A former police officer and paddleboarding tour operator has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for gross negligence manslaughter after a tragic incident that claimed four lives in Wales.
On Oct. 30, 2021, seven people joined a paddleboarding tour organized by Salty Dog, a company owned by Nerys Bethan Lloyd. The beginner group took to the River Cleddau during dangerous water conditions. In the days before, five centimeters of rain had fallen. The river had high water levels nearing flood conditions and fast currents. Despite this and a weather warning, the tour went ahead, and four participants died.
The victims were Andrea Powell, Morgan Rogers, Nicola Wheatley, and Paul O’Dwyer. O’Dwyer was the co-instructor with the group. He initially managed to get out of the water but went back in to try and rescue those who were struggling. Three died at the scene; a fourth died in the hospital days later.
Paul O’Dwyer, 41, Andrea Powell, 41, Nicola Wheatley, 40, and Morgan Rogers, 24, died in the incident in south-west Wales. Photo: Dyfed Powys Police/PA/Family photos
Woeful safety measures
Neither Lloyd nor O’Dwyer was qualified to lead the tour, and safety measures were woeful. Four in the group were not wearing wetsuits, one was not wearing a life jacket, and they had no safety briefing before entering the river. Lloyd had received repeated warnings about severe weather and hazardous river conditions. O’Dwyer had even questioned her about the trip and researched a less dangerous alternative but was ignored.
The fatalities occurred at a section of the river known as Fish Pass. Lloyd did not warn the group about the weir on the route. As they approached, the 1.3-meter drop was not visible to participants from their angle. The group could have portaged around it, but Lloyd battered on.
The best place to cross their weir was down a narrow fish ramp in the middle. Lloyd did this and shouted back to the group to do the same. Only one participant heard her, and the ramp was not visible to them.
“Without knowing about the fish ramp and how to deal with it, your instructions were vague and meaningless and could not have been acted upon because of the flow and strength of the current,” said the sentencing statement.
Conditions at the weir the day after the tour. Photo: CPS
Recirculating wave
As the group went over the weir, they were sucked into the dam’s recirculating wave, which is difficult to get out of.
Justice Dame Mary Stacey, who sentenced Lloyd, commented, “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…You didn’t have any next-of-kin details. No consent forms were obtained. There had been no mention to the group of a weir on the river and how to deal with it, and no discussion of the tidal river conditions whatsoever.”
Initially, Lloyd told the police that the group was intermediate level, had received a safety briefing, and that she and O’Dwyer had checked the river conditions earlier that day. She blamed O’Dwyer for the incident and said that she herself had been sucked into the hydraulic when trying to assess the portage steps.
Accounts from surviving participants and CCTV at the scene disprove all of this. CCTV footage was not shown in court, as it was deemed too distressing.
Mrs Justice Stacey said that Lloyd was more interested in an “exciting” route, and that she showed “a blatant disregard for a very high risk of death.”
Lloyd pleaded guilty, and at the end of the trial, she took full responsibility for the disaster.
