Category Archives: Wales

30 water treatment works released 11bn litres of raw sewage in a year, study suggests

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Exclusive: Researchers analysed works run by nine water and sewerage companies in England and Wales

Eleven billion litres of raw sewage were discharged from a sample of 30 water company treatment works in one year, new research suggests.

The study aimed to reveal the volume of discharged effluent released from storm overflows by water firms. Companies are not forced to reveal the volume of raw sewage released during discharges. They are only required by regulators to provide data on the number of discharges and the length of time they lasted.

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Bank holiday weekend forecast to bring UK’s hottest day of year so far

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Met Office says temperatures could reach 24C with fine conditions expected to continue into next week

The UK could experience the hottest day of the year so far this bank holiday weekend, with temperatures expected to reach as high as 24C (75F).

The Met Office said the area of high pressure, which has brought fine conditions across the UK over the past few days, is forecast to continue through the weekend and into next week.

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Major reforms to Welsh care system needed, finds Senedd committee

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Report raises concerns about near 23% rise in children in care over 10 years amid serious shortage of social workers

Radical reforms to the care system in Wales are needed to address a “shocking” rise in the number of looked after children, a Welsh parliament committee has concluded.

The committee said the number of children in care was up by almost 23% since 2013 while at the same time there were shortages of qualified social workers.

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Police admit following e-bike before crash that killed Cardiff teenagers

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South Wales force refers itself to police watchdog following deaths of Kyrees Sullivan and Harvey Evans

Police are facing serious questions and community anger after taking almost 24 hours to admit potential involvement in the pursuit of two teenagers, whose deaths sparked riots in Cardiff.

Kyrees Sullivan, 16, and Harvey Evans, 15, were killed in the Ely area of the city just after 6pm on Monday, minutes after CCTV footage appeared to show them being followed by a police van as they rode together on an e-bike.

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Cardiff riots: social media rumours about crash started unrest, says police commissioner

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South Wales PCC says false reports police pursuit led to road crash that killed two teenagers fuelled ‘large-scale disorder’

False rumours on social media blaming police for the deaths of two teenagers in a crash in Cardiff triggered riots that led to at least 12 police officers being injured, a policing chief has said.

Alun Michael, the South Wales police and crime commissioner (PCC), told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme there was a road traffic collision involving two teenagers on an off-road bike or scooter and that both had died.

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Woman died on floor after waiting over five hours for ambulance in Wales

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Family of Rachel Rose Gibson believe she had heart attack at home five minutes from hospital in Wrexham

A 58-year-old woman died alone curled up in a blanket on the floor of her bedroom as she waited more than five hours for an ambulance.

Relatives of Rachel Rose Gibson believe she had a heart attack at her home in Wrexham, north Wales, only a short drive away from a hospital, but died before an ambulance reached her.

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Police assessment places violence against women and girls on same footing as terrorism

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First official document on VAWG in England and Wales is similar to those used for threats such as serious organised crime, say chiefs

Police chiefs have issued the first official assessment of violence against women and girls in the UK, placing such offences on the same footing as terrorism and serious organised crime.

The 230-page intelligence document outlining the crimes that pose the greatest threats to women and girls has been shared with all forces by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).

Domestic abuse.

Rape and serious sexual offences.

Child sexual abuse and exploitation.

Tech-enabled VAWG, such as online stalking and harassment.

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Police officer filmed appearing to punch man repeatedly in head during arrest in Wales

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Independent Office for Police Conduct has launched investigation into incident in Porthmadog

The police watchdog has launched an independent investigation after a police officer in Wales was filmed appearing to punch a man repeatedly in the head before arresting him.

Footage of the incident is circulating on social media and has caused considerable “public concern”, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said.

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Plaid Cymru MP defends efforts to keep leader Adam Price after damning review

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Liz Saville Roberts denies party tried to put own interests before need to ‘detoxify’ internal culture

A senior Plaid Cymru figure has defended attempts by some in the party’s hierarchy to keep Adam Price in place as leader despite a damning review into the culture of the party, arguing that they did so because they believed stability was needed to bring about change.

Price announced his resignation as leader late on Wednesday – a week after a review said his party had failed to “detoxify” its culture and found evidence of misogyny, harassment and bullying.

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Second homes ‘destroying’ Welsh-speaking areas, say campaigners

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More than 1,000 people gather at Caernarfon Castle to demand new law to regulate market and protect communities

More than 1,000 people gathered outside Caernarfon Castle in north Wales for a rally protesting against second homes, which they say are “destroying” Welsh language strongholds.

Members of Cymdeithas yr Iaith (the Welsh Language Society) are calling for a new Property Act to protect communities in language heartlands such as Gwynedd in the north and Pembrokeshire in the south-west.

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Wrexham AFC and Hollywood owners celebrate promotion with bus parade

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Thousands line route as Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney join men’s and women’s teams on open-top bus tour

Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney and Wrexham AFC’s staff and players celebrated the team’s promotion with an open-top bus parade on Tuesday evening.

Thousands of fans lined up along a 3.5-mile route in the north Wales city as three buses left from the club’s Racecourse ground carrying the team that won the National League title and promotion back to the English Football League after a 15-year absence. The women’s side also clinched promotion to the Genero Adran Premier by winning their playoff final.

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Māori punk band’s tour of Wales puts spotlight on indigenous languages

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New Zealand group Half/Time to perform alongside artists who sing in Cymraeg as part of musical cultural exchange

They will bring heavy riffs, pounding drums and lyrics delivered with a growl – but a punk band from New Zealand arriving in Wales this week is also hoping to spark important conversations about what it means to create pop songs in “minority” languages.

The band Half/Time, which perform in Māori as well as English, is to appear alongside artists and groups who sing in Cymraeg as part of a cultural exchange organised by the universities of Cardiff and Waikato in the south Island of New Zealand.

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Man who murdered two-year old Lola James jailed for at least 28 years

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Kyle Bevan given life sentence for murder of stepdaughter, with girl’s mother Sinead James given six-year term

The stepfather and mother of a two-year-old girl who died after receiving more than 100 injuries in a six-and-a-half-hour attack at the family home have been jailed over her killing.

Kyle Bevan, 31, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Lola James, who died from the sort of injuries usually seen in car crash victims or people who have fallen from a significant height. He was told he would serve at least 28 years before he was considered for release.

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Some ‘nicotine-free’ vapes high in addictive substances, tests reveal

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Concerns raised after some brands sold in shops in England and Wales found to exceed legal limits

Some high street vapes claiming to be nicotine-free actually contain the same level of addictive substances as full-strength e-cigarettes, tests shows.

Data shared with the Guardian by Inter Scientific – which offers analytical testing of products to check whether they are following regulations – examined dozens of vape brands sold in shops across England and Wales.

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Body found in search for dog walker missing in north Wales

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Ausra Plungiene disappeared after leaving home in Prestatyn on Tuesday morning

A body has been found in the search for a woman who went missing while walking her dog, police have said.

Ausra Plungiene, 56, from Prestatyn, north Wales, was last seen on Tuesday when she is believed to have left for a walk with her dog, Eyora, at about 10.30am but failed to return home.

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Rough life: lost dog returned home after epic 150-mile Alaskan sea-ice journey

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Nanuq, a one-year-old Australian shepherd, disappeared from a family trip and went on an adventure across the Bering Sea

A one-year-old Australian shepherd took an epic trek across 150 miles (241km) of frozen Bering Sea ice that included being bitten by a seal or polar bear before he was safely returned to his home in Alaska.

Mandy Iworrigan, Nanuq’s owner who lives in Gambell, Alaska, and her family were visiting Savoonga, another St Lawrence Island community in the Bering strait, last month when Nanuq disappeared with their other family dog, Starlight, the Anchorage Daily News reported.

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Women in England and Wales ‘feel pressured to opt for medical abortions’

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Underfunded services resulting in more women choosing cheaper at-home abortion pill, study finds

Overstretched and underfunded abortion services in England and Wales are leaving women feeling pressured into opting for the cheaper at-home pill rather than a surgical procedure, according to research.

The proportion of medical abortions – using pills – rose from 47% in 2011 to 87% in 2021, while very few abortions are now administered surgically, finds research from the London School of Economics.

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Tougher second homes regulations come into force in Wales

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Council tax and planning changes aim to make housing more affordable for those on local incomes

Radical measures giving councils in Wales a raft of extra powers designed to stop second homes hollowing out communities, especially in coastal and rural areas, have come into force.

Local authorities across Wales are using the powers to increase the amount of council tax that second home owners must pay and will also be able to bring in changes to planning rules to make it harder for houses and flats to be snapped up as holiday boltholes.

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Covid inquiry under fire for giving Wales and Northern Ireland three weeks each

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Scheduling makes Wales hearing look like ‘poorer relative’, say unions, while NI families say at least six weeks is needed

Bereaved families have strongly criticised proposals by the UK Covid-19 inquiry to set aside only three weeks each for its public hearings on the responses to the pandemic in Wales and Northern Ireland.

Members of the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru argued that the Labour-led Welsh government would escape proper scrutiny unless more time was allocated. Trade union leaders suggested there was a risk Wales could be seen as the “poorer relative” in the inquiry.

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Major incident declared after suspected gas explosion in Swansea

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Number of buildings believed to have been destroyed as police say emergency services responding

A major incident has been declared after a suspected gas explosion destroyed a number of properties on a street in south Wales.

South Wales police said emergency services were responding to the incident on the junction of Field Close and Clydach Road in Morriston, a community in Swansea.

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