Families' fury over 'brazen' appeal bid by paddleboard boss who caused four deaths

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Families' fury over 'brazen' appeal bid by paddleboard boss who caused four deaths1 hour ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleNicola BryanBBC Wales 'Four people died - we just want her to say sorry'A former paddleboard firm owner's "brazen" failed bid to shorten her prison sentence after causing the deaths of four people caused further pain for those already grieving, the families of two of her victims have said. Paul O'Dwyer, Andrea Powell, Morgan Rogers and Nicola Wheatley died after paddleboarding in "extremely hazardous conditions" on the Western Cleddau river in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, in October 2021. Nerys Bethan Lloyd, 41, from Port Talbot, pleaded guilty to gross negligence manslaughter in March 2025 and was jailed for 10 years and six months.

Three judges at the Court of Appeal rejected David Elias KC's submissions that the sentence was "manifestly excessive". Darren WheatleyNicola and Darren's children were just seven and two when she diedNicola's husband Darren Wheatley said he was left in tears after Friday's hearing, while Morgan Rogers' mother Teresa Hall said she wished ex-police officer Lloyd would leave their families in peace. "There's just never an end to it," said Teresa, 57.

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"She is not letting anyone have peace. Not the people that have died and not us, nobody can have peace. "We've got life sentences.

Ours isn't just going to miraculously go away. I've lost my daughter for life. "Morgan, Teresa's only daughter, was a deputy manager for Aldi and had been preparing to join the fire brigade.

The 24-year-old was one of seven participants who took part in the paddleboard tour when the group ran into difficulty while crossing a weir in "treacherous" conditions. "My daughter's not coming back," said Teresa, from Merthyr Tydfil. "No matter how much I cry, no matter how much I'm angry, she's never going to walk through that door again.

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"I just hope that she will just give us a break and let us now have peace. That's all I want, just peace. "Teresa HallMorgan, 24, was the "light of everybody's life", her mother Teresa saidBoth Teresa and Darren watched the proceedings at London's Court of Appeal at home on their laptops.

Darren said it was an agonising ordeal. "I broke down sobbing and crying when they said the appeal was rejected," he said. "It was a sense of relief, anxiety, nerves and it was like a weight being lifted again like what it was 12 months ago when she got sentenced.

"Nicola, a poisons information specialist, had received her paddleboard for her 40th birthday just weeks earlier and had been excited about going on the trip run by Lloyd's company, Salty Dog Co Ltd. When she died their children were just seven and two, and Darren said he lived with the pain of knowing Nicola has missed out on seeing their children grow up. "It was devastating, it blew our family apart," said Darren.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.