Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

A Llanelli man’s birthday greetings message cost him £600 – because he painted it on the road in his street. Llanelli Magistrates Court heard that on July 8, 2016, Carmarthenshire County Council received an anonymous report that a man living in Grant Street had written the message ‘Happy Birthday Zoe M from Dai’ on the road in large print. On July 14 an environmental enforcement officer and technical assistant called at David Nigel Dallimore’s home in Grant Street. He admitted painting the message and agreed to accept a fixed penalty of £75. Twenty eight-year-old Dallimore failed to pay resulting in prosecution for making unauthorised marks on the highway. He was convicted in his absence last Friday. He was fined £220, and ordered to pay costs of £351 and a victim surcharge of £30. Executive board member for environmental and public protection Cllr Jim Jones said: “Graffiti can be expensive to clear off as specialist products may have to be used to remove the paint in an environmenta...

Damage caused to the changing rooms at Trimsaran could cost around £50,000 to repair. Vandals have repeatedly targeted the building, the last time during December which led to the closure of the facility for health and safety reasons. Bricks and stones were thrown on to the roof causing extensive external damage and leading to the ceiling inside to collapse. Costs have now been drawn up for repairs with an estimated £50,000 bill for the work. Trimsaran Rugby Football Club , which uses the changing rooms, were advised to use the facilities at the nearby leisure centre in the interim. The rugby club has stated its interest in taking over the building through the asset transfer programme and County Council officers are working with the Club to arrange this. Executive board member for Property Services Cllr Hazel Evans said: “It is really disappointing that a community facility has been so badly damaged by people who are almost certainly part of that community. “Unfortunately the damage ...

Security has been stepped up at Pembrey Country Park after boy racers left a trail of destruction behind them. Hundreds of pounds of damage has been caused from embedded tyres marks across landscaped areas including a barbecue and camping field, grassed lay-bys and a raised bank, known to locals as Monks Head, sometime last Friday evening. Footage from the twenty four-hour cameras at the barrier is being monitored and the police has increased its patrols. The carnage has not only left the park footing the bill, but they now have to re-landscape the areas affected. The council’s countryside and parks manager, Rory Dickinson said: “We have a beautiful park here on our doorstop and a lot of hard works goes into maintaining this wonderful area. The park is open to everyone for enjoyment and it’s such a shame that a minority of people show total disregard and cause damage in this way. Our cameras capture the details of every car that goes through the barrier and we are currently going thr...

Ammanford residents have been left shocked after the town’s 10ft Santa figure was vandalised. The festive statue, which stands in Quay Street, had to be repaired by the Ammanford Town Council after being badly damaged by vandals over Christmas. See link to Carmarthen Journal story.

Welsh language campaigners have destroyed roadside signs and trespassed on the Evan-Evans brewery site to deface promotional banners promoting this weekend’s Llandeilo Jazz Festival, it is claimed. Jazz at Llandeilo 2013 is a sell-out and the West Wales market town is expecting more than 2,000 visitors for the festival. Jazz Festival promoter Simon Buckley, chief executive of the Evan-Evans brewery, said “No other brewer in Wales has done more to promote Welsh brewing and hospitality than me. “The reason we have not been able to brand the festival in Welsh is one of cost. “Last year, my company spent £15,000 getting Jazz in Llandeilo started for the benefit of the town as a whole. This year, we hoped other companies would step forward and support the festival but they have not, so we have had to scale back the level of promotional support. “This year, the festival is set to raise significant sums for the two primary schools, including Ysgol Teilo Sant in Llandeilo, to help pur...

Tearaway hooligans are ripping up ground and littering Millennium Coastal Park land at Burry Port. Following complaints from residents at Heol Vaughan who have found drugs parphenalia amongst the litter, signs warning against driving or riding scrambling motor cycles on the land have been erected by Carmarthenshire Council. The land is reclaimed and was the site for the former inner Pembrey Old Harbour before it was in-filled by domestic refuse and grassed over. Immediately opposite the popular Shoreline Caravan Park the land is a popular walking site in summer and landing site for migratory birds. County Councillor Pat Jones said: “Last year we created a bund on the boundary of the land to prevent the offensive intrusion of joy riders who are making lives of those living nearby a misery. “The signs will allow the police to carry out enforcement if any drivers are caught on the land now. In the past they have been able to argue that there are no signs banning them from the land...

A recycling bin at the County Museum in Abergwili has been vandalised for the second time in a month. The door to the shoe bank was forced open leaving the contents spill on to the ground. It is the second time in a month that the recycling centre by the entrance to the museum has been targeted by vandals. It is not known if any of the contents were stolen. Carmarthenshire County Council has more than 150 of these sites throughout the county for residents to recycle their waste – from shoes and clothes to glass, cans and paper – however, vandalism and fly-tipping can often be a problem. Just before Christmas, a recycling bank in Llandeilo car park was pushed onto its side and damaged; and in October there was a fire at a site in Hendy and the glass bank had to be removed. Cllr Jim Jones, Chair of the Environment Scrutiny Committee, has criticised those responsible. He said: “We want to encourage people to recycle as much of their waste as possible and I am very disappointed th...

Vandals have caused £10,000 of damage to bus shelters in Carmarthenshire. Now the council's Executive Board is warning that with the current economic climate there is simply no budget this year to carry out this scale of repair work. In total, there are 530 bus shelters across the county and unfortunately they are common target for vandals. Executive Board Member for Technical Services Cllr Philip Hughes said: “Bus shelters are important to communities but unfortunately acts of vandalism are increasing and we just don’t have the budget to keep on carrying out the repairs. “We are appealing to the public to please help by reporting any incidents of vandalism to the police immediately. All we can do is remain vigilant and try to reduce the problem as much as possible.” The council will try to make safe any damaged bus shelters, but if they are in a dangerous condition they may have to be removed altogether. Executive Board Member for Corporate Property and local member for Garn...

Some residents of Sandy Water Park have been vandalising woodland on the edge of the lake to improve views from their homes. Trees and shrubs on the northern side of the Carmarthenshire Council owned Millennium Coastal Park lake and environs attraction have been cut down and thrown into the water. MCP manager Rory Dickinson said: “This has been happening for several years. One of the residents has been caught red-handed and spoken to. “These are selfish and unwarranted acts that also endangers wildlife. They are being perpetrated by a few residents who have received letters informing them that their actions will no longer be tolerated. “Twelve letters have been hand delivered to residents of homes nearest the damage. “In the clear the vandalism has been carried out in an effort to improve the views from the rear of properties. The trees were there before the homes and helped screen the building of the homes and the backs of the properties from park users. “Incredibly, as a result of th...