Woman appears in court charged with manslaughter of four paddleboarders

A paddleboard tour company owner has appeared in court charged in connection with the deaths of four people in 2021.

Nerys Bethan Lloyd, 39, from Aberavon, South Wales, appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court charged with four counts of gross negligence manslaughter and one offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

The charges relate to an incident on the River Cleddau in Pembrokeshire on October 30 2021, which resulted in the deaths of Paul O’Dwyer, 42, Andrea Powell, 41, Morgan Rogers, 24, and Nicola Wheatley, 40.

Condolences

Lloyd was the owner and sole director of Salty Dog Co Ltd, which organised the paddleboarding tour. There were four survivors of the incident.

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.

Charges

Dyfed-Powys Police received a call at 9.02am on October 30 2021, stating there were a number of paddleboarders in distress at the weir in the centre of Haverfordwest.

Emergency services attended the scene, where Mr O’Dwyer, from Port Talbot, Ms Rogers, from Merthyr Tydfil, and Ms Wheatley, from Swansea, were declared dead.

Ms Powell, from Bridgend, was taken to nearby Withybush Hospital but died six days later.

Lloyd was charged with five offences relating to the incident on October 4 this year.

Importance

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.