Pembrokeshire campsite crash: Baby was inside tent that was struck by car which veered off the road and injured nine people
A baby was inside the tent that was struck by a car after it veered off the road and crashed into a campsite – leaving two people in a serious condition and seven others injured.
Clare Harris, who runs the Newgale campsite in Pembrokeshire, has said the baby is “okay” after the ordeal.
It is not clear if the child is one of those who required hospital treatment.
Two people are in a serious condition in hospital after a blue Ford Fiesta collided with a number of people and the tent shortly after 10.30pm on Saturday.
One person was airlifted to the University Hospital of Wales, the Welsh Ambulance Service said.
Four were taken by ambulance to Glangwilli Hospital, while one was taken to Morriston Hospital.
Ms Harris, who runs the campsite with her husband Mike, said: “The car was speeding down the hill, realised it needed to slow down and tried to brake.
“It flipped and rolled several times, and crashed into the tent.
“There was a young child, a baby, in the tent at the time, thankfully they are okay.
“It’s a tragic accident that the police are dealing with, that’s all we can say at the moment.”
HM Coastguard organised a helicopter landing site and supported paramedics during the incident. Pic: HM Coastguard
Levi Davies, 24, from Gwent, was staying on the campsite when the crash happened.
He said: “There was nine of us in our group. We heard the tyres screeching as they came round the corner, and then a loud bang as the car came over the bank and onto the campsite.
“In blind panic we ran out… The car, when we got there, there was one person still inside it, he had blood on him.
“There was two campers, one was really bad, he was in a really bad way.
“One of them, their leg was really bad, I’m not sure what other injuries they sustained.”
He added: “There was a lot of noise, a lot of screaming and shouting, a lot of people came out of nowhere, you don’t see a lot of people during the day, and then everyone was just there.
“A lot of noise.”
The car is believed to have been travelling from the village of Roch towards St Davids when it crashed off the A487.
Dyfed Powys Police said passengers in the car were among those injured.
Police said in a statement: “The road was closed to allow investigations and reopened at around 7.45am today.
“Officers are appealing for any information regarding the vehicle, a blue Ford Fiesta, and its occupants.
“We are especially interested in any dashcam footage or doorbell footage which may have captured the vehicle being driven from Roch to the scene of the collision at Newgale.”
HM Coastguard in Broad Haven said: “The team were paged at 11.23pm last night to assist with multi-agency incident in Newgale.
“We organised a helicopter site and supported paramedics with casualty care.”
Flowers appear to have been laid at the scene
A Welsh Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We were called yesterday at around 22:40 to reports of an incident at Newgale Campsite, Pembrokeshire.
“We sent six emergency ambulances, one duty operations manager, one Cymru high acuity response unit and our crews were supported on scene by the emergency medical and retrieval transfer service and search and rescue helicopter.
“One patient was flown to University Hospital of Wales, four patients were taken by road to Glangwilli Hospital, and one patient was taken by road to Morriston Hospital.”
UK
‘A catastrophic scandal’: Inside the tower block so dangerous residents face being kicked out at any moment
The moment we step into Willow Rise, the smell of damp is overpowering.
There are water stains across the carpet and rotten wood on the doors.
Around the corner, there’s a hole in the wall, barely patched up with a piece of polystyrene sheet.
We’re meeting a resident on the 13th floor of the building in Kirkby, Merseyside – but the lifts are broken and wires hang out of the service panel.
Like everyone living here, we will have to walk.
The disrepair in this block is everywhere you look.
Damp staining and ceiling damage around the block
It has now been deemed so unsafe by Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service that they are days away from serving a rare prohibition notice on this tower and its neighbour, Beech Rise, meaning residents will have to leave with immediate effect.
In total, 160 households here face instant homelessness.
After climbing 13 flights of stairs, we meet Chris Penfold-Ivany.
‘A catastrophic scandal’
He has terminal cancer, and after chemotherapy and a liver transplant, that climb is now the only way he can get up to his flat.
Chris Penfold-Ivany warns ‘this is another Grenfell in the making’
He tells us it’s making him breathless. He can no longer get his prescriptions delivered, as the drivers won’t come up all the stairs.
“It’s a catastrophic scandal that we have been left like this,” he says.
He has lived in this flat for 15 years and has watched the block slowly begin to fall apart over the last decade.
He tells us that numerous complaints have achieved nothing. “I’m going to say it,” he says, “this is another Grenfell in the making.”
‘Nobody can live like this‘
A few floors down, Arunee Leerasiri opens the door to us, in floods of tears.
The stress of the last few weeks has left her anxious and overwhelmed. There are boxes everywhere, bare hooks on the walls where pictures hung.
She is packing up her life just three years after putting her life savings into buying this flat.
Arunee Leerasiri says she doesn’t even recognise her flat as her home anymore
Her elderly mother has come to visit, but she had to hire removal men already to take her mattress into storage as she couldn’t manage without the lifts.
Tonight, and until they are told they must leave, they will sleep on the floor.
“I can’t eat, I can’t sleep,” she tells us, through tears. “Sometimes, if I’m honest, I can’t even think. This used to be my home, and now I look around and I don’t even recognise it.”
“Nobody can live like this,” she adds.
‘Danger, 415 volts’
Water damage around electrical equipment, including a ‘Danger high voltage’ labelled box
She shows us a video she filmed just a few weeks ago, of one of the electrical risers on the ground floor.
None of us can quite believe what we are seeing – water is pouring through the ceiling, directly on to fuse boxes and electrical wiring.
Arunee takes us down to show us the cupboard. The water has now stopped but there are damp stains all over the floor and around the electrical equipment.
The water pipes and electric boxes are just inches away from one another within the cupboard.
One of the boxes, marked ‘Danger, 415 volts’, is rusted through.
Next to it, there is a notice stuck to a resident’s door telling them a leak has been identified in their flat – and as a leaseholder, they will be responsible for paying to fix it.
“Tell me, how is this safe?” Arunee says. “Why is this building allowed to be open for the public, as a dwelling, with this kind of set-up?”
A hole in a wall patched up with polystyrene
Hidden owners and a plea to the government
Merseyside Fire and Rescue tell us they have been serving enforcement notices on the building managers for years, to no avail.
They have now been told there is no money for the millions of pounds worth of repairs that will be needed to bring the blocks up to a safe standard.
Read more from Sky News:
Reform UK chairman reverses decision to quit
Prince William and David Attenborough team up
Rod Stewart cancels more concerts
They have mandated a ‘waking watch’, where teams physically patrol the buildings daily to check for fire risks, without which they will serve the prohibition notice and tell residents they must leave straight away.
Knowsley Council has stepped in to pay for this temporarily – at a cost of £3,000 per day.
Their deputy leader tells us, though, that the money will soon run out.
Willow Rise and Beech Rise Towers in Merseyside have both been condemned by the fire service
Where to go?
With a complex management structure and several owners, managers and agents over the years, the council says it doesn’t even know who is to blame for the disrepair – or who even has the legal responsibility for maintaining the buildings.
It says discussions are ongoing with central government about whether any extra help – or money – can be provided to try to fix the mess.
Right now though, all the residents can do is wait.
With no date to leave and no idea if anything can be done to keep the buildings open, they are spending every day fearing the call to tell them they have to go.
They can only hope there will be somewhere for them if they do.
Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf has reversed his decision to quit the party, saying “the mission is too important” and that he “cannot let people down”.
Instead, he said he will return in a new role, heading up an Elon Musk-inspired “UK DOGE” team.
In a statement, he said: “Over the last 24 hours I have received a huge number of lovely and heartfelt messages from people who have expressed their dismay at my resignation, urging me to reconsider.”
He added: “I know the mission is too important and I cannot let people down.
“So, I will be continuing my work with Reform, my commitment redoubled.”
Mr Yusuf said he would be returning in a new role, seemingly focusing on cuts and efficiency within government.
He said he would “fight for taxpayers”.
Only two days prior, Mr Yusuf dramatically handed in his resignation.
He claimed he no longer thought getting a Reform government elected was a “good use of my time” – but has now seemingly changed his mind.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage welcomed the news of Mr Yusuf’s return.
He said: “I am delighted that Zia Yusuf will head up Reform UK’s DOGE department.”
Nigel Farage welcomed Zia Yusuf’s return. File pic: PA
Read more:
Why did Zia Yusuf resign as chairman of Reform UK?
Reform’s rise forces rethink for SNP
‘Farage could become PM’
Mr Yusuf’s initial decision to quit came after he publicly distanced himself from the party’s new MP, Sarah Pochin, when she asked Sir Keir Starmer about banning the burka at Prime Minister’s Questions.
Reform said a ban was not party policy – and the chairman called it a “dumb” thing to ask.
👉 Listen to Sky News Daily on your podcast app 👈
What is DOGE?
DOGE is a meme-coin inspired creation of Musk’s, standing for the Department of Government Efficiency.
It is the latest right-wing US import into British politics.
Before his public fallout with Donald Trump, the tech billionaire said his focus was saving taxpayers’ money by locating wasteful spending within government and cutting it.
Read more: How Elon Musk’s mission to cut government spending fell flat
However, opposition politicians questioned the impact of his efforts and how much he actually saved.
Musk initially had ambitions to slash government spending by $2trn (£1.5trn) – but this was dramatically reduced to $1trn (£750bn) and then to just $150bn (£111bn).
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway