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A FORMER police officer who led a paddleboarding tour which ended in the deaths of four people on a swollen river in Pembrokeshire has been jailed for ten years and six months.
Nerys Lloyd, 39, was sentenced at Swansea Crown Court today (Apr 22) after previously pleading guilty to four counts of gross negligence manslaughter and a health and safety offence.
Morgan Rogers, 24, Nicola Wheatley, 40, Andrea Powell, 41, and co-instructor Paul O’Dwyer, 42—were swept over a weir in fast-flowing floodwater
The judge said Lloyd had shown a “wholesale failure” to consider basic health and safety, leading directly to the tragic incident on the River Cleddau in Haverfordwest in October 2021.
The victims—Morgan Rogers, 24, Nicola Wheatley, 40, Andrea Powell, 41, and co-instructor Paul O’Dwyer, 42—were swept over a weir in fast-flowing floodwater. Only Lloyd managed to make it through a narrow fish ramp at the centre of the weir; the rest were pulled over the edge by the powerful current.
During sentencing, the court heard that Lloyd, who had only basic paddleboarding qualifications, failed to carry out any risk assessment before advertising the trip online. She also failed to collect next-of-kin information for participants, causing delays in contacting families after the incident.
The decision to paddle down the fish ramp at in the River Cleddau was a flagrant breach of health and safety protocol, the court heard (Image: Herald)
The judge said the main sentence for the four counts of gross negligence manslaughter would have been 15 years, but this was reduced by one-third due to Lloyd’s early guilty plea—resulting in ten years’ immediate custody.
For the health and safety breach, which the court said showed a “flagrant disregard” for duty of care, a further sentence of six months was added. The judge noted Lloyd’s high culpability but also took into account mitigation including her lack of previous convictions and character references.
Victims’ families gave emotional statements in court. Andrea Powell’s husband, Mark, described Lloyd’s actions as “monumental failings”, while Teresa Hall, the mother of Morgan Rogers, told Lloyd: “You guided Morgan to her death.”
Survivors also spoke out, describing the terrifying moment they were swept over the weir and calling for better regulation of paddleboarding, including quick-release safety leashes and greater public awareness of water hazards.
The Herald understands Lloyd was suspended from South Wales Police at the time of the incident after accepting a caution in a separate matter involving a fraudulent car insurance claim.
The trip, which cost £149 per person and was advertised as including overnight accommodation and two “fully qualified” instructors, ended in disaster after the group unknowingly approached the dangerous weir section of the river.
The judge concluded: “Your failure was not momentary or minor—it was total.”
