Latest news with #Pontypool
South Wales Argus
a day ago
- Business
- South Wales Argus
Sam Scarfe signs new Dragons deal after Pontypool exploits
The 21-year-old enjoyed a strong campaign in Super Rygbi Cymru with Pontypool, making 14 appearances for the play-off quarter-finalists. Scarfe, who made his Dragons debut in his old position of flanker at Glasgow in February 2024 because of an injury crisis, enjoyed a solitary outing for Filo Tiatia's side against Montpellier in the Challenge Cup clash in Newport. The combative forward has agreed fresh terms and is now looking to push Elliot Dee, Brodie Coghlan, James Benjamin and Oli Burrows for action next season. Scarfe said: 'I've played lots of minutes and learnt a lot from Pooler this year with the help of top players and coaches, which has been great for me. 'Dragons is my home club and I want to represent the badge as much as possible. The club is in a good place so it would be great to get the minutes down at Rodney Parade. 'Filo (Tiatia) has helped me a lot this year in understanding the game in a different way and seeing the opportunities available. I've also enjoyed picking the brains of our experienced senior boys as I continue to develop.' Sam Scarfe crashing over for Pontypool (Image: NCR Photography) Scarfe, who came through at Penallta, provides the Dragons with a different option at the heart of the front row thanks to his back-row background. 'Sam converted to hooker from seven about four or five four years ago,' said forwards Coach Sam Hobbs. 'He was a very good seven and his body type is suited to being a modern-day physical hooker. 'With Pontypool, he played a huge amount of rugby in the Championship, which was a tough education, but now in the SRC he's become a dominant force there and an outstanding prospect winning numerous player-of-the-match awards. 'I'm excited and believe next year will be a big season for Sam. His contact area is his superstrength and he's developed his ball carrying while his set-piece is going really well.' Head coach Tiatia added: 'We've been pleased with Sam's progress and the minutes he has also been able to secure for Pontypool in the SRC. 'He's a hard-working young man who wants to keep improving, so we look forward to his continued development in our senior environment.' Scarfe is one of the Dragons' many promising prospects who will back up the experienced figures in the squad next season. Centre Joe Westwood, flanker/lock Ryan Woodman and hooker Brodie Coghlan grew in influence last season, while centre Harri Ackerman would have were it not for injury. Full-back Huw Anderson, scrum-halves Che Hope and Morgan Lloyd, lock Barny Langton-Cryer and tighthead Luke Yendle got more opportunities while there were debuts for wing Harry Rees-Weldon, fly-half Harri Ford, props Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths and Owain James, lock Nick Thomas and back row forward Evan Minto. The aim will be to balance more Dragons chances with learning in the middle for Newport, Ebbw Vale and Pontypool in SRC.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Charming Welsh pub goes on sale for the same price as London bedsit - which would YOU choose?
A charming Welsh pub has gone up for sale for the same price as a London bedsit. The watering hole, in the centre of a small village in Pontypool is to go up for auction for a shocking price and those living in the UK's capital might think it's a bargain compared to the steep house prices they're used to. The recently refurbished property is located in the village of Little Mill just North of Newport and only a 40 minute drive away from the Welsh capital Cardiff. The charming pub, sold by Savills - National Auctions, comes with its own private car park, a fully commercial kitchen and a huge beer garden. The listing even reveals the pub comes with accommodation for the landlord with rooms above and all for just £270,000. For the same price as a bedsit in London, buyers can enjoy three bedrooms, a bathroom and store room all above their business, with an entrance at the rear - away from prying pub regulars. Photos from The South Wales Argus also show a ground floor containing a fully functioning pub kitchen and prep room, male and female toilets and access to a spacious beer garden with grassy banks and several picnic tables. Earlier this month, the pub, The Little Jockey took to Facebook to sell of some of its assets including an outside bar in an Ivor Williams Horsebox which included a gin bar and a Prosecco slush puppy machine all for just £4,500 and the advert added it was all fully towable with electric and water hookup available making it 'ideal for summer festivals'. The pub had been struggling since January when they took to Facebook to ask its customers how to keep itself afloat. In a post they wrote: 'Hospitality is getting harder every year with rising costs it's a very fine line… we need ideas and ways to produce income. 'We don't want to close in the week to save on staff and bills we want to be able to keep our staff working and the pub thriving so we need to adapt and make things a little different.' The pub had been beset by difficulties last year when they were unable to open for Christmas because of a flood leaving their bar and cellar unsalvageable and despite picking themselves back, the owner was unable to keep things going and put the pub up for sale at the start of the year. While no doubt the Pontypool community were upset at their local boozer closing, potential investors may be shocked to find that for less than £300,000 investors could enjoy a home and a business in one for the same amount would only buy them a bedsit in south east London. Rather than views over rolling hills, buyers could have a pokey balcony and instead of running their own business, they may find themselves cooped up in a flat block in Peckam. The reception room leads out on to a small balcony overlooking neighbouring gardens rather than views over the welsh hills that the picturesque village pub provides In the up-and-coming area, house-hunters could afford a two-bedroom, one bathroom flat 'in need of some updating' according to the Rightmove listing. The listing says the 'generously sized split level flat' is chain free and 'situated in a quiet location in Peckham'. Pictures show a galley kitchen with a small worktop and cupboard area, built-in oven with grey tiled floors and white walls on the first floor. Up a set of stairs, potential buyers are greeted with two bedrooms, a small bathroom and a reception room with a balcony accessed by a PVC door. The balcony overlooks neighbours and their gardens and the potential family home is just a 20 minute walk away from Queens Road Peckham station.
South Wales Argus
27-05-2025
- Health
- South Wales Argus
Pontypool Relay for Life 2025 event to take place in July
Pontypool Park will host the 2025 Relay for Life over the weekend of July 5-6, marking a decade of community-driven fundraising for Cancer Research UK. The event, one of only two of its kind in Wales, invites teams, survivors, and supporters to unite in a 24-hour relay to honour those affected by cancer and to raise vital funds for research. The event promises more than just fundraising, with organisers describing it as a "festival of remembrance, hope, and determination." The park will be filled with entertainment, food, music, kids' activities, and moments of reflection. Entry is free and open to all. Since its inception in 2016, Pontypool's Relay for Life has raised over £534,000, supporting cancer research in Wales. The first event exceeded its £20,000 target by raising £61,000, earning recognition as the best first-time Relay in the UK. (Image: Pontypool relay) (Image: Pontypool relay) (Image: Pontypool relay) The event has raised over £232,000 in the past three years alone. The Relay begins at 11am on Saturday, July 5, and continues through the night until 11am on Sunday. Participants take turns walking the track to keep someone on the course at all times—a symbol of the ongoing fight against cancer. One of the standout moments of the event is the Candle of Hope ceremony, held around 9.30pm on Saturday. Hundreds of candle bags—each decorated in memory or support of someone affected by cancer—are illuminated around the park. Team registration is free and open to people of all ages and backgrounds. Most teams include between eight and 15 members, and no running is required. Survivors are the guests of honour at Relay. They open the event with the first lap and are invited to a special survivors' lunch on Saturday. Survivors can register via the Pontypool Relay website or contact the committee for assistance. The event also boasts the UK's first Youth Committee, "Team Pink," launched in 2017. This group of young volunteers works to promote healthy living among their peers and has raised nearly £50,000 to date.
The Sun
21-05-2025
- The Sun
Moment neighbour smashes flats with axe before donning scuba gear, clutching spear & hiding in bathtub full of water
SHOCKING footage shows the moment a man smashed flats to pieces with an axe in a horror siege. Michael Hockey, 55, was captured on camera after he armed himself with an axe, spear and samurai sword to mount an out of control attack. 2 2 Video showed a bare-chested Hockey battering in his neighbours' doors and windows with the axe. A neighbour can be heard desperately pleading with "Mike" to stop the frenzied rampage during the footage to no avail. Hockey, of Pontypool, Wales, then set fire to his own house in the next bout of chaos. Cops were called after Hockey barricaded himself inside the building - and arrived to find him in scuba-diving gear and breathing apparatus while holding a spear. Armed officers and a negotiator were called to the siege in Pontypool, South Wales, and when they cut the power to his flat he shouted "b*****s" at them. The court heard Hockey caused £31,000 of damage during the two hour stand-off. When officers and firefighters eventually entered Hockey was found in a bath full of water. The crazed attacker had to be tased and blasted with a water hose before his arrest. Prosecutor Tom Roberts said in the days leading up to the police siege, Hockey had been "behaving erratically" and "playing loud music." He said: "He had been ranting and raving and making threats against a neighbour. "The defendant screamed that he was a traitor and said he was going to tear his face off and kill him." Armed cops descend on Lewisham amid fears of 'hostage situation' as man seen waving knife outside window He added: "He was described as snarling like a dog and said he was going to shoot him with a bow and arrow." Mr Roberts said Hockey then began hitting his neighbour's front door with an axe. "The victim, who has Asperger's, was terrified and was struggling to make sense of what was happening," he said. "He thought he was going to get into his flat and kill him." Hockey was sectioned under the Mental Health Act following the incident at the apartments owned by housing association Melin Homes on August 15, 2023. He said he had been watching TV "when Tarot card readers began communicating with him." After the arrest, officers found that Hockey had been growing 11 cannabis flats in his apartment. He was also armed to the teeth with cops finding a whip, a bow and arrow and an old police truncheon. Hockey admitted arson reckless as to whether life was endangered, affray, cultivating cannabis and criminal damage at Newport Crown Court. Alice Sykes, defending, said the event that day might have been triggered by a psychotic episode brought on by drug use. She added that Hockey had shown "genuine remorse". Judge Matthew Porter-Bryant said it was lucky that no one had been injured or killed and commended the emergency services for their actions. "Thankfully, only time and money was lost here," he added. Hockey of Sebastopol, Pontypool was jailed for two years and six months.
BBC News
21-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Wales Under-20s set up England World Cup warm-up
Wales Under-20s will face England in Pontypool in a World Rugby Championship warm-up match on 6 defeated the current world champions on a memorable night in Cardiff on the final weekend of the Six Nations in March with the 23-13 victory wrecking England's Grand Slam Pontypool match is one of two preparation matches with Wales hosting Italy at the Arms Park in Cardiff on 13 Rugby's Under-20 tournament takes place in Italy from 29 June to 19 July with Wales facing pool matches against Argentina, France and coach Richard Whiffin has named a 45-player training squad which will be whittled down to 30 for the tournament. "Our preparation is going to be important and those two games against England and Italy will give us a great indication of where we are," said Whiffin."We're playing against the world champions in one prep and it'll be a tough game against Italy as well."The extended squad does not include Ospreys number eight Morgan Morse who missed out on a place on the Wales senior tour to Japan in July. Wales Under-20s training squad Forwards (25): Dylan Alford (Scarlets/RGC), Harry Beddall (Dragons), Jake Bowen (Scarlets), Tom Cottle (RGC), Ioan Emanuel (Bath), Keanu Evans (Scarlets), Luke Evans (Exeter Chiefs), Will Evans (Scarlets), Dan Gemine (Ospreys), Deian Gwynne (Gloucester), Saul Hurley (Aberavon), Caio James (Gloucester), Owain James (Dragons), Kenzie Jenkins (Bristol), Ryan Jones (Dragons), Evan Minto (Dragons), Jac Pritchard (Scarlets), Sam Scott (Bristol Bears), Cerrig Smith (Dragons), Harry Thomas (Scarlets), Nick Thomas (Dragons), Louie Trevett (Bristol), George Tuckley (Dragons), Cameron Tyler-Grocott (Cardiff), Evan Wood (Pontypool/Cardiff Met).Backs (20): Aidan Boshoff (Bristol), Tom Bowen (Cardiff), Rhys Cummings (Cardiff), Osian Darwin-Lewis (Cardiff), Sion Davies (Cardiff), Ioan Duggan (Dragons), Lewis Edwards (Ospreys), Steff Emanuel (Cardiff), Elijah Evans (Cardiff), Harri Ford (Dragons), Logan Franklin (Dragons), Carwyn Leggatt-Jones (Scarlets), Ellis Lewis (Neath), Lloyd Lucas (Cardiff), Elis Price (Scarlets), Harry Rees-Weldon (Dragons), Osian Roberts (Sale Sharks), Dylan Scott (Cardiff MET), Harri Wilde (Cardiff), Jack Woods (Bath).
