A FORMER policewoman and firearms officer who led four paddle boarders to their deaths on a swollen river has been refused leave to appeal her 10-and-a-half-year jail term.

Nerys Bethan Lloyd, 40, admitted gross negligence manslaughter charges last year over the October 2021 River Cleddau weir disaster in Haverfordwest – which happened just seven days after she and one of the victims completed a 100-mile River Wye marathon charity paddle, stopping off at Monmouth and finishing at Tintern.

Lloyd, from Aberavon, Port Talbot, had undertaken the £6,000 fundraising paddle with co-instructor Paul O'Dwyer just a week earlier, who died trying to rescue another victim who became trapped under the weir.

David Elias KC told Appeal Court judges the sentence was "manifestly excessive".

But denying the appeal, Lady Justice May said the trial judge's approach had been proportionate given the number who had died on the commercial tour Lloyd was running, which is Britain's worst ever paddle board tragedy.

Swansea Crown Court heard in March 2025 she wasn't qualified to lead the tour, with judge Justice Mary Stacey slamming an "abysmal" approach to health and safety.

Lloyd, who ran the Salty Dog paddle board company, had failed to hold a safety briefing, although her police and RNLI training meant she "knew better" about going out on the "extremely hazardous" high water and trying to negotiate a weir down a fish pass, although she accepted she was "horrified" at what happened.

None of the eight other paddle boarders except her co-instructor knew of the weir, which had an 11m sloped drop.

Passing sentence Justice Stacey said "nothing I can say or do" will be sufficient to the family and friends of those whose lives were "tragically cut short".

Their "moving accounts... (could) barely scratch the surface" of their grief.

"Four were not wearing wetsuits and one had decided that a life jacket would not be necessary", while there was "no proper risk assessment", "no safety briefing" and none had the right type of leash for their boards.

"There had been no mention of a weir and how to deal with it and no discussion of tidal or river conditions whatsoever," said the judge.

The dangers of weirs were "well known", but Lloyd led the group over despite Mr O'Dwyer raising concerns and suggesting other routes, which she "dismissively rejected".

"I find that it was either a plan to go down the fish ramp or there was no plan at all. Either way it showed a blatant disregard for a very high risk of death."

It was also revealed at her sentencing that she was a serving officer with South Wales Police at the time, but had been suspended after receiving a caution for a fraudulent car insurance claim.

The families of Mr O'Dwyer, 42, Andrea Powell, 41, Morgan Rogers, 24, and mother-of-two Nicola Wheatley, 40, described their grief and slammed her role in their deaths in victim statements.

Mr O’Dwyer’s wife Ceri said he had made a "devastating mistake" but "died trying to save others".

Lloyd had tried to "shift blame" onto her husband, she said, adding: "Grief is in our household every single day. You carried on as if nothing ever happened."