Court of Appeal Rejects Bid to Reduce 10-Year Sentence for Paddleboard Tour Deaths

Three judges at the Court of Appeal rejected Nerys Bethan Lloyd's attempt to reduce her 10-year-and-six-month sentence for gross negligence manslaughter on Friday. Lloyd, 41, from Port Talbot, had pleaded guilty in March 2025 to causing the deaths of Paul O'Dwyer, Andrea Powell, Morgan Rogers and Nicola Wheatley during a paddleboard tour on the Western Cleddau river in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, on 30 October 2021.

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch report, published in December 2022, concluded the deaths were tragic and avoidable.

It found the group of nine arrived in Haverfordwest just before 08:00, launched at about 08:49, and reached the weir by 08:56. Lloyd descended the fish pass first and was swept downstream. Andrea Powell, Nicola Wheatley and Morgan Rogers were pulled into the hydraulic jump at the base of the weir.

Paul O'Dwyer entered the water above the weir in an attempt to assist. Andrea Powell was recovered by members of the public, resuscitated at the scene and died six days later. Nicola Wheatley and Morgan Rogers were recovered by fellow participants and died at the scene.

Paul O'Dwyer's body was located further downstream by a coastguard helicopter at about 11:00. The MAIB report identified multiple failures: leaders were not qualified for fast-flowing rivers, did not inspect the weir beforehand, ignored a flood alert, failed to brief participants on the weir, and used unsuitable ankle leashes.

At sentencing, Mrs Justice Stacey criticised Lloyd's "abysmal" approach to health and safety.

David Elias KC argued on Lloyd's behalf that the sentence was manifestly excessive. The judges rejected those submissions. Darren Wheatley, husband of Nicola Wheatley, watched the hearing from home. He said he broke down sobbing when the appeal was rejected and described the day as an agonising ordeal of relief, anxiety and nerves.

He said Lloyd's decision to appeal left him angry and that she only thought of herself. "She's so brazen," he said. Teresa Hall, mother of Morgan Rogers, also watched remotely. The 57-year-old said she wished Lloyd would leave the families in peace.

"There's just never an end to it," she said. "We've got life sentences. Ours isn't just going to miraculously go away. " Morgan Rogers, 24, was Teresa Hall's only daughter and worked as a deputy manager for Aldi while preparing to join the fire brigade.

Nicola Wheatley, a poisons information specialist, had received her paddleboard for her 40th birthday weeks before the trip. Her children were seven and two when she died. Lloyd was sacked by South Wales Police in November 2021 for a matter unrelated to the paddleboarding incident.

She was previously the owner of Salty Dog Co Ltd, the firm that ran the tour.