Cardiff: People taken to hospital after Careau house fire
A Welsh ambulance service hazardous area response team, emergency response doctors and paramedics were all called to the scene.Five fire crews, an aerial ladder platform and a water bowser also attended.South Wales Police added "there is currently a heavy emergency service presence in the area".
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Wales Online
3 hours ago
- Wales Online
Welsh Labour MP Chris Bryant says he was sexually abused by theatre boss as a teenager
Welsh Labour MP Chris Bryant says he was sexually abused by theatre boss as a teenager The Labour minister said he was left feeling like a '16-year-old whore' by Michael Croft, the head of the prestigious National Youth Theatre Labour Minister Chris Bryant has recounted how he was sexually abused by the disgraced founder of the National Youth Theatre (Image: Visionhaus/Getty Images) Sir Chris Bryant has revealed he was sexually abused as a teenager by the founder of the National Youth Theatre, Michael Croft. The Labour minister became emotional during an interview, describing how he felt like a "16-year-old whore" due to the actions of Mr Croft, who was at the helm of the esteemed drama group. In a conversation with the Sunday Times, Sir Chris Bryant recounted that Mr Croft, who died in 1986, would invite him for dinner every evening when he was part of the company in London during the summer of 1978, at the age of 16. One night, said Sir Chris, he returned from the toilet at Mr Croft's residence to find his host, who was four decades older than him, naked apart from a silk robe. The minster said the abuse left him feeling like a "16-year-old whore" (Image: PA) The MP for Rhondda and Ogmore disclosed that Mr Croft then propositioned him for sex, and he felt he had no choice but to comply, reports the Mirror. Ahead of the launch of his book 'A Life And A Half: The Unexpected Making Of A Politician', Sir Chris admitted: "I don't like telling this very much because I've not told it very often. "It was always the same Italian in King's Cross. He would eat and drink, I would eat, then he would theoretically give me a lift home, except I always ended up at his house." For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here Sir Chris stated that Mr Croft never made another advance towards him, and they remained friends. As an ordained minister, he even agreed to officiate Mr Croft's funeral. However, he expressed anger over the abuse of power and confessed to internalising the shame. "He behaved absolutely appallingly, it's despicable," Sir Chris said. "Michael, in my case, managed to spot somebody who was gay at a time when nearly all homosexuality was illegal - certainly very frowned on - so presumed that people would keep a secret." He revealed that at least one colleague from his National Youth Theatre days was also abused by Mr Croft. The 63-year-old also disclosed he had been sexually assaulted by five male MPs during his time in Westminster, though he has not identified or reported them. "There was no system for doing so and I was frightened it would make me look bad," he explained. He noted that homophobia in Parliament had decreased during his 24 years as an MP. A statement on the National Youth Theatre website said: "We are grateful to Chris Bryant for disclosing to our team the historical abuse he suffered in the company in the 1970s. We are very sorry that this happened to him and to others who have previously shared with us their accounts of historic abuse by the same perpetrator. "As we set out in a public statement on the case in 2017, we stand in solidarity with all victims of abuse and encourage anyone who has experienced abuse, no matter how long ago, to speak to someone and access support. "In this case the perpetrator has been deceased since 1986, but all reports made to us will be dealt with in accordance with our robust and formalised safeguarding policy and practice. "While Chris writes he doesn't feel damaged by what happened, we recognise that being subjected to an abuse of power can have lasting consequences for many, in different ways. "Anyone getting in touch will be listened to and treated with care and respect by trained professionals, in line with our certified trauma-informed practice. "We are grateful to Chris for his support of our organisation today, and acknowledgement of how different a charity we are in 2025 to the one he encountered in the 1970s, with thorough safeguarding practices and policies in place." Article continues below
Wales Online
8 hours ago
- Wales Online
They targeted children online with the most depraved of intents but they were being watched too
They targeted children online with the most depraved of intents but they were being watched too They are some of Wales' most sickening paedophiles who targeted children at their most vulnerable, but they soon had an unwelcome knock on their doors (Top left to right) Stuart Compton, Tracy Turner, Terry Hughes (Bottom left to right) William Rutter, Liam Lewis, and Natalie Arroyo (Image: South Wales Police/Dyfed-Powys Police/Tarian) The sexual abuse of children has taken on frightening forms in the modern age with technology being used to groom and take advantage of children within their own homes. The advent of social media and smartphones has enabled paedophiles and perverts to contact vulnerable youngsters and to manipulate them. The criminal justice system has seen a rise in the number of cases reaching courts where perpetrators have made attempts, and in some cases succeeded, in abusing children over the internet. Disturbing messages have been discovered from adults looking to gain images and sexual gratification from children. Here is a round up of court stories of defendants who have been before the Welsh courts for child sexual communication offences. For the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter. Tracy Turner and Stuart Compton Tracy Turner, 52, and Stuart Compton, 46, sent depraved messages to each other in which they planned and discussed the rape and sexual abuse of children. During the messages, they spoke about taking one of the children to a shed where they would rape and choke her, and spoke about "disposing" of her. The couple, from Cardiff, were also found in possession of indecent images of children being sexually abused. Compton also told other like-minded paedophiles that his "preference" was for children aged between one and six years old. A sentencing hearing at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard the messages came to light following the arrests of the couple in June, 2024, and the police received information from a well known dating app. There were more than 100,000 lines of messages between the defendants over WhatsApp, in which they spoke in detail about committing sexual acts against real children, and referred to each other as "Bonnie and Clyde". In 2022, the couple began discussing the rape of a girl, who was under the age of 10. Prosecutor Matthew Cobbe said Compton and Turner, an operating theatre assistant at the University Hospital of Wales, planned to take the girl for a walk in woodland and a nearby cemetery before taking her to a shed near a rail line and carrying out the "brutal acts". Compton was said to be "obsessed" with performing a sex act on the child before raping her. During these discussions, Compton described masturbating at the thought of the abuse, with Turner encouraging him, and on occasions she would describe masturbating. Mr Cobbe said: "They both recognised the brutality of the sexual acts that they discussed, they recognised that they would need to take steps to ensure (the child) could not cry out or scream as she was being abused Compton was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of eight years and 11 months, and Turner was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment with an extended licence period of two years. Stuart Compton (left) and Tracy Turner (right) discussed raping and sexually abusing young children over thousands of What'sApp messages. (Image: South Wales Police) Terry Hughes Terry Hughes, who was already subject to a sexual harm prevention order, set up different online accounts pretending to be a 15-year-old and asked children to send him pictures of themselves. The 41-year-old was already a registered sex offender due to previous offending. However, police were made aware of concerns about online activity connected to an IP address that was traced to him. When they turned up at his home in Pembrokeshire he initially told officers that he did not have any devices but then gave them a mobile phone that was beside his bed. Upon searching the device it became clear that between last September and June this year Hughes had set up a Snapchat account and was pretending to be 15 years old. Hughes was engaging with people he believed to be under 18 and asking them for naked pictures. He also sent pictures of himself. One image sent is believed to have been of himself masturbating. There was also communication with someone who Hughes believed was 10 years old, as well as an adult male who had a four-year-old son and discussion about a young child wearing a nappy. Hughes, of Meadow Way, Waterston, Milford Haven, also sent others full naked pictures of himself. He was sentenced to two-years imprisonment and was also told he would be the subject of a new SHPO which will be in place for a period of 10 years. Terry Hughes, who was already subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, set up different online accounts pretending to be a 15-year-old and asked children to send him pictures of themselves (Image: Dyfed-Powys Police) William Rutter William Rutter, whose "depravity defies belief and description", sexually groomed a 14-year-old boy online and was found with videos of babies being raped. He was also involved in a sexual communication with someone he thought was a teenager but was in fact an undercover police officer. The 31-year-old, of Cardiff, encouraged his young victim to perform sexual acts upon himself and spoke to another paedophile online about getting the child to watch images of "bestiality". He was discovered after the victim's mother became concerned about her son's activity online and called the police. A sentencing hearing at Newport Crown Court heard Rutter first came to the attention of the police after he began speaking to an undercover officer, whom he thought was a 14-year-old boy, over social media towards the end of 2022. During the conversations Rutter told the person to masturbate himself and penetrate himself with his fingers. He also sent images of a man's penis and the officer sent an image of a person wearing a school uniform. The defendant responded: "You're actually beautiful. I am actually imagining kissing you. Now it's got me hard." Rutter was arrested at his home on January 4, 2023, and eight electronic devices including phones, laptops, and a MacBook were seized. On five of the devices indecent images of children were discovered including 547 Category A images, 253 Category B images, and 244 Category C images. The worst of the videos found on Rutter's devices were of babies less than 12 months old being raped by adults. The defendant was also found to have distributed 23 Category A indecent images using the Telegram app and was found with extreme and prohibited images. In December, 2023, police received a report from a concerned mother who feared her 14-year-old son was being groomed online. When the boy's phone was examined an image of Rutter was discovered. As a result of this the defendant's devices were re-examined and a conversation with another paedophile was found in which they discussed the 14-year-old boy and of trying to obtain indecent images of him. Rutter got into contact with the 14-year-old boy and groomed him into penetrating himself with his fingers, sent him a pornographic image, and told the victim to masturbate himself. The defendant was arrested and a Samsung phone was seized and it was discovered he had distributed a Category A image of a 12-month-old baby. The defendant was sentenced to five years and four months imprisonment with an extended licence period of three years. He will serve at least two-thirds of the sentence in custody before he can be considered for release. William Rutter, 31, sexually groomed at 14-year-old boy online and was found with videos of babies being raped. (Image: South Wales Police) Liam Lewis A "sexual predator" arranged to meet someone he thought was a child under 13 in order to sexually abuse and rape her. He also offered to supply the decoy with crack cocaine and sent sexual images to them. The 31-year-old, of Ferndale, was convicted of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to arrange/facilitate the commission of child sex offence – rape/assault by penetration of child under 13. A sentencing hearing at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard the defendant came to the attention of Tarian, the regional organised crime unit for south Wales, after he spoke to a decoy posing as a child. During conversations with the decoy he offered to supply them with crack cocaine and incited them to engage in penetrative sexual activity. During the conversations he also sent sexual videos. A warrant was executed by officers at an address in Porth where Lewis was found, arrested, and remanded into custody. Judge Jeremy Jenkins sentenced the defendant to three years and nine months imprisonment. The defendant was also made subject to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and will have to register as a sex offender indefinitely. Liam Lewis, 31, of Ferndale, offered to supply crack cocaine to who he thought was a child, in order to rape and sexually abuse them. (Image: Tarian) Natalie Arroyo Supply teacher Natalie Arroyo groomed a 15-year-old boy by sending naked pictures of herself over Snapchat and told him she wanted to have sex with him. She told the boy she would leave her husband for him and sent him a video of herself performing a sex act. The 33-year-old began sending sexual messages to the underage teenager while she was working as a progress coach and a supply teacher. The victim was described as "vulnerable" when the defendant began contact with him. A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court heard Arroyo's conversation with the boy on Snapchat was "innocent" at first but she then introduced a sexual element to the conversation and became flirtatious. She told the victim: "I bet all the boys fancy me. I don't blame them – I have really big boobs." Arroyo then sent pictures of her breasts in a bra and asked the victim to send a picture of his penis, which he did. She later asked the boy to come and meet her for sex and said she would pick him up and could go back to her house. The defendant sent photos of her bottom half in underwear and told him "I touched myself while thinking about you." The victim asked her to stop sending photos as he was out shopping with his mother and aunt and she responded: "It's so fun to tease you." Arroyo continued to send messages of a sexual nature, told the victim he could "do whatever he wanted to her", and said she "didn't have a gag reflex" and wanted to perform oral sex upon him. The defendant sent pictures of her bare breasts. She asked the boy if he "had any kinks" and said she "liked to be dominated". Arroyo also asked the victim when they were going to meet and said she would "leave her husband for him". The teenager told Arroyo he didn't want to have sex with her but she tried to convince him otherwise. She sent the boy a picture of her genitals and asked him to come and see her as her husband was at work. He said he didn't want to and the defendant responded by sending a video of herself performing a sex act. A couple of days later Arroyo sent a message to the boy saying it was "best to forget about the messages". The offences came to light after the victim disclosed the abuse to another adult and the defendant was arrested. She was interviewed and initially denied having contact with the boy but after a break she accepted she had sent the messages but claimed she thought the boy was 16. Arroyo was sentenced to a total of three years and four months' imprisonment. She was also made subject to sex offender notification requirements and a restraining order indefinitely. Natalie Arroyo Christopher Strong Convicted paedophile Christopher Strong made sexual comments to someone whom he thought was a 12-year-old after he had been made subject to a court order. He asked the decoy for pictures and said he was naked during their conversations. The 38-year-old, of Aberdare, was given a suspended sentence of eight-months imprisonment in 2022 after he was convicted of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child. As a result, he was made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years and sex offender notification requirements. A sentencing hearing at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard the defendant breached the order after communicating with a social media account he believed to belong to a 12-year-old girl called Lily. He was actually talking to a decoy run by an "undercover operative". The defendant's communications became sexual in nature, and he asked the decoy if her parents checked her phone, talked about rubbing himself and asked her if she wanted to watch him rubbing himself. He asked the decoy for pictures of herself and told her he was naked. Strong was sentenced to 19 months' imprisonment. He was also made subject to sex offender notification requirements for seven years. Christopher Strong, 38, breached a Sexual Harm Prevention Order after sending sexual messages to a decoy he thought was 12-years-old. (Image: South Wales Police) Lee Sandeman Lee Sandeman groomed a 15-year-old girl in Canada over the internet during which he took images of her while she was naked and engaging in sexual activity. When police conducted a search at his home he was found with hundreds of indecent images of children. The 39-year-old, of Ebbw Vale, contacted the victim in 2019 using the name "Raven Knight" on the Discord messaging platform. He communicated with the child over several months during which he groomed her and coerced her into performing sexual acts on camera. A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court heard the defendant gained the victim's trust and confidence during these conversations. They went on to share photographs and videos, take part in voice calls and chat over web camera. The victim contacted police in Canada in 2021 and described how Sandeman initially contacted her and she told him she was just 15 years old. She described the contact as "really weird" with the defendant talking about sexual things and sending her pictures of naked people "doing stuff". As the conversation progressed, the conversation between them became explicit with Sandeman explaining "what he would like to do to her" which made the victim feel uncomfortable. She opened up about her family situation and the defendant told her to "do things to herself" sexually over web cam. Pictures of the sexual activity were taken by Sandeman, who recorded the abuse, and asked her to send pictures of herself to him, which she did. On November 1, 2021, police executed a warrant at Sandeman's then home address in Station Terrace. A black tower computer unit was seized from the defendant's bedroom on which images of child abuse and extreme pornographic material were found. Four videos and three still images of the victim were also discovered. A total of 153 category A images, 31, category B images, 35 category C images, 12 prohibited images, 4,185 extreme images, and 316 indicative images of children were discovered. The images depicted children as young as nine years old being raped by adults. Sandeman was sentenced to 32 months imprisonment, of which he will serve half in custody before being released to serve the remainder on licence. The defendant will be required to register as a sex offender indefinitely and will be made subject to a restraining order and Sexual Harm Prevention Order at a future hearing. Lee Sandeman, 39, of Ebbw Vale, groomed a 15-year-old girl in Canada over the internet (Image: Gwent Police) Paul Chesher Paul Chesher messaged what he believed was a 12-year-old schoolgirl online and asked her to masturbate herself and send him photographs, a court heard. He was messaging the 'girl' via an online app while using a false name. He told the recipient he was 56, that she was 'too young' for him and that 'you are going to get me in trouble'. However, he still continued to message her, sometimes several times without reply. Over a four-day period he messaged 22 times before he received a response. The messages were sent between the end of August and the beginning of October, 2021, and included requests for her to send pictures and to walk to the bathroom during a school day so that she could reply. Chesher, who is actually aged 66, asked what colour underwear the girl was wearing. Despite referencing the fact that she was 'too young' and admitting that 'this is wrong' on more than one occasion, Chesher, of Southview, Herbrandston, Pembrokeshire, continued to message her. He asked her if she had kissed many boys and at what age she was planning to have sex. He also asked her if she masturbated and told her to do so 'now'. It turned out that the '12-year-old girl' was in fact a police officer using the app, and Chesher was tracked down and arrested at his home in October, 2021. He gave 'no comment' answers and three devices belonging to him were seized. Chesher was sentenced to 27 months in prison and was told he must also sign the Sex Offenders' Register and be the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, both for a period of 10 years. Paul Chesher has been jailed for asking what he thought was a 12-year-old girl to perform a sex act (Image: Dyfed-Powys Police) Article continues below
North Wales Live
10 hours ago
- North Wales Live
Man arrested after pedestrian dies at scene of crash on Welsh high street
A pedestrian has tragically died at the scene of a crash on a Welsh high street, which involved a motorcycle, police said. Emergency service teams rushed to the scene and first aid was attempted, however the man, who has not been named, died at the scene on Station Road, Llanelli, on Friday evening. The road, near the Home Bargains store, was closed overnight on Friday and for several hours on Saturday morning as crime scene investigators worked at the scene, reports WalesOnline. A 21-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of a number of offences in connection with the incident. Dyfed Powys Police said the man had been arrested in connection with a series of offences including causing death by dangerous driving. Read the biggest stories in Wales first by signing up to our daily newsletter here Police are now appealing for any witnesses to come forward and help with their enquiries. A spokesperson for Dyfed-Powys Police said: "Dyfed-Powys Police received reports of a serious RTC in Station Road, Llanelli involving a motorcycle and a pedestrian at approximately 9.55pm on Friday, August 1, 2025. "The male pedestrian was walking near the Home Bargains store in Station Road, when he was struck by a motorcycle. "He sustained serious injuries, and officers swiftly administered first aid until Ambulance and Air Ambulance attended. Sadly, despite the best efforts of the emergency services the man died at the scene. "Enquiries have led to the arrest of a 21-year-old man on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and other related offences, and he remains in police custody at this time. "We are not looking for anyone else in connection with this incident. The road was closed but re-opened earlier today, August 2." The statement added that the pedestrian's family have been made aware and are being supported by specialist officers. The spokesman said: "Our thoughts are with them." Anyone who witnessed the collision, has dash cam or Ring doorbell footage, or anyone with information that could help officers with their investigation is asked to report it to Dyfed-Powys Police. You can do that either online here, by emailing 101@ or by calling 101. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech impaired text the non-emergency number on 07811 311 908. Quote reference: 49 of August 1. Alternatively, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, by calling 0800 555111, or visiting
