South Wales Echo
New plans for controversial series of park gigs
PLANS have been submitted to use a Cardiff park for a series of live events this summer – a year after last year’s gigs sparked controversy. Cardiff Council has lodged plans for the use of Blackweir Fields in Bute Park as a concert venue for Blackweir...
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DEMENTIA DIAGNOSIS FOR STAR TOSHACK
WALES and Bluebirds football legend John Toshack has been diagnosed with dementia. His son, Cameron, revealed the heartbreaking news. Cameron, who is currently working as assistant manager at Buriram United in Thailand, admitted his dad has “good...
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What a Time! Manilow heads to city with new album
SINGER Barry Manilow has announced his first album in 15 years, featuring a song co-written by Take That singer Gary Barlow, as the US star heads to Cardiff later this year. The 82-year-old, who is best known for hits such as Mandy, Copacabana (At The...
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‘THE CITY IS SAFE’
IT’S hard to hear what the young woman is saying as she screams at police officers and appears to jostle one as she hurls herself with them to the pavement. It’s Super Saturday, the busiest night of the year in Cardiff, and officers are out in the...
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‘HOSPITAL LEFT MUM SITTING IN PAIN FOR FOUR DAYS’
A WOMAN with suspected meningitis sat in a chair for four days at a South Wales A&E department. The woman, 46, who is still unwell and does not want to be named, had attended Prince Charles Hospital, Merthyr Tydfil, on Saturday, March 14, after being...
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QUARTET DENY TEEN’S MURDER
THREE men and a woman have appeared in court accused of murdering a 17-year-old boy. Ricardo Elliot, Elexi Manny, Georgie Mears and Connor Palfrey are all charged with the murder of Tristan Shae Kerr. All four defendants pleaded not guilty at a plea...
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DAD’S FAKE DNA CHILD SUPPORT DODGE
A RELUCTANT father fraudulently asked his friend to provide a DNA sample in order to avoid paying child maintenance payments for his daughter. He denied paternity of his daughter and attempted to hoodwink the mother to evade his...
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THREE DIED IN CRASH AFTER DRIVER TOOK COCAINE
A DRIVER was under the influence of cocaine at the time of a crash which caused the deaths of him and his two passengers, an inquest has heard. Scott Jeffery, 34, suffered fatal injuries after driving a Ford Puma head-on into a lorry while his...
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‘EXPLOSIVES’ THREAT SPARKED SCHOOL CLOSURES
THREATS making reference to “explosive devices, firearms and knife attacks” were sent to three Cardiff schools, it has been confirmed. South Wales Police were yesterday continuing to investigate the threats which saw Llanishen High School and Eastern...
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SCHOOLS CLOSED AFTER ‘THREATS TO HARM’
SOUTH Wales Police are continuing to investigate threats made to two schools in Cardiff. The force that, at around 8.30pm on Sunday, it received a “live chat making threats to harm people” at the city’s Llanishen High School and Eastern High...
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4AM ‘ASSAULT’ LEAVES TWO IN HOSPITAL
TWO men are in hospital following a reported assault at a cocktail bar in Cardiff city centre. A police cordon was in place yesterday as officers remained at the scene on Mill Lane yesterday morning, following the incident which took place at the Ten...
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CHEF BIT OFF PART OF FRIEND’S EAR IN ROW
A PUB chef bit his housemate’s ear so hard part of it became detached. After the attack, Marcin Kluska, 47, tried to conceal evidence. When police arrived at the scene, he was standing in a towel while the victim lay outside on the grass. Just after...
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Torchwood fans upset as Ianto’s Shrine to go
A SHRINE to a fictional character that has delighted fans from around the world for nearly 20 years is to be taken down. Ianto’s Shrine, a Cardiff Bay landmark set up in memory of the Torchwood character Ianto Jones, is to be removed by the end of...
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HEAD USED SCHOOL CAR FOR HOLIDAY
A HEADTEACHER who rose to prominence on the television show Educating Cardiff used a school car without permission or insurance, to go on holiday to France and for trips to the pub, a misconduct hearing has been told. Joy Ballard, who was headteacher...
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CHAMPION HORSE TRAINER ‘BEAT DOG WALKER’
A CHAMPION horse trainer used a hockey stick to attack a dog walker he mistakenly believed was a rural criminal on his land, a jury has heard. Richard Evan Rhys Williams, known as Evan Williams, 54, denies causing grievous bodily harm with intent to...
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Spice up your life with Royal Mint’s latest coins
THEY have inspired generations with girl power and positivity, dominated the music charts, and even starred in a 1990s film – and now the Spice Girls are being celebrated on official coins produced by Llantrisant’s Royal Mint. The coins have been...
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WARNING OVER ‘SCHOOL FIGHT’ ONLINE POSTS
VIDEOS and still images on social media are being shared attempting to organise fights between different Cardiff secondary schools. The graphics appear to be part of a co-ordinated attempt across the UK to arrange inter-school fights. Several Cardiff...
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BLUEBIRDS’ FINANCES SHOW £39M SPENT ON WAGES
CARDIFF City’s latest accounts have revealed a dramatic rise in player wages and laid bare the scale of the financial challenge facing the club following a relegation which “shook the club to its core”. The figures, published at Companies House for...
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CONMAN BUILDER MUST PAY BACK £1M
A ROGUE builder who conned “elderly and vulnerable” people out of thousands of pounds by telling them they had to have work done that wasn’t needed has been ordered to pay back more than £1m. William Hanson, 51, “grossly overcharged” his victims and...
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CRIMINAL PAIR TO PAY BACK £200K
A ROGUE trader who defrauded multiple homeowners of tens of thousands of pounds has been ordered to pay back more than £100,000 despite benefiting by more than £1m. His wife, the owner of bank accounts used to hold money that her husband had...
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TEN-YEAR WAIT FOR A NEW HOME
CARDIFF residents living in old council flats that will soon be demolished have spoken of the years they’ve spent in cold, damp, and mouldy conditions as they wait to be moved into new homes. Tenants living in a block of flats at the Cardiff...
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WALES TO JOIN BID FOR 2040 OLYMPICS
WALES is to join a joint bid for the Olympics to be held in England and Wales. Ken Skates, transport and North Wales secretary, said the Welsh Government will join a bid already being discussed by regional mayors in England to bid for the sporting...
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WRU CHIEFS SET TO FACE VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE
THE Welsh Rugby Union is to face a seismic extraordinary general meeting (EGM), with a vote of no confidence in chair Richard Collier-Keywood set to be held. Yesterday, it was confirmed that the Central Glamorgan Rugby Union, which represents clubs in...
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HUSBAND JAILED FOR STABBING HIS WIFE TO DEATH
A JEALOUS husband has been jailed for at least 23 years for stabbing his wife to death, after they separated and she started dating a work colleague. Thisara Weragalage, 38, admitted murdering his wife, Niwunhellage Dona Nirodha Kalpani Niwunhella,...
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Anna is rocking it with her lookalike pebble creations
WITH great precision, Anna Llewellyn, carefully drizzles a glossy layer of pink and chocolate icing over the doughnuts she’s just made. She tilts her wrist slightly, watching the icing settle into place, exactly where she wants it. Beside them sit...
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COURT BID TO STOP CARDIFF TAKEOVER
SWANSEA Council has applied for a High Court injunction to halt the proposed deal between the Welsh Rugby Union and Y11 to buy Cardiff Rugby. The WRU has chosen Ospreys owners Y11 as its preferred bidder for Cardiff Rugby and has granted them a 60-day...
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ALL ABOARD!
THE UK Government has committed to funding seven new train stations in Wales, including a contribution to the proposed Cardiff Parkway mainline project, while also endorsing a longterm pipeline of rail enhancement schemes worth billions of...
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WOMAN JAILED AFTER ATTACK KNOCKED GRAN’S TEETH OUT
A VIOLENT woman smashed a grandmother’s face on the side of a caravan and knocked her two front teeth out after she asked her to keep the noise down while her grandson was sleeping. The victim said she was left “disgusted” by her own appearance due to...
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BOY SHOT THROUGH LETTERBOX IN GANG DISPUTE
A MEMBER of an organised crime gang (OCG) fired a shotgun through a letterbox and hit a 15-year-old boy who suffered gunshot wounds to his legs, a court has heard. An accomplice filmed the shooter, who was wearing a balaclava, and both fled in a...
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RAPE ACCUSED WORKING AT HOSPITAL
A TROUBLED hospital has decided not to suspend an employee who is on police bail after being arrested on suspicion of rape and other offences. The alleged victim described the decision by Cardiff’s University Hospital of Wales (UHW) as “scary”. South...
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ARMY:‘WE FAILED TEENAGE TROOPER JACK’
A TEENAGE soldier found hanged in his barracks having been under stress faced an “impossible working environment”, his family have said. Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment Trooper Jack Burnell-Williams, 18, was found dead at Hyde Park Barracks in...
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MAN MADE THREATS TO ‘STAB, CUT AND SLICE’ STUDENTS
A MASKED man wearing a fedora filmed himself making vile threats against students at a Welsh college and said he would “cut, stab and slice” people at the institution. He posted the video to YouTube, which was seen by members of the college who were...
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PLAN TO TACKLE KNIVES IN SCHOOLS
HELP for staff confronted by pupils bringing knives and other weapons into schools, or suspected of doing so, is being rolled out in a new national initiative. The scheme, announced by the Welsh Government, follows the jailing of a pupil who stabbed...
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Prize nod for children’s author is twice as nice
A CHARTERED accountant-turned author has become the first writer to be shortlisted for two different books by the Waterstones children’s book prize. Welsh writer and illustrator Huw Aaron, from Swansea, but now living in Cardiff, has been nominated...
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Tourism upside for new topsy-turvy attraction!
A “SIGNIFICANT” tourist attraction has been given approval by Cardiff Council for a year-long stay. Cardiff Council has approved plans to allow land for a 12-month sitting of an “upside down house” at 2 Churchill Way in the city centre. The upside...
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BODY FOUND ‘COVERED IN CARDBOARD BOXES’
A WELL-KNOWN drag queen was seen on CCTV walking into a car park area in Cardiff city centre with a man before he was later found dead and covered up with cardboard boxes. Darren Meah-Moore, 39, was found in a lane close to Windsor Place and Park Lane...
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Pair raided convenience store after robbing taxi
TWO men went on a crime spree which saw them robbing a taxi driver of his cab and using it to burgle a shop before making bystanders “run for their lives”. A judge said quite what made the men behave in the way they did has never been properly...
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Disruption to key city road for up to a year
WORK will take place on one of the busiest streets in Cardiff city centre and is expected to take a year as Castle Street undergoes major construction. Work to make the current temporary road layout and cycleway along the road permanent will begin....
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Code-breaker coin will net winner golden prize
A COIN will form part of a nationwide code-breaking challenge, with the eventual chance for competition entrants to win a gold bar. The £5 denomination coin includes numbers, letters, and symbols that can be used to uncover layers of secrets, riddles...
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Flood-prone homes set to be demolished
A ROW of houses in South Wales is so prone to flooding that a council is set to demolish them. Fifteen homes at Clydach Terrace in Ynysybwl are expected to be bulldozed after being bought by Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) County Borough Council. It comes...
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Cardiff bars shut as owner enters administration
REVOLUTION bars owner The Revel Collective has closed 21 venues – including two in Cardiff – with the loss of 591 jobs after appointing administrators, who have announced a sale securing other parts of the business. FTI Consulting have been brought in...
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Not-so-sweet surprise in store for vape shop
A VAPE shop which often marketed itself as a sweet shop has been forced to close after it was caught selling vapes and tobacco products to children, a local council has confirmed. Vape Zone in Abercynon was closed with immediate effect last Wednesday...
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BRAZEN GANG BEHIND BARS
A CRIMINAL gang who boasted of their extravagant lifestyle are behind bars after a major police operation in Cardiff. They were filmed cooking crack cocaine, handling large sums of cash and took pictures with a rented Lamborghini. Eight people have...
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‘I MISS HER EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY DAY’
A CYCLIST was killed after she was hit by a driver who failed to see her as he travelled at 68mph. Her 10-year-old son was left without a mother and her family described a “hole in their family that will never be filled”. Lucy John, 35, was riding her...
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DOZENS OF DOGS KEPT IN FILTHY CONDITIONS AT HOUSE
A PUPPY farm with almost 40 dogs kept in filthy conditions was discovered at a three-bedroom semidetached house, a court has heard. The condition of the property, which was covered in faeces and urine, left police officers and local authority workers...
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POLICE IN NEW BID TO SOLVE 1979 CABBIE’S MURDER
POLICE have renewed their appeal for information into the unsolved murder of taxi driver John “Jack” Armstrong – a killing that has haunted South Wales for more than four decades. Jack, a Cardiff taxi driver and family man, was murdered in October...
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Snooker ace’s son following in his dad’s footsteps
MARK Williams’ 12-year-old son has qualified for the U18s European Snooker Championship six years early – as he continues to follow in the three-time world champion’s footsteps. Joel Williams is quickly rising through snooker’s youth ranks and will...
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TEACHER’S SEX ACT VIDEO SHAME
A PRIMARY school teacher has been convicted of inciting a teenage girl to engage in sexual activity and to watch a sexual act. He was found not guilty of sexually assaulting the teenager and not guilty of a count of causing her to engage in sexual...
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WOMAN FOUND DEAD AT CITY PARK
THE body of a woman has been recovered from a park in Cardiff. There was an emergency response near Roath Park lake yesterday morning. South Wales Police confirmed the body of a woman has been recovered. The force says there are no suspicious...
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FAMILY LEFT DEVASTATED AFTER BLAZE RUINS HOME
A FAMILY has been left devastated after a fire tore through their home in the early hours of yesterday morning. Matthew Buckler, his wife and their four children woke up just after midnight to an exploded electric scooter which he says has completely...
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DONOR-ROW WASTE FIRM FINED £40K
A CONTROVERSIAL recycling firm which donated £200,000 to a leadership campaign of a former First Minister has been fined £40,000 for a breach of an environmental permit. The company has also been ordered to pay almost £30,000 in court...
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TEACHER ACCUSED OF SEX ASSAULT
A PRIMARY school teacher sexually assaulted a teenage girl while he was working as a teacher at a primary school in St Mellons, Cardiff, a court has been told. Cardiff Crown Court yesterday heard how Johnathan Morgan, 35, had “taken a shine” to the...
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SHOPS SHUT DOWN IN ILLEGAL CIGS AND VAPES BLITZ
TWO shops in Cardiff have been forced to close after a series of test purchases revealed they had been selling illegal tobacco and vapes. The tests, carried out by the council and South Wales Police, have led to the closures of Vape Zone in Adamsdown...
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TRIBUTES AS ‘BELOVED’ MUM DIES AFTER COLLISION
A LOVING mum-of-four has died after being involved in a serious collision on a major valleys road, police have confirmed. A total of five people were taken to hospital following a crash between a car and a van on the A4119 bypass at Williamstown, near...
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EX-SCHOOL WORKER FOUND WITH INDECENT IMAGES
A RETIRED teaching assistant was found in possession of images depicting child abuse but when interviewed by police he claimed the images were not indecent. He was also found to have distributed the images to others. David Wood, 69, was visited by...
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ONE DEAD IN NEW YEAR’S EVE FIRE TRAGEDY
A PERSON has been found dead following a house fire in a village in Rhondda Cynon Taf. Emergency services were called to reports of a blaze at a home in Glenboi near Mountain Ash shortly before 2am yesterday. Firefighters tried to control the blaze...
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THIEF’S £15,000 ROLEX ROBBERY
POLICE are investigating after a man was robbed of cash and his £15,000 Rolex watch while walking home from a convivence store. The 40-year-old man was robbed after leaving the the Family Shopper in Merthyr Dyfan Road, Barry, near the bus stop close...
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MAN DIES ON BOXING DAY AFTER CITY ‘ASSAULT’
A CARDIFF fish and chip shop has fed more than 1,000 people on Boxing Day after a remarkable community-led operation that saw meals delivered across the city to hospitals, emergency services and people experiencing homelessness. Whitchurch-based...
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DRUG DEALER WITH TASTE FOR THE HIGH LIFE CAUGHT RED-HANDED
A BARRY drug dealer carried out a blatant drugs transaction while completely unaware that a team of detectives were already watching him from outside his home. Police had been monitoring Jacob Kennedy, 20, at his flat in Nant Talwg Way, Barry, on...
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I’VE BEEN SCAMMED... BY WOMAN I THOUGHT WAS A FRIEND
CHRISTMAS is a time for giving and goodwill and for Helen Morse there’s just one gift she’d like to receive this year. She wants former friend Charlotte Blackwell, 31, to repay the £12,682 she scammed from her and three other women, who handed over the...
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MURDERED BY TEENS IN RACIST ATTACK
TWO teenage boys have been found guilty of murdering a loving husband and father who was stabbed to the heart with a kitchen knife. He was delivering shopping to his mother’s house and was returning to his car when he was set upon by the teenagers and...
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VIOLENT MAN RAPED HIS EX AFTER LOCKING HER IN HOUSE
“I AM still, even now, in shock that he did it. He must have no human feelings. There is nothing about him that is redeemable.” These are the words of Helen Carson, who endured horrific physical and sexual abuse at the hands of her ex-partner, who...
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