Families' fury over 'brazen' appeal bid by paddleboard boss who caused four deaths

Families' fury over 'brazen' appeal bid by paddleboard boss who caused four deaths

18 minutes ago

Nicola BryanBBC Wales

A former paddleboard firm owner's "brazen" failed bid to shorten her prison sentence after causing the deaths of four people caused further pain for those already grieving, the families of two of her victims have said.

Nicola's husband Darren Wheatley said he was left in tears after Friday's hearing, while Morgan Roger's mother Teresa Hall said she wished ex-police officer Lloyd would leave their families in peace.

"There's just never an end to it," said Teresa, 57.

"She [Lloyd] is not letting anyone have peace. Not the people that have died and not us, nobody can have peace.

"We've got life sentences. Ours isn't just going to miraculously go away. I've lost my daughter for life."

Morgan, Teresa's only daughter, was a deputy manager for Aldi and had been preparing to join the fire brigade.

The 24-year-old was one of seven participants who took part in the paddleboard tour when the group ran into difficulty while crossing a weir in "treacherous" conditions.

"My daughter's not coming back," said Teresa, from Merthyr Tydfil.

"No matter how much I cry, no matter how much I'm angry, she's never going to walk through that door again.

"I just hope that she [Lloyd] will just give us a break and let us now have peace. That's all I want, just peace."

Both Teresa and Darren watched the proceedings at London's Court of Appeal at home on their laptops.

Darren said it was an agonising ordeal.

"I broke down sobbing and crying when they said the appeal was rejected," he said.

"It was a sense of relief, anxiety, nerves and it was like a weight being lifted again like what it was 12 months ago when she got sentenced."

Nicola, a poisons information specialist, had received her paddleboard for her 40th birthday just weeks earlier and had been excited about going on the trip run by Lloyd's company, Salty Dog Co Ltd.

When she died their children were just seven and two, and Darren said he lived with the pain of knowing Nicola has missed out on seeing their children grow up.

"It was devastating, it blew our family apart," said Darren.

He said Lloyd's decision to appeal her sentence had left him angry and convinced she only thought of herself.

"She's so brazen," said Darren from Pontarddulais, Swansea.

"I wish she'd never crossed paths with Nicola. But it's a name I'll never forget the rest of my life."

More than a year after the tragedy, a report by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) would find the four deaths were "tragic and avoidable" and identify a catalogue of errors on the day they died.

The MAIB report, published in December 2022, sets out exactly what happened that day.

Just before 08:00 on 30 October, 2021, the group of nine arrived in a van in Haverfordwest.

Before parking up, Lloyd and Paul O'Dwyer, Lloyd's co-instructor, stopped off in the town centre to inspect the river.

By about 08:49 everyone from the group was afloat and they set off downriver heading for Burton Ferry, with Lloyd out in front and Paul at the back.

They passed through Haverfordwest town centre five minutes later, with one of the group playing music through a portable speaker.

Minutes later they approached the weir.

Lloyd instructed those close by to follow her and keep to the centre of the river.

At 08:56, kneeling on her stand-up paddleboard (SUP), Lloyd was the first to descend the fish pass in the centre of the weir and was quickly swept downriver.

Andrea was the third paddleboarder to descend, Nicola was the sixth and Morgan was the eighth.

While the rest of the group was washed clear and swept downstream, Andrea, Nicola and Morgan were sucked into the hydraulic jump, or spin, a recirculating flow similar to a washing machine at the foot of the weir.

Monitoring from the rear of the group, Paul saw something was wrong, paddled to the right-hand side of the river and left the water.

On spotting some of the group were in difficulty, he removed his leash connecting his SUP to his leg, grabbed the board and jumped into the river above the weir before being carried over the right-hand side of it.

At 09:02 a passerby spotted the paddleboarders in difficulty in the water and dialled 999.

He then fetched a lifebuoy and repeatedly threw a line into the water, but none were able to grasp it.

Eight minutes later, emergency services began to arrive at the scene.

A multi-agency response followed, involving coastguard rescue teams and helicopter, police, fire and ambulance services, air ambulance and RNLI.

Andrea was recovered from the water close to the weir by members of the public.

She was resuscitated at the scene but died six days later due to injuries caused by drowning.

Nicola and Morgan's bodies were recovered from the river by fellow paddleboarders but both died at the scene.

Paul's body was located further downriver by the coastguard helicopter at about 11:00.

What went wrong?

In December 2022, the MAIB report aimed at preventing future incidents found:

The tour leaders were qualified to teach stand-up paddleboarding to beginners and novices in benign conditions but not lead tours on fast-flowing rivers

The paddleboarders lost their lives because the leaders were unaware of the treacherous conditions at the weir. They had not visited the weir before setting off so were unaware of the high river level and tidal conditions

They did not heed a flood alert which was in force at the time of the incident

The participants were not briefed on the presence of the weir or how to descend it

The group did not heed a sign close to their launch point which warned users the weir was dangerous and advised them to exit the river and carry their craft around it

The use of personal protective equipment such as clothing, buoyancy aids and leashes was inconsistent across the group

The group did not follow recognised advice that stand-up paddleboarders on fast-flowing water should wear a quick-release waist leash and a personal flotation device. At Lloyd's sentencing, Mrs Justice Stacey said: "The ankle leashes attached to the boards of those stuck in the hydraulic spin, which are totally unsuitable for fast-flowing water, made it even harder for them to get free."

Lloyd had not produced a written risk assessment for the trip

The competency of tour members who had not been previous customers of Salty Dog Co Ltd were not assessed

Participants were not required to complete a legal disclaimer, medical declarations, or provide emergency contact details before starting the tour, which delayed the police contacting the families of those who had died

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