Paddleboard instructor who led four to death had been sacked as police officer

Daily Mirror

01-05-2025

Nerys Lloyd led four people to their deaths on a paddleboard tour (Image: PA)
A paddleboard firm boss and instructor who led four people to their deaths during "extremely hazardous conditions" on a river had previously been sacked from her job as a police officer, it has been revealed.
Nerys Lloyd was sentenced to 10 years and six months behind bars after people on a tour she led of the Cleddau River in Haverfordwest, Wales, tragically died. Disaster struck when the 39-year-old, who was the owner and sole director of Salty Dog Co Ltd, went ahead with a stand-up paddleboarding tour on the swollen river despite weather warnings being put in place. The outdoor session ended in horror as Morgan Rogers, 24, Nicola Wheatley, 40, Andrea Powell, 41, and co-instructor Paul O'Dwyer, 42, were swept to their deaths by the water.
Lloyd had previously been sacked by the police (Image: WALES NEWS SERVICE)
Lloyd, from Aberavon, was found guilty and sentenced at Swansea Crown Court on April 23 and shocking details of her getting sacked after committing insurance fraud have since been released. The 39-year-old was fired from her role as a firearms officer at South Wales Police after claiming £577.55 from an insurance scheme.
She did this despite the real cost being between "in the region of £16 to £20". An Accelerated Misconduct Hearing, in January 2021, saw Chief Constable Jeremy Vaughan declare Lloyd had breached professional behaviour standards through her actions.
Nerys Lloyd going into court for sentencing (Image: PA)
A report said Lloyd "admitted her wrongdoing and immediately apologised for her behaviour, stating it was an error of judgement" and she paid back the money. She also accepted a formal caution for the criminal offence of fraud by false representation under the Fraud Act 2006, on October 19, 2021.
Lloyd accepted the caution just two weeks before River Cleddau tragedy. One the deadly day, the group approached the weir, three participants were pulled over the top and became trapped. O'Dwyer, who initially got out of the river safely, re-entered in an attempt to rescue the others, but was immediately dragged over the weir.
Co-instructor Paul O'Dwyer died (Image: WALES NEWS SERVICE)
The firm owner was slammed in court for not making a crucial check despite the weather warnings in place. Lisa Rose, specialist prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service special crime division, said: "This was an avoidable tragedy. Despite going to check the state of the river before departing on the tour, Nerys Lloyd failed to inspect the weir.
"The majority of participants had limited experience, and Lloyd was not qualified to take paddleboarders out in such hazardous conditions. There was no safety briefing or formal risk assessments, and the participants were not advised that they would be traversing a weir or instructed on options to get out of the water."
A view of Haverfordwest Town Weir during low flow conditions (Image: PA)
She was branded a charlatan and a coward by her victims' families, with one grieving husband saying he had waited "three long years" to tell her what he thought of her in court.
While another victim's mother told the court her daughter's life was taken for "nothing more than profit".