
Cwmbran: Dog treats laced with fishhooks found in woods
In the post, Ms Quigg said: "Warning to dog walkers! From Blaen Bran Woodland to the Mountain Air car park someone has put down marrow chew sticks with fish hooks inside them. "Police have been called and a warning issued."
Jon Moss, from Llantrisant, said his Spanish Mastin, Ripley, was seconds away from eating one of the laced dog treats while out for a walk in Castle Meadows, Abergavenny, earlier this summer.He said that he put Ripley on a shorter leash after being warned by fellow dog walkers on the route, and kept an eye out for the chew sticks."And sure enough, about five minutes later, on one of the little paths, I found one myself," he said.Mr Moss said if he had not put his dog on a shorter leash "she definitely would have eaten it".
Gwent Police repeated their warning for dog owners to be vigilant, issued after a report of dog treats laced with fishhooks found on Castle Meadows in Abergavenny around 30 June.At the time, Insp Emma Sowrey said: "Following this report we will be carrying out patrols in the local area, we would encourage dog owners to be vigilant and if anyone has any information they can contact the local council or ourselves."The BBC has approached Torfaen council for comment.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Telegraph
8 hours ago
- Telegraph
Lost heirs could miss out on inheritance after BBC intervention
Thousands of estates worth an estimated £1.6bn are going unclaimed after the Government removed from public view a list of people who died without wills, heir hunters have warned. For decades, the Treasury has published the bona vacantia list – Latin for 'ownerless goods' – allowing heirs to trace property and assets left by distant relatives. Last April, law firm Weightmans estimated the total value of the list to be £1.67bn, based on an average UK property price of £281,913. But the list, which contained 5,770 unclaimed estates, was taken offline on July 10 following a BBC investigation. BBC podcast The Grave Robbers, that aired the previous day, revealed a Hungarian crime syndicate submitted fake wills to obtain homes that were later sold to suspected accomplices and even used as cannabis farms. The Ministry of Justice has not confirmed when the list will be published online again. Heir hunters – private investigators who trace next of kin in return for a share of the estate – have now told The Telegraphthe move could prevent lawful heirs receiving their inheritance. 'It's a knee-jerk reaction that doesn't actually address the problem – it only makes it worse,' said Hector Birchwood, head of international research at Celtic Research, a Welsh heir-hunting firm. Having the list online allowed investigators to flag suspicious claims to the authorities, he added. More importantly, Mr Birchwood said, removing the list will deprive the public of their lawful inheritance. The heir-hunting niche gained prominence through the BBC series Heir Hunters, which aired until 2018 and frequently featured Mr Birchwood's firm. After 30 years, unclaimed estates are absorbed by the Treasury, except those from Cornwall and the historic county of Lancashire, which pass to the Royal family. 'Obviously it's a problem if estates are going unclaimed, but if you're the Government, you just absorb them into the Crown Estate and the Treasury's coffers,' said Mr Birchwood. Carol Daly, 59, from Dublin, discovered in May 2023 that she, her siblings and other relatives were entitled to around £5,000 each from Ellen Tingle, her grandmother's English cousin who died intestate nine years earlier at the age of 91. She told The Telegraph: 'It's people's entitlement they're taking away, because if that list wasn't available, the money would just go to the Government. I don't agree with it being taken offline.' For families with an estranged relative, the bona vacantia list may be the only way they ever learn a loved one has died. That was the case for Jason Cao, 51, whose older sister, Huong Lan Cao, had grown up in an English orphanage 6,000 miles from home, after being brought to the UK aged 12 on a programme for Vietnamese children to study abroad. Even after Mr Cao, his brother and mother moved to join her in England, his sister led a reclusive life, becoming increasingly solitary after her long-term partner died in 1999. 'Although she chose to be alone, she was very much loved by our family,' he said. 'She knew where we lived, she had a key to our house, and she would visit us. But then there was a period when she disappeared for a couple of years. She would just turn up out of the blue. 'She didn't use a phone or computer. She didn't want us to know where she lived, so we had no way to contact her.' But in 2022, she began visiting often. 'We spent an amazing summer with her,' he said. 'We had family come over from America too. It was the most time we'd spent with her since she moved to England. 'It turns out that was her last summer alive.' The family hadn't heard from her for a year when, in May 2023, he received a letter from Mr Birchwood telling him his sister had died. 'I can still remember the feeling. I opened the letter, not knowing who it was from, and the shock … I can see that moment now in my head – when I learnt that my sister had died, and that she had died quite a while ago, alone, in her room.' Her remains were found in her flat on Feb 15, 2023, but she may have died up to six months earlier, Mr Cao was told. She was 64. It was only after her death that he was able to visit her flat. 'We live in Notting Hill and it turned out she lived just 10 minutes away. I've walked past the building so many times, and never knew,' he said. A private person, Mr Cao said he only agreed to speak to The Telegraph to highlight the importance of the bona vacantia (BV) list. 'Without the BV list, we'd still not know that my sister had died. To be able to tell my mum – so she could have closure – that's information I would have paid for. In fact, it was the reverse. We inherited money. 'But if it hadn't been for Hector, my mum would still be asking, 'Where's your sister?' And I wouldn't have an answer.' In 2024–25, the Bona Vacantia Division of the Government Legal Department reported £67m in net income from unclaimed estates, down from £77m the year before. A Telegraph analysis revealed that, at the time it was taken offline, the bona vacantia list contained 128 estates from individuals who died in 1995 or earlier, meaning they are likely to pass imminently to the Treasury. The list included names, birth and death dates and places, and marital status – but not the value of the estate. A breakdown showed 1,934 unclaimed estates in London, followed by 275 in the West Midlands and 221 in West Yorkshire. The most common surnames of the deceased were Smith (99 estates), Jones (55) and Brown (45). In England and Wales, heirs up to and including half-first cousins may submit a claim to an estate on the bona vacantia list to the Government Legal Department, supplying evidence of their relationship to the deceased. A Ministry of Justice spokesman told The Telegraph: 'We recognise the difficulties the website's removal causes for those affected but this is an important measure while a fraud investigation is underway. ' Probate fraud is incredibly serious, and it is vital that we work with the relevant agencies to support ongoing investigations into alleged fraudulent activity to ensure criminals feel the full force of the law.'


BBC News
11 hours ago
- BBC News
Roath man, 68, dies after reported stabbing in Cardiff
A 68-year-old man has died following a reported stabbing in was taken to hospital after police were called a property at Richards Terrace early on Wednesday morning.A 40-year-old man was arrested at the scene but has since been released on police bail and detained under the Mental Health Act, said South Wales force said it was not looking for anybody else in connection with the investigation. The man from Roath died after being taken to Cardiff's University Hospital Wales. His next of kin have been informed, said the force.


The Guardian
21 hours ago
- The Guardian
Australian actor Rebel Wilson sued by production company behind her own film
The legal drama surrounding The Deb, Rebel Wilson's directorial debut, has made landfall in Australia, with one of the production companies behind the venture filing a lawsuit against Wilson in the New South Wales supreme court this week. UK-based AI Film, represented by Australian legal firm Giles George and high-profile barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC, accused the Pitch Perfect Australian actor of deliberately sabotaging the film's release, alleging threats and defamatory claims had caused the production company financial and reputational damage. The suit also claims the motive behind Wilson's actions was to devalue the production's worth and pressure AI Film and Australian company Dunburn Debutantes Commissioning Company (DDCC – the entity managing the film's rights and named as the second plaintiff in the lawsuit) into selling their stake to Wilson's company Camp Sugar. Originally conceived as a quirky musical comedy celebrating Australian culture, The Deb was co-produced by AI Film and Camp Sugar, with Wilson directing and starring. But the partnership fractured in mid-2024 when Wilson took to Instagram to accuse fellow producers Amanda Ghost, Gregor Cameron and Vince Holden of alleged embezzlement, sexual misconduct and obstructing the film's release. The allegations, broadcast to Wilson's 11 million followers, were swiftly denied by the producers who began defamation proceedings against Wilson in the Los Angeles superior court last July. In November, the film's lead actor, Charlotte MacInnes, who Wilson claimed was the victim of the alleged sexual misconduct, filed a declaration in the US court stating that Wilson fabricated the claims, describing them as 'completely false and absurd'. The court subsequently threw out Wilson's bid to strike out the defamation suit, not accepting her lawyer's argument that under California's anti-Slapp laws, the accusations she had made against the producers of her The Deb constituted 'protected activity' and were a matter of public interest. That defamation case remains ongoing. After filing its lawsuit in the supreme court's equities division on Thursday, AI Film issued the following statement: 'These proceedings are regrettable but essential to ensure The Deb's timely release. It's a joyous, fun film, and we are sure that audiences are going to love it.' And MacInnes issued a second statement, saying: 'I love this film and I can't wait for it to be released … it would be wonderful if these proceedings can help make that happen.' Wilson's Californian legal team, Freedman Taitelman + Cooley, which is handling the defamation case, did not respond to the Guardian's request for comment. In its lawsuit filed this week, Giles George claims that on 5 January, Wilson's lawyer Bryan Freedman responded to correspondence by AI Film's legal team, saying that 'Wilson is currently in active discussions to outright purchase The Deb (the 'Film') and all associated rights and title'. The Freedman letter also threatened to 'pursue all claims and damages should Al Film or any agents acting on its behalf interfere with that business opportunity'. AI Film is alleging that Wilson's motivation behind her alleged undermining of distribution efforts, including making threats to seek an injunction against the film's release, was personal financial gain. AI Film's lawyers claim that on 6 June 2025, Wilson had a discussion with film distributor Kismet, who was bidding to secure the rights for the theatrical release of The Deb in Australia, during which she said words to the effect that she was supportive of Kismet as the Australian distributor of the film but while there was a legal case involving the film in the US she could not support the film's distribution and would seek an injunction if any attempts to distribute the film were made. Giles George alleges Wilson knew the legal proceedings in the US were not impeding the film's release, and knew the threat of injunction was against her and her company, Camp Sugar's, contractual obligations. But as evidence in Byran Freedman's correspondent to them in January, Wilson was delaying the film's release so that she could pursue the 'business opportunity' of buying all rights to the film outright. AI Film is seeking damages, a formal apology, corrective advertising and a permanent restraint on Wilson and her company making any further disparaging and incorrect claims relating to other companies and individuals involved in the making of The Deb, which have come to been know in legal circles as 'The Wilson Statements'. The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know. If you have something to share on this subject you can contact us confidentially using the following methods. Secure Messaging in the Guardian app The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said. If you don't already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS/Android) and go to the menu. Select 'Secure Messaging'. SecureDrop, instant messengers, email, telephone and post See our guide at for alternative methods and the pros and cons of each.