Tim Andrews, 67, from New Hampshire, US, lived with the animal organ for nine months before later receiving a human donation.
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Luke King, who was 35, died at the scene of the crash despite the best efforts of the emergency services
Luke King died in a motorcycle crash on August 28(Image: Dyfed-Powys Police)
Tributes have been paid to a 35-year-old man who died in a motorcycle crash in Pembrokeshire.
Police and paramedics were called to the scene of a single-vehicle crash involving a motorbike in Pembroke Road in Haverfordwest at around 8.20pm on Friday, August 28.
The road was closed off to all traffic overnight and reopened during the early hours of the following morning.
The rider of the motorbike, who has been named as Luke King, died at the scene.
His family have remembered him as a “deeply loved son, grandson, nephew, cousin and friend” who was “larger than life.”
In a heartfelt tribute his family said: “Luke was 35 and a deeply loved son, grandson, nephew, cousin and friend.
“He leaves behind his mum Hayley, his girlfriend, his grandparents, aunties, uncles, many cousins and countless friends who loved him dearly. His dad had sadly passed away before him.
“Luke was a larger-than-life character who lit up every room with his infectious energy, his laugh, and his beautiful smile. He was funny, loving, mischievous, hardworking and completely unforgettable.
“He loved his motorbikes, adored his dog, Digger, and took enormous pride in his work in construction and groundworks. He had recently set up his own company, something he was incredibly proud of and had worked hard to build.
“Although Luke was an only child his friends were like family to him. He treasured them deeply and spent so much of his life surrounded by people who loved him, making memories, laughing and enjoying life together.
“Luke lived an immense amount of life in his 35 years. He lived it to the full and was so happy, with so much still ahead of him. He had achieved so much but it felt like he was only just getting started.
“The outpouring of messages and memories since losing Luke has shown just how many lives he touched. There was only one Luke and we will miss his laugh, his smile, his bear hugs, and his huge personality every single day.
“We will carry him with us always and love him for the rest of our lives.”
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Vale councillor Gwyn John marked the launch of his debut work, The Boy from Amroth, with a book signing at Nickleby’s Bookstore in Llantwit Major.
The coming-of-age novel is set in 1950s west Wales and follows the life of Joe Jackson.
Councillor John said: “It tells the story of Joe Jackson who is born in scandalous circumstances in a small Welsh coastal community.
“His mother’s greatest wish is for him to become a success and a split-second decision on a local beach changes his life forever.
“I’ve always loved visits to West Wales so I decided to set the novel in the Saundersfoot and Tenby area.
“1950s and 1960s Wales is a fading memory and I wanted to give people an idea of what it was like to grow up at that time.”
Although this is Councillor John’s first novel, it is not his first time in print.
Five years ago, he published The Wrong Shaped Ball, an autobiography that reflects on his 60-year involvement in football and the revival of Llantwit Major AFC.
Councillor John said: “It was a pleasure recalling all the great characters and matches in local South Wales football.
“It also highlighted the culture clash that existed at that time between football and rugby.
“I caught the writer’s bug and decided to write something that set my imagination free – using incidents and people I’ve known over the years as an inspiration, although the characters in the novel are all fictional.”
He feels that the 1950s were a “special time” in Wales and aims to recreate that feeling with this release. He describes The Boy from Amroth as being filled with drama and unexpected turns.
Councillor John is already planning a sequel.
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The Elliot Dallen Trust presented the cheque to Marie Curie Hospice, Cardiff and the Vale, based in Penarth, to cover the cost of running the facility for one day on September 7, 2026.
Jennifer Lenczner, chairman of the trust, visited the hospice to deliver the donation in person.
The Elliot Dallen Trust supports causes that were important to Elliot Dallen, who grew up in Cardiff and attended Llanishen High School.
He later earned a first-class degree in economics from the University of Exeter and became a chartered accountant in London.
Mr Dallen was diagnosed with a rare cancer, adrenocortical carcinoma, at the age of 29 and died on September 7, 2020, aged 31.
He was passionate about music, travel, sports, and spending time with loved ones.
Marie Curie supports people with any illness they are likely to die from including Alzheimer’s (and other forms of dementia), heart, liver, kidney and lung disease, motor neurone disease, Parkinson’s, and advanced cancer.
The charity provides care in people’s homes, in its hospices and over the phone via its free Information & Support Line.
The Elliot Dallen Trust raises funds through sponsored personal challenges, donations and holding events such as Gala Dinners and Jazz Nights.
Further information about the trust is available at www.elliotdallentrust.org.
Marie Curie support can be accessed at www.mariecurie.org.uk or by calling 0800 090 2309.
The shingles vaccine is available on the NHS to adults aged 65 to 80 (Image: Getty)
The NHS has confirmed a double vaccination is available for older adults aged between 65 and 80 free of charge.
The vaccine is to protect against shingles, an infection that causes a painful rash on one side of your body and can take up to four weeks to heal. While most people recover from shingles without any problems, the infection can sometimes lead to more serious complications, including long-lasting pain, scarring, muscle weakness, hearing loss and eye problems that can result in sight loss. Shingles often begins with a tingling or painful feeling in an area of skin, a headache, or just generally feeling unwell, and a rash will usually appear a few days later. The rash most often appears on your chest or tummy, but it can appear anywhere on your body, including on your face and eyes.
Unfortunately, you’re more likely to get shingles as you get older or if you have a severely weakened immune system, and it’s more likely to cause serious problems. To help minimise this risk, the NHS offers a shingles vaccine to older adults aged 65 to 80 to both reduce the risk of getting shingles, and lower the chances of developing serious health issues if you do get the infection.
As of September 1, 2023, all adults are eligible for the shingles vaccine when they turn 65 and will be offered two doses which are given between six and 12 months apart.
If you turned 65 before September 1, 2023, you will be eligible for the shingles vaccine when you turn 70 and will remain eligible up until your 80th birthday.
Confirming the eligibility, the NHS said: “From 1 September 2023, you’re eligible for the shingles vaccine when you turn 65. You’ll be offered 2 doses of the vaccine. These are given between 6 and 12 months apart.
“Your GP should contact you to make an appointment to have your shingles vaccine. Contact your GP surgery if you think you’re eligible for the shingles vaccine and you’ve not been contacted about it.
“You’ll remain eligible until your 80th birthday (but you can have your 2nd dose up until your 81st birthday). If you turned 65 before 1 September 2023, you’ll be eligible for the shingles vaccine when you turn 70.
“Everyone aged 70 to 79 is eligible for the shingles vaccine. You’ll be offered 2 doses of the vaccine. These are given between 6 and 12 months apart.
“Contact your GP surgery if you missed your vaccine. You’re eligible up until your 80th birthday (but you can have your 2nd dose up until your 81st birthday).”
It’s possible to get shingles more than once, so the NHS says it’s important to get vaccinated even if you’ve already had the infection before.
Your GP surgery should contact you once you become eligible for the vaccine and this will usually be via a letter, text message, phone call or email.
If you’re eligible and haven’t yet been contacted, or you didn’t get the vaccine when you were contacted and you’re still under 80, you should speak to your GP surgery to book or rearrange an appointment.
The NHS says side effects from the vaccine are usually mild and should get better within a few days. Symptoms can include swelling or itchiness around the injection site, a headache, feeling tired, an aching body, a high temperature and chills.
Elissa and Johnnie believe quality control during the build was lacking and more “stringent legislation” is needed so builders know “they can’t build more rubbish homes”.
Elissa says a senior Stonebridge employee told her they were under “pressure” to increase output and sometimes that compromised quality.
We asked Stonebridge Homes about this, along with all the points of criticism raised above, but the company did not provide specific answers.
It told the BBC that customer service was one of its top priorities as well as access to “clear, transparent processes for raising concerns and seeking independent resolution where required”.
One of the biggest issues for homebuyers, says ombudsman Cates, is not the defects they find, but the way they feel treated by developers when they complain.
“For most people, this is the biggest purchase they’ll ever make. So, when something goes wrong, they need the developer to be on it straight away, take them seriously, really value them, understand them and put it right,” he tells us.
New homes are inspected several times during construction by either local council building inspectors or a registered building control approver, to make sure they meet legal, national building regulations. Most developers also use insurance providers, who carry out their own checks and offer 10-year warranties.
The government has set itself a target of building 1.5 million homes in England by 2029. As housebuilding speeds up, the industry could be “setting itself up for a huge fail”, says John Cooper, director of snagging company New Home Quality Control.
His inspectors frequently find breaches of building regulations, he tells us, including insulation, brickwork and carpentry problems. “We see some horrors,” he says, adding that current checks on new homes before handover are insufficient.
A panel of experts recently told MPs on the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee that parts of the building industry are like the “wild west” and there needs to be a more robust, uniform system.
Cates, who sat on the panel, told MPs that residents not covered by NHOS faced a “patchwork of [building] codes” not designed to help homeowners.
He tells the BBC there is “a big difference between having a code, and standards very specifically tailored to modern home sales, and the issues coming with that”.
“It’s critical for the whole industry… that everyone has the same protections, access to an ombudsman service and an impartial investigation,” he adds.
The body representing big developers, the Home Builders Federation, says it supports a statutory ombudsman, so all new-build buyers are covered, but wants the government to reduce what it describes as the “regulatory burden”, including extra taxes and policy costs, which have rendered many potential sites, and businesses, “no longer viable”.
For Jess and her partner Darryl, NHOS could not help as it does not cover shared-ownership homes. The couple found black mould in their house 10 days after moving in.
The mother of three from Somerset told BBC Your Voice they put all their savings into the home. “We feel like we’re living in a nightmare”.
34 business in Wales, including some recognisable names have failed to pay workers the minimum wage, according to the latest list
Dozens of businesses across Wales have been caught failing to pay their employees minimum wage, the UK Government has said.
Publishing a nationwide list of companies which have been reprimanded, the UK Government say they have been made to repay their staff in full and pay hefty fines. In total, the list names and shames 658 employers across the UK who failed to pay their workers the national minimum wage in the UK, leading to £4 million in wages having to be repaid.
The list includes 34 Welsh employers who have failed to pay their workers correctly.
Among those in Wales are nurseries, care providers, pubs, cafes and pharmacies. The Wales-based company which failed to pay the greatest total amount to its employees according to the list is Butterflies Day Nursery in Tredegar, which failed to pay over £16,000 to four workers.
Castle Leisure Limited, which trades as Castle Bingo in Cardiff, was the Welsh employer on the list who owed money to the most workers. The Department for Business and Trade said the company failed to pay just over £3,000 to 204 workers.
Oakville Care Limited, which trades as Romilly Nursing Home in Cardiff, also failed to pay over 100 workers correctly. For the biggest stories in Wales first, sign up to our daily newsletter.
Currently, firms are required to pay over-21s £12.71 an hour. People aged 18 to 20 are entitled to £10.85 an hour, which, and the minimum for under-18s and apprentices is £8.
The UK Government said around £4 million has been returned to over 27,000 workers who had been denied the pay they were legally owed with penalties totalling £7 million issued to the employers responsible.
Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “The best businesses know that looking after your workers isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do, building the stronger, more successful businesses that drive growth in every postcode. Short-changing your staff isn’t a shortcut to success and we are determined to stamp it out.”
Here is the full list of Welsh employers on the list:
- Mrs Hilary F & Miss Hannah R McPherson, trading as Butterflies Day Nursery, Tredegar, NP22, failed to pay £16,423.61 to 4 workers.
- Glamorgan Quality Meats Ltd, Rhoose, CF62, failed to pay £14,988.46 to 1 worker.
- Oakville Care Limited, trading as Romilly Nursing Home, Cardiff, CF5, failed to pay £13,679.18 to 144 workers.
- Powred Heating Components Limited, trading as PHC Parts, Cardiff, CF14, failed to pay £11,864.80 to five workers.
- Mr Ramkumar Krishnaswamy, trading as Manorbier Store, Tenby, SA70, failed to pay £8,213.69 to two workers.
- The Mill Risca Ltd, Newport, NP11, failed to pay £6,757.00 to two workers.
- P Smith Farriers Ltd, Mold, CH7, failed to pay £4,822.83 to five workers.
- Farmers Barns Limited, trading as Acorn Camping and Caravan Site, Llantwit Major, CF61, failed to pay £4,430.57 to one worker
- Cardiff Property Corporation Limited, trading as Martin & Co Merthyr Tydif, Merthyr Tydfil , CF47, failed to pay £4,101.34 to two workers.
- S.O.E. Brickwork Ltd, Mold, CH7, failed to pay £4,047.67 to one worker.
- Red Balloon Day Nursery Limited, trading as Red Balen Nursery, Caerdydd, CF23, failed to pay £3,318.74 to one worker.
- Kaya Brothers Limited, trading as International Food Centre, Cardiff, CF24, failed to pay £3,234.98 to one worker.
- Castle Leisure Limited, trading as Castle Bingo, Cardiff, CF24, failed to pay £3,009.50 to 204 workers.
- Oak House Care Limited, Cardiff, CF5, failed to pay £2,899.37 to 17 workers.
- A Bright Star Nursery (Rumney) Limited, Cardiff, CF3, failed to pay £1,949.43 to 10 workers.
- Mr Harry Casaru, trading as Walnut Tree Bistro, Crickhowell, NP8, failed to pay £1,881.31 to one worker.
- NJ Yarn Distributors Limited, trading as RKM Wools, Rhyl, LL18, failed to pay £1,626.43 to three workers.
- Vietnam Restaurant Ltd, trading as Good Morning Vietnam, Swansea, SA2, failed to pay £1,558.33 to five workers.
- Beaches Hotel Limited, trading as The Beaches Hotel and Spa, Prestatyn, LL19, failed to pay £1,386.85 to six workers.
- Primacy Care Limited, Cardiff, CF11, failed to pay £1,367.12 to one worker.
- Blossom Tree Nursery Rhiwbina Ltd, Cardiff, CF14, failed to pay £1,234.68 to 19 workers.
- Pineshield Management Limited, Cardiff, CF23, failed to pay £1,231.76 to 23 workers.
- The Enchanted Grove Limited, Porth, CF39, failed to pay £1,121.46 to one worker.
- Clifton Dental Care Limited, Cardiff, CF24, failed to pay £1,095.49 to 10 workers.
- Al-Kamoosi Limited, trading as Crwys Pharmacy, Cardiff, CF24, failed to pay £1,026.95 to six workers.
- Pixaserv Ltd, Cardiff, CF24, failed to pay £986.00 to one worker.
- Pili Palas Nature World Limited, Anglesey, LL59, failed to pay £984.62 to 31 workers.
- MBS North East Ltd, Newtown, SY16, failed to pay £944.23 to four workers.
- Quantum Coffee Roasters Ltd, Cardiff, CF10, failed to pay £932.51 to one worker.
- Family First Professionals Ltd, Cardiff, CF10, failed to pay £845.50 to one worker.
- G.Parry Home Improvements Limited, Ruthin, LL15, failed to pay £749.41 to four workers.
- South Wales Transport (Neath) Ltd, Llansamlet, SA6, failed to pay £700.07 to four workers.
- CWCIO Limited, trading as Kings Arms, Cardiff, CF15, failed to pay £577.84 to 70 workers.
- Chappell MOT & Service Centre Ltd, Cardiff, CF14, failed to pay £570.40 to one worker.
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