The owner of a paddleboarding company was “not remotely qualified” to lead a tour in which four people died on a river in south-west Wales.
Paul O’Dwyer, 42, Andrea Powell, 41, Morgan Rogers, 24, and Nicola Wheatley, 40, all died on the River Cleddau in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, in October 2021 when their paddleboards went over a weir during “extremely hazardous conditions”.
The four victims had been part of a stand-up paddleboarding tour, organised by former police officer Nerys Bethan Lloyd.
Lloyd, 39, from Aberavon, south Wales, pleaded guilty to four counts of gross negligence manslaughter and one offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act, when she appeared before Swansea Crown Court in March.
She was the owner and sole director of Salty Dog Co Ltd, which organised the tour.
Mark Watson KC, speaking for the prosecution, told the court on Tuesday that Lloyd and Mr O’Dwyer, who helped act as an instructor, were “not remotely qualified” and that the stretch of river had a “real potential for danger”.
“Although they had undertaken a course earlier in the year, this was a basic, entry-level course, which was wholly unsuited to leading a tour on a river in spate with hazards such as a weir,” he said.
He said the group had set off shortly before 9am despite the recent heavy rain and weather warnings being in place.
Mr Watson KC said none of the victims was aware of the weir or how to navigate it.
Because of the heavy rain, around “two tonnes of water” were crossing a one-metre section of the weir every second.
Mr O’Dwyer, who initially got out of the river safely, re-entered in an attempt to rescue the others, but was immediately dragged over the weir.
All four victims died from drowning.
Lloyd, wearing a blue shirt and black trousers, listened to statements from the families of the victims, often staring down at her hands.
Ms Wheatley’s husband Darren said he had waited “three long years” to tell Lloyd what he thinks of her, branding her 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.
Mr Wheatley said the first Christmas after his wife died Lloyd was posting pictures of herself smiling at a light display at Margam Park.
“You had a joyful look on your face without a care in the world, without any sign of remorse.”
Theresa Hall, the mother of Morgan Rogers, said her daughter’s life was taken for “nothing more than profit”.
“Since that day, my time has stopped, casting a veil over my life,” she said.
“Morgan was my only daughter, my precious girl.”
She added: “The manner in which Morgan died will haunt me for the rest of my life.
“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.”
The hearing continues.