Addressing Nerys Lloyd before jailing her, the judge sentencing the paddleboard business owner who has been put behind bars following the deaths of four people in 2021 in Pembrokeshire, said that the group was left with no choice but to go over the weir in Haverfordwest which "inevitably" caused the "avoidable" tragedy.
Thirty-nine-year-old Nerys Lloyd, from Aberavon, who was the owner and sole director of Salty Dog Co Ltd, has been sentenced to 10 years and 6 months for gross negligence manslaughter of Paul O’Dwyer, 42, Andrea Powell, 41, Morgan Rogers, 24, and Nicola Wheatley, 40, following their tragic deaths following the incident in Haverfordwest Town Weir on October 30, 2021.
She admitted all four charges on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, along with one count under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
When Judge Mrs Justice Stacey read out the sentence on Wednesday, April 23, at Swansea Crown Court, she stated that the defendant provided an "inconsistent" account of what happened that day compared to the "CCTV evidence and the evidence of the survivors".
"When you were interviewed in August 2022 you firmly placed the blame on Paul who you said would undertake all the risk assessments and safety briefings," she stated.
"You also denied instructing Kerry to follow you down the middle of the weir, which I find was untrue."
The judge said that Lloyd showed "flagrant disregard" of her duty to take care of the participants.
"You will be released from custody no later than two-thirds of the way through your sentence and the remainder will be served on licence in the community,” she added.
This means Lloyd will spend up to seven years in prison before being released.
Thirty-nine-year-old Nerys Lloyd, from Aberavon, who was the owner and sole director of Salty Dog Co Ltd, has been sentenced to 10 years and 6 months for gross negligence manslaughter of Paul O’Dwyer, 42, Andrea Powell, 41, Morgan Rogers, 24, and Nicola Wheatley, 40, following their tragic deaths following the incident in Haverfordwest Town Weir on October 30, 2021.
She admitted all four charges on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, along with one count under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
When Judge Mrs Justice Stacey read out the sentence on Wednesday, April 23, at Swansea Crown Court, she stated that the defendant provided an "inconsistent" account of what happened that day compared to the "CCTV evidence and the evidence of the survivors".
"When you were interviewed in August 2022 you firmly placed the blame on Paul who you said would undertake all the risk assessments and safety briefings," she stated.
"You also denied instructing Kerry to follow you down the middle of the weir, which I find was untrue."
The judge said that Lloyd showed "flagrant disregard" of her duty to take care of the participants.
"You will be released from custody no later than two-thirds of the way through your sentence and the remainder will be served on licence in the community,” she added.
This means Lloyd will spend up to seven years in prison before being released.
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