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Nerys Lloyd: Details of fatal paddleboarding trip instructor’s police sacking revealed | UK News
Police have revealed details around the dismissal of the co-instructor in a fatal paddleboarding trip.
Nerys Lloyd was jailed last month for the gross negligence manslaughter of Paul O’Dwyer, 42, Andrea Powell, 41, Morgan Rogers, 24, and Nicola Wheatley, 40.
The 39-year-old had also pleaded guilty to one offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
The four were part of a stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) tour of the River Cleddau in Pembrokeshire.
They got into difficulty after their paddleboards passed over a weir in the town of Haverfordwest during “extremely hazardous conditions” in October 2021.
Lloyd was the owner and sole director of Salty Dog Co Ltd, the firm which had organised the tour.
(L-R) Nicola Wheatley, Andrea Powell, Paul O’Dwyer and Morgan Rogers. Pics: Family handouts (via South Wales Police)
The defendant, who worked as a firearms officer for South Wales Police, was separately accused of breaching the standards of professional behaviour.
The misconduct hearing took place on 14 January 2022, but the publication of the outcome was postponed.
Now that criminal proceedings have concluded, South Wales Police has published the outcome of the hearing, which details that Lloyd was accused of making a fraudulent insurance claim.
Lloyd was dismissed without notice and placed on the police barred list.
Nerys Lloyd (centre, on crutches) leaving Swansea Crown Court after her plea hearing. Pic: PA
The decision on the outcome, compiled after the hearing, states that Lloyd did not attend it and neither had she submitted a written response to the allegations.
Lloyd made a claim against the South Wales Police Federation group insurance scheme for her vehicle’s repair costs.
The cost of the work to repair the vehicle was somewhere between £16 and £20 but the insurance claim made by Lloyd was for £577.55.
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The report into her dismissal states that, when the matter came to light, she admitted her wrongdoing and immediately apologised.
She was interviewed under caution on 11 October 2021, less than three weeks before the fatal paddleboarding tour.
When interviewed by police, Lloyd said she had made a “massive error of judgement” in relation to the insurance claim and she later repaid the amount in full.