HYWEL DDA: Stroke patients in west Wales face major shake-up as health board prepares to launch new consultation — with Glangwili set to become the region’s only 24-hour acute unit

Stroke patients across west Wales could face much longer journeys for specialist care under plans being put out to public consultation — with Llanelli‘s Prince Philip Hospital set to lose its acute stroke capability if the preferred option goes ahead.

Hywel Dda University Health Board will decide at its public board meeting on 28 May whether to launch a second round of consultation on the future of stroke services — the one area it couldn’t reach agreement on when it made decisions on eight other fragile services at an extraordinary meeting in February.

Under the preferred option now being put forward, Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen would become the region’s only 24-hour acute stroke and rehabilitation unit.

Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli, Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest and Bronglais Hospital in Aberystwyth would all become treat-and-transfer sites — meaning patients would receive initial stabilisation there before being transferred to Glangwili, or directly to a thrombectomy centre in Cardiff or Bristol.

Bronglais would also have a stroke rehabilitation unit under the plan.

The health board says the current setup is dangerous. Stroke services are currently spread across four hospital sites and there is no specialist cover seven days a week — meaning patients are not always getting the standard of care they should.

The preferred option was not one of the original ideas put out to consultation. It emerged from two alternative suggestions — Option 106 and Option 210 — put forward by members of the public during the first phase. The board felt that neither worked on its own, but combined, they could.

The proposal is a significant one for Llanelli. The town has already seen its Minor Injuries Unit downgraded as part of the same Clinical Services Plan process, and local councillors have been vocal about the cumulative impact of service losses at Prince Philip.

Councillor Sean Rees warned last year that Llanelli “cannot afford to lose any more” of its healthcare services, and raised specific concerns about what the stroke changes would mean for Prince Philip — including the added pressure of patients being transferred in from Ceredigion if Bronglais was downgraded.

The board’s chair Dr Neil Wooding said the second consultation was a direct result of what communities told the board during the first phase.

He said: “Thank you to everyone who has already given their time and provided feedback in the first phase of our Clinical Services Plan consultation, which has enabled us to reach this point. While we were able to take decisions on eight of the nine fragile services included in our Clinical Services Plan earlier this year, no decisions about the future model for stroke services have been made.”

Lee Davies, Executive Director of Strategy and Planning, said: “We know how important stroke services are to our communities, and we are committed to taking the time needed to understand people’s views on the preferred option and the other options already consulted on, before any final decisions are made.”

He added: “We need to change our current service to ensure that people in our communities have the best possible outcomes and chance of recovery from a stroke.”

The consultation will ask whether people support the preferred option — and if not, which of the previously consulted-on alternatives should be considered instead. People will also be able to flag equality and Welsh language concerns.

If approved on 28 May, the consultation opens the same day and runs until 26 July 2026. The board will then weigh all the evidence from both phases before making a final decision later this year.

The public board meeting on 28 May will be broadcast live online, with board papers already published on the Hywel Dda website.

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WRU: Ospreys and Scarlets still haven’t signed Welsh rugby’s new deal — four weeks after Ospreys said they would

Welsh rugby’s two west Wales regions are still unsigned on the deal that was supposed to secure their futures — and the WRU‘s plan to cut professional rugby in Wales from four teams to three remains very much alive in the background.

Ospreys chief executive Lance Bradley confirmed on Thursday that the region had not yet signed the new Professional Rugby Agreement — known as PRA25 — despite announcing its intention to do so four weeks ago.

The Scarlets are also yet to commit to the deal, which sets out how professional rugby in Wales will be run, including how much money each region will receive.

Bradley told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast the hold-up was not a cause for alarm. “It’s not signed yet, but it’s progressing towards that, so it’s very close,” he said. “It’s just a few details to sort out, there aren’t any problems with it.”

He also moved to dismiss reports suggesting the new agreement would mean budget cuts for the clubs. “There was some discussion about how you manage recruitment at relatively short notice, but no — there are no plans for a reduction in the budget,” Bradley said.

The two regions are currently signed to an older agreement that runs until 2028. Dragons and Cardiff — currently owned by the WRU — signed the new PRA25 deal in May 2025, which runs until 2030.

The Ospreys and Scarlets had held back from signing last year, releasing a joint statement seeking clarity from the WRU before they would commit. That stand-off triggered a significant escalation from the WRU.

In May 2025, the WRU announced it would move away from a model of four evenly-funded clubs — a move that sent shockwaves through west Wales rugby and fuelled fears for both regions’ survival.

What followed was one of the most turbulent periods in Welsh regional rugby history. Swansea Council went to the High Court seeking an injunction to halt a proposed WRU deal that it said would end the Ospreys. Fans launched a 10,000-signature petition. Politicians, supporters and public figures called for the WRU chair’s resignation.

The Y11 bid to take over Cardiff Rugby also collapsed in April — a significant moment that changed the landscape of negotiations, with the WRU subsequently moving to offer PRA25 to the Ospreys and Scarlets.

The WRU’s subsequent U-turn — offering both regions a professional rugby agreement — was celebrated by campaigners as a massive victory. But the deal still hasn’t been signed, and the WRU’s longer-term plan has not gone away.

The union wants to cut professional men’s rugby in Wales from four teams to three by the 2028-29 season, and has said it will outline the terms of how that will be achieved this summer.

Previous WRU proposals suggested only one team would remain in west Wales — which would mean either the Ospreys or the Scarlets ceasing to exist as a professional side. Bradley said he hoped it would not come to that.

“My personal preference would be that four regions is something that works very well,” he said. “Ospreys against Scarlets is the biggest club game in Welsh rugby — everybody likes to hate everybody else, but it’s a fantastic game and a fantastic rivalry, and I’d like to see it continue if possible.”

He added that the regions would need to see the full details of the WRU’s three-team plan before drawing any firm conclusions about what it would mean for west Wales rugby.

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CARMARTHENSHIRE: Swiss Valley councillor elected as new council chair — and he wants to get around the whole county to meet its people

Carmarthenshire County Council has a new Chair after Cllr Giles Morgan was elected to the role at the authority’s Annual Meeting on Wednesday, 20 May 2026.

The Swiss Valley Ward member takes over the chain of office from Cllr Dot Jones, who he paid tribute to on taking the chair — thanking her for her service to the council.

Cllr Morgan said: “I’m honoured to be elected Chair of Carmarthenshire County Council and I look forward to the year ahead.”

His wife, Mrs Claire Morgan, will serve as his Consort throughout the coming year, with Cllr Betsan Jones, the member for Betws, appointed as Vice-Chair.

After the ceremony, Cllr Morgan took to Facebook to say he was looking forward to getting around the whole county to meet people and organisations — and was delighted that his parents had been there to see him take up the role.

The appointment makes Carmarthenshire the third south-west Wales authority in less than a week to inaugurate a new civic figurehead. Swansea schoolfriends Cllr Penny Matthews and Cllr Susan Jones were inaugurated as Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor at Swansea Guildhall on 15 May, while music teacher Cllr Alan Lockyer was installed as Mayor of Neath Port Talbot at Margam Park the same day.

The Chair is the first citizen of Carmarthenshire County Council and is elected each year at the Annual General Meeting.

Duties include chairing full meetings of the council and representing the authority at formal and ceremonial occasions throughout the county.

The Chair is also responsible for welcoming visitors to Carmarthenshire and attending and supporting events organised by local people and organisations across the area.

Cllr Morgan has served as a County Councillor since 2004, bringing more than 20 years of local government experience to the role.

He currently chairs the council’s Corporate Performance and Resources Committee and also sits on the Audit Committee.

For his year in office, Cllr Morgan has chosen two charities — Dementia UK and Blood Cancer UK.

Dementia UK provides specialist dementia nurses, known as Admiral Nurses, who offer one-to-one support to families living with all forms of dementia — including Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.

Blood Cancer UK funds research into leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma and other blood cancers, and provides support to patients and their families.

The charity was previously known as Bloodwise — a name it held from 2015 until March 2020, when it rebranded to make its purpose clearer to the public. Before that, it operated as Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research.

Cllr Morgan’s election as Chair marks the beginning of a new civic year for the council, with a full programme of ceremonial and representative duties expected across Carmarthenshire over the next 12 months.

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LLANELLI: Man arrested after spate of car break-ins in Gilbert Crescent as councillor calls for ‘swift justice’

A man has been arrested after a series of cars were broken into in the Gilbert Crescent area of Llanelli — with footage of the break-ins shared on social media by one of the victims.

Dyfed Powys Police confirmed that officers are investigating a spate of thefts in the Gilbert Crescent area of the Lliedi ward, with the incidents taking place between 7pm and 8pm on Sunday 17 May. Residents reported personal items stolen after their cars were broken into.

One of the victims, Hefin Jones, shared footage of the incident on Facebook — describing the suspect as an “absolute scumbag” who had targeted several vehicles including his own.

Lliedi ward councillor Shaun Greaney made a public appeal for residents to come forward with information and urged police to act quickly. He described the crimes as “utterly despicable.”

“Residents work hard for what they have,” Greaney said. “Such abhorrent behaviour warrants tough sentences. I would hope that Dyfed Powys Police will act quickly to do all they can to catch the culprit.”

The footage, shared publicly on social media, proved crucial. On Monday 18 May — within hours of the incidents being reported — a 39-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of theft and bailed pending further investigation.

A spokesperson for Dyfed Powys Police said they were “currently investigating a spate of thefts in Gilbert Crescent, Llanelli” where “residents reported personal items stolen following their cars being broken into.”

The force confirmed the arrest and advised that their “enquiries are ongoing.”

The swift arrest delighted Greaney, who credited doorbell cameras and community vigilance for the result. “It’s great news that there has been an arrest in this instance,” he said. “It shows the value of door cameras and community vigilance.”

“One still wonders at the motives of the individual concerned,” he added. “I hope that justice is swift and that the penalty matches the crime.”

The case echoes a pattern seen elsewhere in our coverage — a prolific burglar in Baglan was jailed for five years after being caught on doorbell cameras trying a dozen doors, underlining the growing role that home security cameras play in helping police identify and prosecute suspects.

Despite incidents like this, the Dyfed Powys force area has historically recorded some of the lowest vehicle theft rates in England and Wales. Research published in 2022 found that drivers in the Dyfed Powys area were the least likely of any police force area to have their car stolen — with just 1.2 vehicles stolen per thousand households in 2021.

Anyone with further information about the incidents in Gilbert Crescent on Sunday 17 May is asked to contact Dyfed Powys Police on 101.

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CARMARTHEN: Reform MS vows to visit shop that ‘excluded’ his wife to seek ‘respectful dialogue’

A Reform UK MS has vowed to personally visit a Carmarthen shop that allegedly excluded his wife during the Senedd election campaign — after claiming she was barred from the business, chased in the street and verbally abused because of her political beliefs.

Gareth Beer MS, who represents the Sir Gaerfyrddin constituency covering Carmarthenshire, published a lengthy statement on Facebook on Tuesday paying tribute to his wife, Cllr Michelle Beer — before detailing what he described as a series of deeply troubling incidents she had experienced in the run-up to the May 7 vote.

“She has been excluded from shops in Carmarthen, verbally abused in the street, chased, and called vile names, simply because she believes in standing up for her country and representing Reform UK,” Beer wrote.

He said she had also faced exclusion from “local organisations (publicly funded)” — though he gave no details of which organisations he was referring to.

Later in the same post, Beer appeared to refer to a single shop rather than multiple businesses. He said he intended to visit it personally — not to escalate matters, but to seek dialogue.

“I will personally visit the shop in Carmarthen where this occurred and introduce myself,” he wrote. “Not to escalate tensions, but to ensure that respectful dialogue replaces hostility. Politics should never descend into personal harassment.”

The shop has not been named.

Beer acknowledged the broader political charge his statement was likely to attract. “We are repeatedly told that Reform is ‘divisive,’” he wrote. “Yet it was she who faced hostility and exclusion. It was she who was treated unfairly because of her political beliefs. That contradiction speaks volumes.”

“In a democratic society, no one should face intimidation or discrimination because of the party they support, whether that is Reform, Labour, Plaid Cymru, the Conservatives, or any other political movement,” he added.

Gareth Beer knows Carmarthenshire politics intimately. At the 2024 general election he came within 1,504 votes of taking the Llanelli parliamentary seat for Reform — the party’s strongest performance anywhere in Wales at that contest.

On 7 May he went one better. Beer topped Reform’s Sir Gaerfyrddin list and was the second MS declared in the constituency — becoming the first Reform UK MS ever elected in west Wales. The party took three of the six seats, with Carmelo Colasanto and Sarah Edwards also elected.

Cllr Michelle Beer made her own political history in May 2025, winning Llanelli’s Lliedi ward to become the first ever Reform UK member on Carmarthenshire County Council. She also stood as the sixth candidate on Reform’s Sir Gaerfyrddin Senedd list on 7 May — just missing out on a seat as the party’s vote was sufficient to elect only three of its six candidates.

Her ward borders the former Stradey Park Hotel — the site that became a flashpoint for protests in 2023 after the Home Office announced plans to house asylum seekers there. Both she and Gareth Beer were active in the campaign against those plans.

The protests attracted far-right groups and figures from across the UK, including Tommy Robinson, before the Home Office dropped its plans in October 2023. Dyfed Powys Police spent more than £1 million policing the demonstrations — three times the initial estimate.

Gareth Beer’s Facebook post was shared and endorsed by Reform UK leader Dan Thomas MS and chief whip Llŷr Powell MS — signalling that the party regards the incident as a broader political issue, not just a personal grievance.

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SWANSEA: Ten kids from Llanelli and Blaenymaes flew to Mexico City to represent Wales — and came fifth in the world

Ten young people from Swansea flew to Mexico City last week and came home with a fifth-place finish at the Street Child World Cup — Wales’s first ever appearance at the tournament, and one that took 18 months of fundraising by the players themselves to make happen.

The boys team was drawn entirely from Swansea City AFC Foundation’s Premier League Kicks sessions in Llanelli and Blaenymaes — two of the programme’s community sites in south-west Wales that offer free football and personal development sessions to young people who might not otherwise have access to them.

The Street Child World Cup, organised by Street Child United, is not a conventional football tournament. It uses sport, art and advocacy to challenge the stigma faced by street-connected children and campaign for their rights — shining a spotlight on young people living in street situations and the fundamental rights they often lack. Alongside the football, participants took part in arts workshops and congress sessions focused on human rights, diversity and cultural understanding.

Wales entered two teams — the boys’ side from Swansea, and a girls’ team based in Blaenau Gwent. The boys finished fifth overall in their first appearance on the global stage.

What makes the achievement particularly striking is how the players got there. The young people selected from the Premier League Kicks sessions spent 18 months volunteering and fundraising to cover the costs of the trip themselves — a commitment that required sustained effort long before any of them set foot on a pitch in Mexico.

Thomas Williams, Head of Programmes at Swansea City AFC Foundation, said the experience had been everything the programme hoped it would be. “We are thrilled to be a part of the Street Child World Cup, offering deserving young people a once-in-a-lifetime experience to represent Wales and play football against teams from across the globe,” he said.

“Young people from our Premier League Kicks sites in Llanelli and Blaenymaes were selected and over the last 18 months have been volunteering to raise funds to cover the costs of the trip,” Williams added.

“The young people selected from our Premier League Kicks sessions demonstrated tremendous commitment throughout the journey, spending 18 months fundraising to help make the trip possible. We could not be prouder of everything they achieved both on and off the pitch.”

The Premier League Kicks programme operates across Swansea City Foundation’s community sites, offering free sessions to young people in areas where access to sport and structured activities can be limited. For many of those who took part in the Mexico trip, it will have been their first time travelling internationally.

Wales’s debut appearance at the Street Child World Cup ended with a fifth-place finish — a result that, given it was the nation’s first ever entry in the tournament, represents a remarkable start for a programme built not on elite talent but on community, commitment and opportunity.

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LLANELLI: Woman charged with robbery and shoplifting after string of incidents at Asda, Home Bargains and Tesco Extra

A 41-year-old woman from Llanelli has been charged with two counts of robbery and two counts of shoplifting following a series of incidents at supermarkets across the town, Dyfed Powys Police have confirmed.

Kara Racuoco, of Llanelli, was charged following reports of offences at Asda on Murray Street, Home Bargains on Station Road and Tesco Extra at Parc Trostre between April and May.

The first incident was reported on Tuesday 7 April at Asda on Murray Street, where two bottles of wine were said to have been taken. A shop assistant was reported to have been threatened during the incident, leading to a robbery charge.

The second offence was reported on Tuesday 5 May at Home Bargains on Station Road, where a bottle of wine was said to have been taken without any attempt to pay. This incident led to a shoplifting charge.

Two further offences were reported on 16 and 17 May. On Saturday 16 May, two joints of beef were reported stolen from Asda on Murray Street, with threatening behaviour again reported during the incident — resulting in a second robbery charge.

The following day, Sunday 17 May, a further shoplifting offence was reported at Tesco Extra at Parc Trostre, where around £95 worth of meat was said to have been taken from the store.

Racuoco denied all four charges when she appeared at Llanelli Magistrates’ Court on Monday 18 May. She was remanded into custody following the hearing.

A pre-trial plea hearing has been listed at Swansea Crown Court on Friday 19 June.

Dyfed Powys Police confirmed enquiries into all four offences are continuing.

#ASDA #DyfedPowysPolice #HomeBargains #Llanelli #MurrayStreet #ParcTrostre #StationRoad #TescoExtra #TrostreRetailPark

Disney's Beauty and the Beast Jr. Y Ffwrnes. #tickets #llanelli #uktheatre #musical #theatre https://www.uktw.co.uk/L02111178858/

HALIFAX: After 173 years, one of Britain’s most famous bank names is being killed off — and its branches in Swansea and Neath are already on borrowed time

The writing has been on the wall for a while. Now it looks like it’s almost over for one of the most recognisable names on the British high street.

Halifax — the 173-year-old banking brand that grew from a West Yorkshire building society into a household name — is set to be axed by Lloyds Banking Group as soon as this summer, according to industry insiders cited by The Sun, which first broke the story.

The plan, as reported, is simple and brutal. From 1 July, customers will no longer be able to open new Halifax accounts online or through the app. By October, Halifax stops taking on new customers entirely. After that, millions of existing account holders will be gradually migrated across to Lloyds Bank — and the Halifax name disappears.

Lloyds Banking Group declined to comment on any of that. A spokesperson said: “We regularly look at the role our brands play in supporting our customers. Our banking customers can already use any Lloyds, Halifax or Bank of Scotland branch, and see any of their products and services in any of their apps — there are no changes for our customers today.”

Halifax Bank branch in Neath

Halifax currently has branches at 22/23 Union Street in Swansea city centre, 31 Queen Street in Neath, and 24/26 Cowell Street in Llanelli.

With the brand disappearing, the Swansea and Neath branches look like candidates for closure — a Lloyds branch already sits just 160 metres from the Halifax on Union Street in Swansea, and another barely 350 yards from the Halifax on Queen Street in Neath.

The case for keeping both open in each town would look thin.

Halifax Bank in Llanelli

Llanelli may tell a different story. Lloyds closed its own Stepney Street branch there last year — just 130 yards from the Halifax on Cowell Street. With the Halifax now the only Lloyds Banking Group presence in the town, it could see a reprieve and a rebrand, bringing the Lloyds name back to Llanelli.

The picture gets bleaker still when you add in the Lloyds closures already confirmed in the wider area. The Lloyds branch at Beaumont House on Swansea Enterprise Park in Llansamlet closes on 2 July. The Gorseinon branch on High Street closes on 12 October. Lloyds branches in Port Talbot, Carmarthen and on Oxford Street in Swansea city centre remain open for now — but the trajectory is clear.

But this is happening against a backdrop of relentless branch closures that has already left large parts of south-west Wales with far less face-to-face banking than they once had. Lloyds shut its Ammanford and Gorseinon branches earlier this year.

Gorseinon eventually got a banking hub — but Pontardawe was denied one, despite a Senedd member pushing hard for it. And Barclays has shut branches in Morriston and Tenby and in Gorseinon and Port Talbot.

Nationally, Lloyds announced in February that 95 more branches across its three brands would close by March next year — 31 of them Halifax sites. That will leave the group with just 610 branches across the whole of the UK. The BTU union, which represents 17,000 Lloyds staff, called it “the final nail in the coffin of branch banking.”

Killing off Halifax means reversing a public commitment made by Lloyds’ former chief executive António Horta-Osório, who said in 2011: “We will keep the different brands because the customers are very different in terms of attitude.” It also completes what began in 2009, when Lloyds swallowed up HBOS — the group formed when Halifax merged with Bank of Scotland in 2001 — during the financial crisis.

Halifax itself was born in 1852, when a group of men in the West Yorkshire mill town of the same name founded the Halifax Permanent Benefit Building Society. It was a product of the Industrial Revolution — workers flooding into towns needed affordable housing, and Halifax existed to help them get it.

By 1928 it had become the largest building society in the world, with assets of £47 million. In 1997 it converted to a public limited company in the biggest share flotation the UK stock market had ever seen — creating 7.5 million new shareholders overnight.

The brand became genuinely embedded in British culture through a long-running advertising campaign featuring Howard Brown, a real Halifax customer services representative from Birmingham whose singing and dancing appearances made him one of the most recognisable faces on British television.

Despite all of this, Lloyds has recently invested in its Trinity Road office in the town of Halifax in West Yorkshire. The brand may be going. The jobs, at least for now, are staying.

No formal announcement has been made, and Lloyds declined to comment on the reported timeline. But if The Sun’s sources are right, one of the most familiar names in British banking will be gone from the high street before the year is out.

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LLANELLI: Local councillors welcome Aldi jobs but demand traffic improvements as condition of planning permission for Sandy Road supermarket

The county councillors for the ward where Aldi wants to build a £7m supermarket in Llanelli have given a cautious welcome to the plans — while making clear that managing the impact on an already congested Sandy Road must be a condition of any planning approval.

Aldi is consulting on proposals to demolish the Pinopolis entertainment centre on Sandy Road and replace it with a new store — the German discounter’s first on the western side of Llanelli.

Pinopolis only opened three years ago. Under Aldi’s proposals, the entire site would be cleared and replaced with a single-storey supermarket with 100 car parking spaces, creating around 40 jobs once open.

Hengoed ward councillors Martyn Palfreman and Edward Skinner both acknowledged the potential benefits, with Cllr Palfreman saying a store of this scale would be genuinely useful for residents across a wide area.

“A supermarket on this scale on the western side of Llanelli would undoubtedly be convenient for people in this part of the town and those living in Burry Port, Pembrey and beyond, and that is to be welcomed,” he said.

Cllr Skinner highlighted the employment opportunities. “The opportunities in terms of jobs, both during the construction phase and once the store is open, are considerable,” he said.

However, both councillors stressed that traffic management on Sandy Road could not be an afterthought. The road already carries significant volumes of traffic and the addition of a major supermarket would increase pressure on the junction considerably.

The traffic concerns are not new. Sandy Road has been one of Llanelli’s most persistent congestion blackspots for years — with the junction at Maes-y-Coed only recently upgraded after a long campaign by local councillors. New traffic lights went live in September 2025, though residents warned at the time the scheme did not go far enough.

Early signs suggested the changes were helping — but Cllr Palfreman and Cllr Skinner had always made clear the September improvements were only the beginning, not the end, of what Sandy Road needed.

Cllr Palfreman said that position had not changed. “We fought hard for the improvements to the Sandy lights last year but we have always been clear that these need to form part of a wider scheme to reduce congestion along this stretch of Sandy Road,” he said.

“Permission for this new development must be conditional on further improvements being in place to manage the already large traffic volumes in the area,” he added.

Both councillors are meeting with Aldi managers this week to discuss the proposals directly, and have urged residents to give their views before the consultation closes.

The consultation is open until 11 June. Details are available at Llanelli library and online at aldiconsultation.co.uk/llanelli.

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