Latest news with #GwynJones
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
He thought he'd get a 'slap' in court but he was told 'you're an adult now'
A teenage tearaway terrified members of the public when he brandished a machete in the middle of a golfing club. Nathan Joyce, 18, produced the large blade in the beer garden of Bowring Park in Knowsley, scaring staff and causing police to be called to the area on July 10 this year. He appeared in Liverpool Crown Court today, August 18, where he pleaded guilty to possession of a bladed article in a public place. Wearing a black and blue tracksuit, he stood in the dock with a bloodied bandage on his left arm. Sentencing, district judge Gwyn Jones said: "A machete is an extremely dangerous weapon. I have listened carefully to the facts and it's clear you were there dressed all in black, in a balaclava, with your friend who was not wearing such dark clothing. READ MORE: Man knocks girlfriend out cold with kick to the head in sickening Ring doorbell footage READ MORE: Sam Walker 'held in prison cell for four hours' after armed police storm hospital "You made your way to the beer garden area of the club where you when showed that you were 'tooled up', that you were in possession of the machete. While the court has not heard any evidence from the other parties, it's clear that a member of staff at the Bowring Park golf course was extremely concerned, which was why he called the police. "You are 18, subject to orders from the lower court, and that order isn't going particularly well. "I don't have to tell you that possession of knives is something taken extremely seriously by the community and taken very seriously by the court, and you know from your own experience of having been hurt by a bladed article, these are matters that can cause significant pain and death." He added: "You're now an adult in an adult court, being sentenced in accordance to adult guidelines. However it is also very clear to me that you don't seem to have made that change from appearing before the youth court to the crown court by way of understanding your precarious position. "These are very dangerous weapons. People would be fearful on licenced premises - a massive danger of public disorder. You wanted to be seen carrying a machete. "Your record of offending does you no favours because you were given, in the youth court, a YRO (youth rehabilitation order), which is the sentence closest you can get to a custodial sentence at that court. "You have not worked particularly well and it's clear that you may still be under the impression that you will be given a little bit of a slap on the hand for not doing what you should be doing. However, you are an adult and now the sentencing options are significantly different. "Those who carry knives have a serious risk of harm. You should know. You have been hurt yourself. You had been using ketamine. You may not be aware of the significant consequences of that." He said: "You have an unhealthy degree of arrogance and a lack of maturity. Had this progressed fully as a trial, the sentence would have been in the region of two years." He sentenced Joyce, of Mansion Drive in Croxteth, to 12 months in a Young Offenders Institution, suspended for 18 months. He also ordered the teenager to carry out 160 hours of unpaid work.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Welsh Water fined £1.3m for 'negligent' monitoring
Welsh Water has been fined £1.35m for failing to properly monitor water quality at 300 different sites. The company pleaded guilty to 15 charges relating to more than 800 offences in 2020 and 2021. It blamed the failures on a reorganisation and the implementation of a new system at the same time as the Covid pandemic. District judge Gwyn Jones concluded the company had been negligent and had "no doubt caused significant embarrassment to all those dedicated personnel in Dwr Cymru". Since 2010 there has been a requirement on water companies to carry out self-monitoring of discharges from their sewage works and water treatment works, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) said in a statement after the ruling. "Upon receiving its 2020 annual report, NRW officers were alarmed to find that the quality of the information provided had noticeably deteriorated compared to previous years, with over 600 breaches recorded. "These were spread across some 300 sites across Wales and Herefordshire," it said. It added that "contingency plans should have been in place to ensure the company met their legal duty to comply with their permits while going through the restructure". Welsh Water has also been ordered to pay just over £70,000 in costs after pleading guilty, NRW said. Sewage leaks catastrophic, say campaigners Underperforming Welsh Water ordered to pay £24m Welsh Water bills to rise annually for five years
BBC News
15-05-2025
- BBC News
Welsh Water fined £1.35m for 'negligent' monitoring
Welsh Water has been fined £1.35m for failing to properly to monitor water quality at 300 different company pleaded guilty at to 15 charges relating to more than 800 offences in 2020 and blamed the failures on a reorganisation and the implementation of a new system at the same time as the Covid judge Gwyn Jones concluded the company had been negligent and had "no doubt caused significant embarrassment to all those dedicated personnel in Dwr Cymru".
BBC News
16-03-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Where can Welsh rugby possibly go from here?
Did that really happen?Welsh rugby fans woke up bleary eyed on Sunday morning wondering whether they had experienced the nightmare of England running riot against their was no dream. Some of the raw emotion might have elapsed almost 24 hours on but what unfolded for Wales on Saturday evening against England in Cardiff will be remembered for a long rugby hit rock bottom through the shattering reality of a record humiliation at the Principality was Wales' heaviest defeat in Cardiff, biggest home or away Six Nations loss, the most points conceded against England and confirmed a second successive Wooden must also reflect on a 17th Test defeat in a row, which is the worst run of results for a tier one nation in rugby union's professional have additionally gone two years and 11 games without a Six Nations win and not won a home Test match since a 2023 World Cup warm-up victory over where does the shambles that is currently Welsh rugby go from here? Is there a strategy? The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) will say there is a long-term strategy and will bristle if suggested in practice they are referring to is the launch of the 'One Wales' document in June 2024, essentially a wish-list of where they want to be in announcement was light in detail with more information set to be provided when the WRU and four professional sides officially sign a new agreement which has been ratified in Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones says change needs to be seismic and another old Wales skipper Gwyn Jones told the WRU they should not "waste this crisis" and must oversee radical indication is it will be evolution rather than revolution with the WRU committed to maintaining the status quo of four professional sides. There should be a incremental increase in budgets from £4.5m towards £6.8m in three formal announcement is yet to be made public with two regions still to officially sign the deal but it is hoped to be completed in the next few weeks. 'Fans deserve to know' Following the England debacle, it was left to interim head coach Matt Sherratt to say there needs to be a Welsh rugby reset and change to the foundations of the have been no public comments following another disastrous Six Nations campaign yet from chief executive Abi Tierney or chair Richard Wales captain Sam Warbuton believes the governing body need to be more vocal and transparent to the fans."The key stakeholder in the WRU is the fans, who are paying £100 a ticket to come here," Warburton told the BBC."I think they deserve to know. As a company, I think it's really good to get buy-in from the fans and say 'look, this is our mission, this is what we want to do, this is our one, three, five-year plan, this is what we want to achieve'. I think people have the right to do that."People are they're losing faith now but they'll lose faith even quicker if there is radio silence. "If they just come out and say what the plan is you want to get the public onside."Warburton added: "The reason Welsh rugby survives is because we can fill out 75,000 here [at the Principality Stadium] and all that money filters down into the pro teams, into age-grade, into grassroots."Without the internationals and the fans coming, there's not much of a game in Wales, so you've got to keep fans onside." Who will be the new people in charge? Wales do not play again until the first of two Tests against Japan in Kitakyushu on 5 July. By that time a new head coach and director of rugby should be in takes the reins in those posts faces a Herculean task on and off the pitch as Wales look for a way to climb out of an unholy shortlist for the director of rugby post, that is effectively replacing Nigel Walker who departed in December 2024, has been drawn up with interviews ongoing with an appointment expected before the end of the choice the WRU need to make is whether to promote from within with an interim candidate like Huw Bevan or decide they need an outside quest to replace former head coach Warren Gatland continues with the likes of Michael Cheika, Franco Smith, Simon Easterby, Stuart Lancaster and Pat Lam having been in the man who says he will not be in charge is Sherratt will now return to his day job as Cardiff head coach, having overseen Wales' comfortable tournament highlight of running Ireland close at answered the Welsh rugby's SOS after Gatland exited during the Six Nations following defeat against Italy in did his utmost to instil much-needed creativity and freshness into a squad crying out for new ideas but the humiliation against England was a game too far. What happens to the squad? They say a picture tells a thousand sight of Wales scrum consultant Adam Jones leaning against the wall in disbelief about what was happening against England in Cardiff will live long in the will be hoping they can keep Jones involved after the former prop was loaned out by Harlequins for the backroom staff will be at the mercy of new appointments with attack coaches Alex King and Rob Howley having already departed from their position of defence coach Mike Forshaw will be under scrutiny with Wales having conceded 25 tries and 195 points in five matches, while forwards coach Jonathan Humphreys has been in situ since concern will be the detrimental effect the losing sequence will have on players, with captain Jac Morgan understandably cutting a disconsolate figure after the England hammering."When I went in they needed a little love," said Sherratt. "They have taken some body blows over the last 12 to 18 months."Regionally it has been hard and they have come into a national team where it is hard to get a win."There will be a three-month break now for Wales and it is about making sure there are not too many scars." Reasons to be cheerful? Positives are understandably few and far overall form of captain Morgan in adversity and the emergence of full-back Blair Murray spring to continually says Morgan, Dewi Lake and Dafydd Jenkins are the future of this side and could be joined by some younger talent most optimism in the men's game is the rise of the Wales Under-20s this season. Richard Whiffin guided his side to a third place finish with notable home victories against Ireland and uplifting victory over the young English side in front of more than 8,000 fans at the Arms Park has been the highlight of a desperate season and proved there is young talent coming through before you throw in the likes of Morgan Morse, Dan Edwards and Macs Page. After the England embarrassment, Welsh fans are trying to cling onto is one question on the lips of the long-suffering does Welsh rugby go from here?
