'I'll never forgive the woman responsible for my wife's paddleboard death'

The moment Darren Wheatley had to tell his seven-year-old son that his mother had died is something that will stay with him for the rest of his life. Nicola Wheatley, 40, was one of four paddleboarders killed after being swept over a weir in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, on 30 October 2021.

Nerys Lloyd, the former police officer who led the paddleboard trip, is currently serving a 10-and-a-half-year sentence for causing their deaths.

Darren and his family spent a traumatic morning at Withybush Hospital, desperately waiting for news before being asked to identify Nicola's body while his son Oscar waited nearby with relatives. In his first interview, marking the fourth anniversary of the disaster, Darren said: "I won't forget the look on his face."

Several hours later, 80 miles (128 kilometres) away in Merthyr Tydfil, police informed Teresa Hall that Morgan Rogers, her only daughter, had been killed in the accident. She was not able to identify her body until the next day.

"I just remember going over to her and shaking her, trying to get her up. This shouldn't have happened, so what happened?" Teresa, who is also speaking for the first time, said. "It's 'a living hell' is the word that comes to mind."

Paul O'Dwyer, an Army veteran and father of three, died on the day. Andrea Powell, a dental hygienist and mother of one, was revived at the scene but died six days later from her injuries.

Both Darren and Teresa had no idea of Nerys Lloyd on the day of the tragedy. More than a year later, a report by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) would find the deaths were "tragic and avoidable" and reveal a series of mistakes made that day. Lloyd would eventually plead guilty to gross negligence manslaughter, and a judge would condemn her "abysmal" approach to health and safety.

Both Darren and Teresa expressed great anger towards Lloyd for the mistakes she made, pointing out that she has never apologised to the victims' families, nor for her behaviour in the months after the tragedy and in court.

"She's destroyed my family's life and she's devastated my children's families. Their mother will never come back," Darren said. Teresa said: "Anger doesn't even come close to how I feel. I am in torture. No parent should have to bury their child [because] it was so unnecessary."

Teresa is haunted by her daughter's last visit.

"I go over it and over it, and over the fact that it was the last we had, and I wish I'd told her not to go," Teresa cried through tears. "I just told her to look after herself, and I'm hoping she had a good time, and then I gave her a hug. 'You couldn't get me some runner beans on your way home from dinner on Sunday?' I was hoping she'd be safe. She was going on what seemed to be a reputable tour, but it turned out to be the worst decision of her life."

'Take care, my baby boy'

Nicola had been looking forward to participating in Lloyd's Salty Dog Co Ltd's trip, according to Darren. He and her mother had bought her a paddleboard for her 40th birthday a week before. On the Friday, she and her daughter Ffion shared a flat in Pontarddulais, Swansea, where they both lived.

Nicola phoned Darren at 06:40 BST on Saturday morning after spending the evening with the rest of the family at a rented house in Tenby. Oscar had been sick overnight and she wanted to check in with them both to see how he was doing.

"The weather was horrific, and I told Nicola, 'You're going on the sea,'" Darren recalled. "'They've told us it's safe, we can do it,' she said."

He broke down recalling the last thing he heard Nicola say. "Nicola's last words to Oscar were, 'Take care, my baby boy.' That's the last time I talked to her," Darren said.

The MAIB's report, released in December 2022, detailed what happened that day. The group of nine people arrived in a van in Haverfordwest just before 08:00. Lloyd and Paul O'Dwyer, Lloyd's co-instructor, stopped off in the town centre to look at the river.

Everyone from the company was afloat by 08:49, and they launched downriver, heading for Burton Ferry, with Lloyd out in front and Paul at the back. They arrived in Haverfordwest town centre five minutes later, with one of the group playing music through a portable speaker.

Minutes later they approached the weir. Lloyd advised those near her to follow her and keep to the river's centre. Lloyd was the first to descend the fish pass in the centre of the weir at 08:56, kneeling on her stand-up paddleboard (SUP). Andrea was the third paddleboarder to descend, Nicola was the sixth, and Morgan was the eighth.

Andrea, Nicola, and Morgan were sucked into the hydraulic surge, a recirculating flow similar to a washing machine at the foot of the weir, while the rest of the group was washed clear and swept downstream. Paul, monitoring from the back of the group, saw something was wrong, paddled to the right-hand side of the river, and left the water. On spotting some of the group in danger, he pulled his SUP to his leg, grabbed his paddle, and hopped into the river above the weir before being led across the right-hand side of the river.

A passerby noticed the paddleboarders in distress in the water at 09:02 and dialled 999. He then seized a lifebuoy and threw a line to the struggling paddleboarders, but no one was able to grab it.

Emergency services arrived eight minutes later. A multi-agency response was launched, including coastguard rescue teams and helicopter, police, fire and ambulance services, air ambulance, and RNLI. Andrea was recovered from the water close to the weir by members of the public. She was revived at the scene but died six days later due to drowning-related injuries. Nicola and Morgan's bodies were recovered from the river by fellow paddleboarders, but they died at the scene. About 11:00, Paul's body was discovered further downriver by the coastguard helicopter.

Nicola's funeral took place three days after her daughter Ffion's third birthday.

"It was just hell, it was horrible, and it was at that point that I crumbled," said Darren, who moved the family in with his parents for help.

Both Darren and Teresa said Lloyd's social media messages contributed to their sadness as they prepared for their first Christmas after losing their loved ones. Both families were left reeling after a photo Lloyd posted of herself celebrating a festive day out at Christmas.

"We had the worst Christmas I've ever had in my life," Darren said. "I had screaming, clingy children who wanted their mammy to be there for Christmas morning. Nerys was just living her life as if nothing had happened."

This hit Teresa hard too. "It's Christmas and I've lost my daughter, and she's having a good time and enjoying her life in Cardiff. She's callous, so callous." Both spent a significant portion of that Christmas not knowing the full truth of what happened to their loved ones that day. The picture became clearer by the following Christmas.

What Went Wrong?

The MAIB's report, published in December 2022, aimed at preventing future incidents. Its conclusions bewildered Darren.

"Why didn't you tell the party that there was a weir they were going over?" he said. "Why didn't you tell them it was there? Because I'm damned sure Nicola wouldn't have gone to that point. On a paddleboard, you can't go over a weir."

Teresa said: "I want to know why. Why didn't she do the safety checks and is she sorry? Is she actually sorry?"

During a two-day trial at Swansea Crown Court in April, Lloyd pleaded guilty to gross negligence manslaughter and was sentenced.

"She came with an entourage of people and supporters," said Darren. "This woman had just murdered four families and carried on as if nothing had happened." Teresa said: "She turned it into a circus."

Darren said he lived with indignation every day. "We haven't even had an apology," he said. "We've had no hint of her presence. Yes, she's put her hands up and pleaded guilty, but she hasn't said anything to us as families."

It's now been four years since the disaster. Teresa has taken on Morgan's favourite dog, Peaches. "Peaches was her everything, her best friend," she said. "I will always look after her to the best I can. She's still Morgan's, she's not mine."

Darren has retired early so he can concentrate on his children. It's painful to know that Nicola has missed out on seeing their children grow up.

"She never got to see Ffion start nursery school, and the agony of that is horrific," he said. "But I've got to carry on."