A paddleboarding outing on a rain-swollen Welsh river turned fatal when four people drowned under the guidance of a former police officer, who has now been sentenced to more than a decade in prison, per the AP. On Wednesday, Nerys Bethan Lloyd, 39, was sentenced to 10.5 years in prison for gross negligence manslaughter at Swansea Crown Court. She had earlier pleaded guilty to four counts of manslaughter and failing to discharge her duty.
The case involved the deaths of four people during a paddleboarding trip on the River Cleddau in Haverfordwest on Oct. 30, 2021. Heavy rains had created "flood conditions," the court heard, and Lloyd, who ran a side business called the Salty Dog, led a group of beginners toward a weir without warning them about the obstacle or explaining how to safely navigate over it. Lloyd made her way down a narrow fish ramp that bisected the low dam but several customers were swept over it and into the deadly undertow.
Andrea Powell, 41; Morgan Rogers, 24; and Nicola Wheatley, 40, drowned. Paul O'Dwyer, who was helping Lloyd lead the tour, was able to make it to shore but returned to try to help and also died. In a statement, Lloyd described feeling "unbearable" pain. "I accept you are desperately sorry for what happened that day," Justice Mary Stacey told Lloyd. "But being sorry for what happened is different from remorse."
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The BBC reports Stacey noted that the "four participants were not wearing wetsuits and one had decided that a life jacket would not be necessary," and faulted Lloyd for the lack of a safety briefing prior to the outing. She also pointed out that the participants weren't using the proper leash for their boards based on the turbulent conditions and that Lloyd did not collect emergency contact information. Prosecutor Mark Watson had noted Lloyd and O'Dwyer "were not remotely qualified to guide clients on the dangerous stretch of river." (This content was created with the help of AI. Read our AI policy.)
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