Woman pleads guilty over deaths of four paddleboarders in Pembrokeshire

A woman has pleaded guilty to gross negligence manslaughter over the deaths of four paddleboarders on a river in Pembrokeshire.

Paddleboarding instructor Nerys Lloyd, 39, conducted a stand up paddle tour during extremely hazardous conditions on the River Cleddau in the West Wales town of Haverfordwest in October 2021.

Andrea Powell, 41, Morgan Rogers, 24 and Nicola Wheatley, 40 – and Lloyd’s fellow instructor Paul O’Dwyer, 42 – died after getting into difficulty.

At the time of the tragedy there had been heavy flooding and severe weather warnings were in place.

Lloyd, 39, who was the owner and sole director of Salty Dog Co Ltd, spoke to confirm her name before pleading guilty on Wednesday to all five counts, including an offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Police were called to the weir in Haverfordwest after reports of paddleboarders in distress.

As the group approached the weir, the three participants were pulled over the top and became trapped.

Mr O’Dwyer initially exited the water, but re-entered the river in an attempt to rescue the others.

Death has ‘left a void’

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

Ms Powell, from Bridgend, was taken to hospital but died six days later.

The four victims died of drowning/immersion, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

After the incident, Ms Wheatley’s family paid tribute to her and said her death had “left a void in [their] lives that will never be filled”.

Ms Rogers’s family said she was the “best that she could be” and would be “sadly missed”.

The family of Mr O’Dwyer described him as “a devoted husband, father, son and brother”, whose “passion for the water” began at an early age.

Ms Powell was someone who “loved life”, her family said, as they thanked those who had shown them support.

‘Avoidable tragedy’

Lisa Rose, specialist prosecutor with the CPS’s special crime division, said it was an “avoidable tragedy”.

“Despite going to check the state of the river before departing on the tour, Nerys Lloyd failed to inspect the weir,” she said.

Ms Rose said there was “no safety briefing or formal risk assessments” and that Lloyd “was not qualified to take paddleboarders out in such hazardous conditions”.

“Final decisions to continue with the event were Lloyd’s decision, and as a result she held complete and entire responsibility,” Ms Rose added.

Sentencing to take place in April

“I hope these convictions provide some sense of justice for those affected and our thoughts remain with the families and friends of the victims at this time.”

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Lloyd, of Aberavon, was charged with the offences on 4 October last year.

She was granted unconditional bail by Judge Mrs Justice Stacey until her sentencing hearing on 15 April.