Woman pleads guilty to manslaughter of four paddleboarders
Nerys Bethan Lloyd, 39, from Aberavon, admitted gross negligence manslaughter following the deaths of four paddleboarders in Haverfordwest in 2021.
The owner of a paddleboarding company has admitted the manslaughter of four people who drowned in an “avoidable tragedy” on a river in south-west Wales in 2021.
Paul O’Dwyer, 42, Andrea Powell, 41, Morgan Rogers, 24, and Nicola Wheatley, 40, all died on the River Cleddau in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, in October 2021 when their paddleboards went over a weir during “extremely hazardous conditions”.
The four victims had been part of a stand-up paddleboarding tour, organised by former police officer Nerys Bethan Lloyd.
Lloyd, 39, from Aberavon, south Wales, pleaded guilty to four counts of gross negligence manslaughter and one offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act, when she appeared before Swansea Crown Court on Wednesday.
She was the owner and sole director of Salty Dog Co Ltd, which organised the tour.
In a statement, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said an expert had concluded “the tour should not have taken place” and “Lloyd did not have a suitable qualification”, with her planning and supervision “inadequate”.
The CPS added there had been heavy flooding on the day, with the river running fast and severe weather warnings in place.
