News
£23,500 ‘disappeared’
A FORMER racing driver, who was made bankrupt over an insurance payout she received following an accident, appeared before Magistrates in Haverfordwest on Tuesday (Dec 13), charged with concealing more than £20,000 from creditors.
Sarah Louise Johnston, 37, of Heol Preseli, Fishguard, pleaded guilty to a charge of concealing £23,500 from the sale of a house after an unsatisfied judgement of £49,376 was obtained against her by the National Autograss Sports Association (NASA).
The court heard that Johnston was previously an autograss racer, and a member of NASA, who, as part of this membership, had an insurance policy.
In 2010, she was involved in an accident which resulted in her right hand being crushed. As a result, she was given an interim insurance payment of £5,000.
At a medical examination, she told the doctor that she was unable to compete as a driver as a result of this injury, even with a modified vehicle, and, as a result of this and the examination, the prognosis was made that a ny stiffness and loss of strength and mobility in her dominant hand was likely to be permanent.
As a result of this, Johnston received a further £45,000 insurance payout. However, it subsequently came to light that she had been racing in 2012. The doctor who examined her then said that if he had known this, he would not have described the injury as permanent.
After she was sued by NASA for the recovery of the money, Johnston was declared bankrupt.
It then emerged that, in 2014, she received £30,000 following the sale of a house, which she transferred through different bank accounts until it ‘disappeared’.
In February of this year, Johnston was invited to attend an interview with the investigating officer, but responded saying that she had nothing to say, and didn’t understand what was happening. The officer replied that he would be happy to explain this over the phone, but received no further communication, and Johnston was charged with the offence.
Johnston’s solicitor Mike Kelleher described the case as ‘very complicated’. He pointed out that NASA must have been aware that she was driving in 2012, given that they had issued her with a licence to do this.
However, the court heard that Johnston had been involved in a subsequent crash which had left her with ‘far more severe injuries’, including serious damage to her spine and arm. Following this, she had been in a wheelchair for 12 months and had spent five months in a spinal injury rehabilitation unit.
Mr Kelleher explained that when she was allowed home, her current house was ‘unsuitable for her needs’. Alternative accommodation was found, but it was largely unfurnished, so when Johnston received the money from the sale of a property connected to a previous relationship, she viewed it as a ‘Godsend’, and spent it on adapting and furnishing the new house.
Regarding the initial judgement, Mr Kelleher remarked that considering the extent of Johnston’s disabilities, it was ‘perhaps not surprising that she didn’t turn up’.
“She has pleaded guilty for putting her head in the sand and not dealing with these problems,” he added.
“She was not dishonest – she was simply desperate – and she needed this money to make her life liveable.”
Magistrates told Johnston that, while the offence passed the custody threshold, they were willing to suspend the 26-week sentence for a year. She was also ordered to pay £2,900 in prosecution costs and a surcharge of £80.
Christmas has arrived early for The Range stores in Wales, boasting gigantic displays of all-things festive! The Range is well known for going all out during the Christmas season to create a fun and magical experience full of trees, lights, decorations and much more for their customers to enjoy and this year is no exception. The Range in Swansea surpassed expectations with a display so great, it’s left them shortlisted for ‘Best Christmas Display’ out of all The Range’s 182 stores.
Coronavirus laws are being tightened in four more Welsh authorities – Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil and Newport – following a sharp rise in cases, Health Minister Vaughan Gething today announced.
The new measures will come into force at 6pm on Tuesday 22 September 2020, to protect people’s health and control the spread of the virus in the four local authority areas.
The new restrictions will apply to everyone living in Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil and Newport:
People will not be allowed to enter or leave these areas without a reasonable excuse, such as travel for work or education;
People will only be able to meet people they don’t live with outdoors for the time being. They will not be able to form, or be in, extended households;
All licensed premises will have to close at 11pm;
Everyone over 11 will be required to wear face coverings in indoor public areas – as is the case across Wales.
From 6pm on Tuesday 22 September, the requirement for all licensed premises to close at 11pm will also be extended to Caerphilly borough.
Health Minister, Vaughan Gething, said:
“Following the decision to place additional coronavirus restrictions in place in Caerphilly and Rhondda Cynon Taf, we have seen a worrying and rapid rise in cases in four other south Wales council areas – Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil and Newport.
“In many cases, this is linked to people socialising indoors without social distancing. We are seeing evidence of coronavirus spreading. We need to take action to control and, ultimately, reduce its spread and protect people’s health.
“It’s always a difficult decision to introduce restrictions but coronavirus has not gone away – it is still circulating in communities across Wales and, as we are seeing in parts of South Wales, small clusters can quickly cause real issues in local communities.
“We need everyone’s help to bring coronavirus under control. We need everyone to pull together and to follow the measures which are there to protect you and your loved ones.”
The restrictions are being introduced following a rapid increase in the number of confirmed cases in coronavirus, which have been linked to people meeting indoors, not following social distancing guidelines and returning from summer holidays overseas.
The Welsh Government will call an urgent meeting of all local authority, health board and police forces from Bridgend to the English border tomorrow to discuss the wider situation in South Wales and whether further measures are needed across the region to protect people’s health.
The new local restrictions measures will be kept under regular review. They will be enforced by local authorities and by the police.
Keep Wales safe by:
Always keeping your distance
Washing your hands regularly
Working from home wherever you can
Following any local restrictions
Following the rules about meeting people
Staying at home if you or anyone in your extended household has symptoms.
MARK Drakeford, First Minister of Wales, has today announced legislation which will restrict those coming from coronavirus hotspot’s from travelling to Wales.
The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has refused to impose rules which prohibit those from areas where the infection rate is high from entering low virus rate areas’s.
Mr Drakeford has made two requests to the Prime Minister requesting to impose rules which will mean those from high virus areas in England be prohibited from travelling to Wales, a request which has been denied by Mr Johnson.
The powers set by Mr Drakeford will come into force by the end of the week, unless Boris Johnson takes action sooner.
Speaking at the Plenary today, Mr Drakeford made the announcement, stating if Mr Johnson does not reply to his request by Friday then The Welsh Government will bring in legislation to restrict travel from those in English lockdown areas travelling to Wales.
Mr Drakeford said this was not a case of all those from England being restricted travel to Wales, just hotspot areas.
He said: “Evidence from public health professionals suggests coronavirus is moving from east to west across the UK and across Wales. As a general rule, it is concentrating in urban areas and then spreading to more sparsely populated areas as a result of people travelling.
“Much of Wales in now subject to local restriction measures because levels of the virus have risen and people living in those areas are not able to travel beyond their county boundary without a reasonable excuse. This is designed to prevent the spread of infection within Wales and to other areas of the UK.
“We are preparing to take this action to prevent people who live in areas where there are higher Covid infection rates across the UK from travelling to Wales and bringing the virus with them.
“I am determined to keep Wales safe.”
The legislation, which is understood to come into force Friday, October 16 at 6pm, will mean those travelling to Wales from areas of England which are classed as virus hotspot’s will be restricted.
The new legislation also restricts those travelling into Wales from high virus prevalence areas from Northern Ireland and Scotland.
The Leader of the Opposition in the Welsh Parliament – Paul Davies MS – has rounded on the First Minister over a ban on people entering Wales from England, and the Labour Party’s inability or unwillingness to publish comprehensive data proving that transmission rates are accelerating due to travel.
Mr Davies took the First Minister to task during Plenary today (October 14), and referred to a statement made by the leader of the Labour Party on September 23 when he said that the Welsh Government was not seeing any spikes at all in infection due to travel and tourism.
Mr Davies said that the people of Wales deserve to have sight of the data that underpins the Welsh Labour-led Government’s position on this matter, so that they can be confident that the Government’s actions are proportionate to the threat of the virus in their area.
Mr Davies also referred to a paper that accompanied the First Minister’s letter to the Prime Minister yesterday, a paper – that was not peer-reviewed – that confirms the data “…does not constitute definitive proof” in favour of a travel ban.
Mr Davies said: “The First Minister and his Government have acted rashly and without examining a range of other factors before a conclusion on whether to impose a travel ban or not is reached, while at the same time seemingly ignoring the fact that transmission rates in relation to travel had already peaked in August and September.
“It is incumbent on the First Minister to explain just why he has chosen to act in this way, and what supporting evidence he and his Ministers have seen to justify a ban and then publish it so it can be properly scrutinised.
“If he cannot or will not, then he must review and rescind this ban immediately.”
