Paddleboarding company owner ‘not qualified’ to lead tour in which four died

The owner of a paddleboarding company was “not remotely qualified” to lead a tour in which four people died on a river in south-west Wales.

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 in March.

She was the owner and sole director of Salty Dog Co Ltd, which organised the tour.

Although they had undertaken a course earlier in the year, this was a basic, entry-level course

Mark Watson KC, speaking for the prosecution, told the court on Tuesday that Lloyd and Mr O’Dwyer, who helped act as an instructor, were “not remotely qualified” and that the stretch of river had a “real potential for danger”.

“Although they had undertaken a course earlier in the year, this was a basic, entry-level course, which was wholly unsuited to leading a tour on a river in spate with hazards such as a weir,” he said.

He said the group had set off shortly before 9am despite the recent heavy rain and weather warnings being in place.

Mr Watson KC said none of the victims was aware of the weir or how to navigate it.

Because of the heavy rain, around “two tonnes of water” were crossing a one-metre section of the weir every second.

“It was known to the defendant and Paul that there was a large weir in the town centre of Haverfordwest which spanned the width of the river, because they had paddled over it in August 2021,” Mr Watson said.

“The weir had a narrow fish ramp at its centre, which was only slightly wider than the width of a paddleboard.

“Save for that ramp, the entire face of the weir dropped sharply down to the river below.

“On the morning of October 30 2021, this was a drop of approximately 1.3m between the water levels above and below the weir.

Text messages between the defendant and Mr O’Dwyer show he had suggested an alternative route in Milford Haven but had been “rebuffed” by Lloyd.

Lloyd went ahead of the group and safely made it down the fish ramp.

When the participants followed her, they were swept over the weir, where some became trapped.

Mr O’Dwyer, who initially got out of the river safely, re-entered in an attempt to rescue the others, but was immediately dragged over the weir.

All four victims died from drowning.

The court heard that one woman pulled out of the trip at the last minute.

The evening before, the woman had a conversation with Mr O’Dwyer, where she asked if he was aware of the weir in the town.

She told him that kayakers and canoeists do not go down the weir but use a slipway further down.

Mr Watson said Mr O’Dwyer did “not really reply to this comment”.

Lloyd, wearing a blue shirt and black trousers, listened to statements from the families of the victims, often staring down at her hands.

Ms Wheatley’s husband Darren said he had waited “three long years” to tell Lloyd what he thinks of her, branding her a “coward” and a “charlatan”.

“The only person Nerys Lloyd cares about is Nerys Lloyd,” he said. “You have presented yourself as a stone-cold, heartless individual.

“You have continued to live your life as if nothing ever happened.”

He accused her of hiding behind a “carefully orchestrated smokescreen” of charity work.

The manner in which Morgan died will haunt me for the rest of my life

Mr Wheatley said the first Christmas after his wife died Lloyd was posting pictures of herself smiling at a light display at Margam Park.

“You had a joyful look on your face without a care in the world, without any sign of remorse.”

Theresa Hall, the mother of Morgan Rogers, said her daughter’s life was taken for “nothing more than profit”.

“Since that day, my time has stopped, casting a veil over my life,” she said.

“Morgan was my only daughter, my precious girl.”

She added: “The manner in which Morgan died will haunt me for the rest of my life.

“It was a brutal way for my beautiful, innocent daughter to lose her life, and for that, I will never forgive you for what you have done.”

Mark Powell, Ms Powell’s husband, cried as he told the court he and his wife had moved to Wales in 2018 for a “more enjoyable life” and to raise their son.

“Little were we to know that three years later, the move would culminate in Andrea’s tragic death,” he said.

“On Friday October 29, (my son) and I hugged and said goodbye to Andrea as she was picked up from home to go on a paddleboarding trip to Haverfordwest.

“Sadly, that would be the last time I would see her as she was that day – happy, content, her beautiful heart beating and her body breathing without the aid of a machine.”

He added: “How can a serving police officer allow this to happen?

“Not only was Nerys Lloyd lackadaisical, she was also unqualified, deceitful, wholly incompetent and not fit to have my wife’s welfare and life in her hands.”

In a statement read to the court, Ceri O’Dwyer, who was on the tour, described her husband, Paul, as the “kindest man” but admitted he made a “catastrophic error of judgment”.

She said Lloyd had shown an “utter lack of remorse” from someone she considered a friend and “aunt” to her son.

“When I needed you most, instead of honesty and accountability, I was met with blame, rejection and gaslighting,” she said.

“I could have hated you from the day of the incident, but I did not. I defended you, whilst you twisted the truth, shifting more responsibility onto Paul, making me feel paranoid for questioning you.

“I have never denied Paul’s role in what happened, but I will not allow him to be blamed for more than he deserves.”

Lloyd appeared to tear up after one of her friends, Gemma Cox, who had been on the trip, defended her.

She said: “Nerys has shown remorse to me and my children every single day.

“Not once has she denied her role or her wrongdoings in this.

“I have seen her suffering day after day for the decisions and mistakes that were made, and the heartbreak and devastation it caused.”

She added: “Every day I remember the look on Mel’s face as she struggled to get back on her board and the terror in Jemma’s eyes as we were pulled down the river.

“Not a day goes by without remembering how it felt pulling Morgan onto my board and trying for roughly 40 minutes to bring her back.

“Seeing Nerys to the left of me doing the same with Nicola.”

The judge, Mrs Justice Dame Mary Stacey, adjourned the sentencing until Wednesday.

She told the prosecution both the victims’ families and Lloyd were entitled to an explanation for the “inordinate delay” in bringing the case to court.