Families of the victims of Britain’s worst paddleboard disaster have slammed the disgraced former armed police officer who led the tragically ill-fated expedition as ‘vile’, ‘arrogant’ and a ‘coward’.
After 'despicable' Nerys Lloyd was yesterday jailed for ten-and-a-half years for four counts of gross negligence manslaughter, relatives laid bare the anguish caused by the tragic consequences of her 'incompetence' and said they could 'never forgive her'.
Despite not being a properly qualified instructor, Lloyd led the group of beginners on the paid trip on the Cleddau River in Pembrokeshire in October 2021, ignoring weather warnings and a flood alert.
In horrific scenes, seven paddlers were sucked over a 4ft weir into the churning torrent below in just 20 seconds, trapped by nearly two tons of water plunging on top of them every second.
Morgan Rogers, 24, Nicola Wheatley, 40, and Andrea Powell, 41, all drowned, along with Lloyd’s co-instructor Paul O'Dwyer, 42, who bravely tried to save them.
After Lloyd - now 39 - was yesterday jailed for ten-and-a-half years, relatives rejected her attempts to spread some of the blame onto former soldier Mr O’Dwyer, whose wife Ceri was among the survivors.
Theresa Hall, mother of supermarket deputy manager Ms Rogers, said she lost her ‘best friend’ when her daughter died.
Speaking outside Swansea Crown Court following the sentencing, Ms Hall said: ‘It's been three long years and seven months since I lost my only daughter, Morgan, my best friend.
Former police officer Nerys Lloyd, 39, was today jailed for 10 years and six months
Lloyd at the riverside in Haverfordwest following the accident which claimed the lives of four people
Picture of the weir where Lloyd guided the tragic paddleboarders over during low flow conditions
The treacherous waters at the foot of the weir which claimed the lives of four people in the UK's worst paddleboarding tragedy in October 2021 - pictured the day after the tragedy
Health worker Nicola Wheatley (left) and her co-instructor Paul O'Dwyer (right) died in the tragedy
Morgan Rogers (left), 24, and Andrea Powell (right) also drowned in the flooded weir
‘Over three years since I laid eyes on her, over three years since I heard her infectious laugh.
‘I wish you would all have met her, my beautiful daughter, she was always smiling, always happy, always content in her life.
‘She didn't want to rock the world, she wanted to live a respectful life, she would never hurt anyone, she was a gentle soul, always looking for the good in people.
‘Anyone that has lost a child by someone else's doing will know that there is no pain like it.
‘That day I lost a piece of myself, I will never be the same person without my Morgan.
‘I can never forgive Nerys Lloyd for what she has taken from me.’
Mrs Hall said Lloyd’s failure to take emergency contact details for any of the paddlers meant it was over 12 hours before she was informed of her daughter's death.
‘Even then, it was another 12 hours before I formally identified her myself,’ she said.
Lloyd organised the weekend paddleboard outing on the Cleddau River in Haverfordwest
Lloyd (pictured third from the left, wearing a white shirt) arriving at Swansea Crown Court for her second day of sentencing
Pictured on a calmer day, the weir on the Cleddau River in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, which claimed the lives of four paddleboarders in October 2021
Nerys Lloyd, 39, admitted the manslaughter of four paddleboarders who drowned after getting caught up in a flooded weir in hazardous conditions
Lloyd captured on a police bodycam on October 31, 202 after four people drowned in the flooded weir
‘My precious girl was not important to Nerys Lloyd.
‘She couldn't give police Morgan's details, as she hadn't even bothered to get Morgan's emergency contact details in case of an accident.
'That was despicable.
‘Nerys Lloyd's arrogance spoke volumes for the person she is and the attitude that she showed towards the people she had in her care that day, the lack of concern is shocking.’
Victim Nicola Wheatley's children were aged just seven and two at the time of the tragedy.
The toxicology expert's widower Darren said he hoped Lloyd would spend her time behind bars ‘reflecting’ on the ‘devastating’ impact of her negligence.
In a statement read outside court, he said: ‘Losing Nicola has devastated our family and two young children lost their mammy.
‘Nicola died in circumstances that were completely avoidable and should not have happened.
‘Decisions made by Nerys Lloyd, and only Nerys Lloyd, led to the four lives lost.
‘Any sentence served by Nerys in prison will never ease the pain of losing Nicola, and our lives will never be the same again.’
He added: ‘I hope Nerys takes the time whilst locked up to reflect and finally acknowledge the devastating impact of her decisions that day.’
On Tuesday, relatives of the four victims delivered moving statements telling sentencing judge Mrs Justice Mary Stacey of the impact the tragedy had on each family.
Nerys Lloyd (pictured back centre wearing sunglasses) surrounded by friends and family as she arrived at Swansea Crown Court for her sentencing
Lloyd pictured arriving at Swansea Crown Court on crutches last month, when she admitted four counts of manslaughter
In a series of victim impact statements, they blasted Lloyd for her ‘lack of remorse’ in the months and years following the deaths.
Andrea Powell’s husband Mark cried as he told the court he and his wife had moved to Wales in 2018 for a ‘more enjoyable life’ and to raise their son, then aged seven.
‘Little were we to know that three years later, the move would culminate in Andrea's tragic death,’ he said.
Mr Powell said his son later told him: ‘I want to die so I can be with my mummy.’
The day before the tragedy he said they 'hugged and said goodbye to Andrea as she was picked up from home to go on a paddleboarding trip to Haverfordwest'.
‘Sadly, that would be the last time I would see her as she was that day - happy, content, her beautiful heart beating and her body breathing without the aid of a machine.’
He added: ‘How can a serving police officer allow this to happen?
‘Not only was Nerys Lloyd lackadaisical, she was also unqualified, deceitful, wholly incompetent and not fit to have my wife's welfare and life in her hands.’
Ceri O’Dwyer – whose husband Paul was Lloyd’s co-instructor and drowned trying to save the paddlers – survived when she was pushed to safety by Mrs Powell.
Delivering her own statement to the court, Mrs O’Dwyer said her husband made a ‘devastating mistake’ that day but he ‘died trying to save others’ when he dived back in to the water.
The same spot on the Cleddau River in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, pictured on a day when the river was calm, similar to conditions when Nerys Lloyd carried out a 'reconnaissance visit' two months before the tragedy
The ill-fated expedition on the River Cleddau in Haverfordwest (pictured) is believed to be Britain's worst ever paddleboarding accident
Lloyd was dismissed from South Wales Police the following month for an unrelated matter, the force said
She said Lloyd had shown an ‘utter lack of remorse’ for someone she considered a friend and ‘aunt’ to her son.
‘When I needed you most, instead of honesty and accountability, I was met with blame, rejection and gaslighting,’ she said.
‘I could have hated you from the day of the incident, but I did not.
‘I defended you, whilst you twisted the truth, shifting more responsibility onto Paul, making me feel paranoid for questioning you.
‘I have never denied Paul's role in what happened, but I will not allow him to be blamed for more than he deserves.’
Addressing Lloyd, she added: ‘Grief is in our household every single day.
‘You carried on as if nothing ever happened.
‘Nerys, I do not believe you will ever learn from this, you've had three years to show remorse and yet you have continued like this is an inconvenience to your life.’
In her own statement to the court, Morgan Rogers’ mother Theresa Hall said: ‘Since that day my time has stopped.
‘The loss of Morgan is a shadow that follows me casting a veil over my life.’
She told Lloyd: ‘Because of your action, lack of concern for everyone's safety on that trip, on that day you guided Morgan to her death, everyone on that trip went out for a fun day.
‘Instead four people lost their lives.
‘The physical and mental pain that I now live with is too much to bear.
‘Morgan was my only daughter. My precious girl.
‘I go to bed at night thinking about you Nerys Lloyd.
'I wake up thinking the same thing, you are still out there, walking free and doing all of the things that you want to do.
‘You and your arrogance have stopped me being able to fully grieve for my daughter.
'You took that all away from Morgan's future and more, you took Morgan away from her family, Morgan's hopes and dreams, Morgan's wedding day, Morgan's children you took Morgan's life for nothing more than profit.
‘Morgan died a horrendous death because of your negligent action and arrogance, that was how you killed my daughter Morgan.
‘If she had known about the weir she would never have gone into the water that day.’
She added: ‘The manner in which Morgan died will haunt me for the rest of my life.
Mrs Justice Mary Stacey delivering sentencing remarks in court
‘It was a brutal way for my beautiful, innocent daughter to lose her life, and for that, I will never forgive you for what you have done.’
In court Mr Wheatley branded Lloyd ‘a coward’ and ‘a disgraced business owner’.
He blasted her for sharing pictures on social media celebrating Christmas lights with her family and friends just months after his wife's death.
He said he had waited ‘three long years’ to tell Lloyd what he thinks of her, slamming her as a ‘coward’ and a ‘charlatan’.
‘The only person Nerys Lloyd cares about is Nerys Lloyd,’ he said.
‘You have presented yourself as a stone-cold, heartless individual.
‘You have continued to live your life as if nothing ever happened.’
He accused her of hiding behind a ‘carefully orchestrated smokescreen’ of charity work.
Lambasting her for posting pictures of herself smiling at a light display at Margam Park the following Christmas, Mr Wheatley said: ‘You had a joyful look on your face without a care in the world, without any sign of remorse.
‘Nerys Lloyd you are a vile person and you disgust me’.
Lloyd was the owner and director of Salty Dog Co Ltd when she led the 11-mile tour on the fast-flowing river in October 2021, the court heard.
The £149 a person trip was advertised on Facebook with overnight accommodation and two 'fully' qualified instructors.
However the group – some of whom were not wearing wetsuits - received no health and safety guidance.
Prosecutor Mark Watson KC said the survivors were clear there had been no mention of the 1.3m weir – meaning they were 'completely taken by surprise’ when they were swept up to it.
He said that in a ‘chaotic episode of some 20 seconds’ the paddlers were ‘carried over the weir crest by the strong current’ and submerged by the churning water.
Images taken a day after the tragedy show the foaming, swollen river.
The court heard in a pre-sentence report Lloyd 'did appear to attribute quite a number of the poor, reckless decisions’ to Mr O'Dwyer.
However in a personal statement to court, she said: 'I take full blame for the mistakes that meant four special individuals are not here today.’
David Elias KC, defending, said Lloyd planned to take the group to the landing platform at the side to 'get out and walk around' the weir.
But the judge rejected the explanation, saying she appeared interested in selecting ‘more of an exciting route rather than safety’.
The policewoman – at the time suspended from her job over a fraudulent insurance claim – managed to negotiate the flooded weir in the centre of Haverfordwest by going down a narrow ramp.
But the seven paddlers – who had booked the expedition on the understanding that it was suitable for ‘beginners’ – were sucked beneath the surging water.
As nearly two tons of water plunging on top of them every second created a washing machine effect, the leashes connecting them to their boards made escape almost impossible, a court heard.
Lloyd was filmed moments later – still unaware anyone had died – telling a police officer that the group ‘fell in’.
However after being told that co-instructor Mr O'Dwyer had lost his life, she said: ‘I'm going to jail for this.’
Later Lloyd attempted to lay blame for Briain’s worst paddleboarding tragedy on him, Swansea Crown Court heard.
But it emerged that hours after the tragedy - in a conversation inadvertently recorded on her phone – she told her wife that it had been her own fault and she was 'finished'.
She previously pleaded guilty to four counts of gross negligence manslaughter and a Health and Safety at Work Act offence.
Jailing her for ten-and-a-half years yesterday, Mrs Justice Stacey said the quartet who died were 'cut off in their prime'.
The judge accused Lloyd of being 'lax' about safety, despite her training as a police officer.
'I accept you are desperately sorry for what happened that day,’ she said.
‘But being sorry for what happened is different from remorse.'
Lloyd, of Aberavon, nodded at the judge and mouthed 'Thank you'.
Stand-up paddle boarding has become the ‘fastest-growing UK water sport’ in recent years, but experts say a failure to make correct preparations or have the proper equipment can be fatal.
Lifeboat crews launched to paddle boarders across the country 155 times in 2023 compared to just 52 launches in 2019, according to the RNLI.
Of those, 22 people’s lives were saved by crews, up from three in 2019.