of its members as “totally unacceptable”.

He said: “People have fled war-torn countries to live in peace and they should not have to be fearful in any way.

“I’ve been made aware that three families from Ukraine have returned there because of abuse.

“This should not be happening. Caerphilly has always been a welcoming place.

“Unfortunately, we appear to have a situation where some may be listening to ill-informed nonsense, principally on social media.

“I urge people not to respond because those behind it only want to stir up trouble in our communities.”

Reform’s official Blaenau Gwent Caerphilly Rhymney branch claimed victory for the establishment Welsh Valley Child Protectors, highlighting in a Facebook post that the group had been created after the branch revealed the number of refugees living in social housing in Caerphilly.

The area is represented in the Senedd by three Reform UK Senedd Members – Catherine Cullen, Joshua Kim and arguably the party’s most high profile of the party’s MSs, Llŷr Powell.

Mr Powell lost a key by-election in Caerphilly in 2025 to Plaid Cymru’s Lyndsay Whittle.

Following his defeat he ran as the lead candidate for Reform in the new Blaenau Gwent Caerphilly Rhymney super constituency, successfully securing one of the six seats available in May.

Last week, concerns were raised for the safety of refugees in his constituency after his branch published an AI image of a queue of Black people with a caption claiming they were receiving social housing ahead of local people.

The branch boasted that it had found out via Freedom of Information requests that 18 refugees had been placed in social housing by Caerphilly Council in the last three years.

Although the information appeared to relate to people who had been granted official refugee status, the page published a synthetic image of 24 “asylum seekers” queuing on a housing estate, with a Black man at the front of the line holding out his hand.

Some commentators assumed the image was real and the post quickly went viral.

Reform’s Blaenau Gwent Caerphilly Rhymney branch blocked and deleted comments from users who raised concerns that it could inflame community tensions and put refugees at risk.

Welsh Valley Child Protectors quickly set up a Facebook page the day after the AI image was published by Reform and organised a demonstration over unfounded fears that a local Premier Inn would be used to house asylum seekers.

Whitbread, the firm that owns Premier Inn, said these rumours were “categorically” false.

Refugees who have been granted legal status gain the legal right to live and work in the UK which permits them to join council waiting lists on the same terms as other applicants.

They do not automatically receive priority or jump the queue ahead of local people.

Asylum seekers still waiting for a decision on their asylum claim cannot access social housing or join social housing waiting lists.

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