Thank you for staying with us during our coverage of the sentencing of Nerys Lloyd.

We’ll be ending our live page shortly , but here’s a recap of what we heard in court today.

• Nerys Lloyd, 39, has been jailed for 10 years and six months for the gross negligence manslaughter of four people who died on a paddleboarding tour in October 2021
• The judge, Mrs Justice Stacey, said the group had no safety briefing, four people had no wetsuits, and one had no life jacket
• Her lawyer told the court Lloyd takes "full blame for the mistakes” that led to their deaths. He said there was a plan to get out of the water ahead of the weir but the force of the water meant she and the others were carried over it
• But the judge said Lloyd dismissed other route options to avoid the weir – suggested to her by one of the victims who was also a co-instructor - as "too boring"
• There was either "a plan to go down the fish ramp or there was no plan at all", the judge says, adding both options "showed a blatant disregard for a very high risk of death"
• In her sentencing remarks the judge paid tribute to the four victims - Paul O'Dwyer, Andrea Powell, Morgan Rogers and Nicola Wheatley – who she said were "cut off in their prime”

You can read our full write-up of today’s events here.

Health and Safety Executive inspector Helen Turner has expressed her sympathies to the victims' families as she calls Nerys Lloyd's decision to enter the water "completely reckless".

"The victims placed their trust in Lloyd to deliver a safe and enjoyable paddle, but through her incompetence, carelessness and complacency she failed to plan or assess the obvious risk at the weir or to take even basic safety measures," she adds.

"By not discussing the hazards on the route Lloyd robbed the participants of the opportunity to make a reasoned decision on their own participation on the day."

Turner also underlines that health and safety is "not a barrier" preventing adventurous activities but says that organisers must take "proportionate action" in the face of risks.

Morgan Rogers' mum Theresa has also spoken to the media outside court.

"It's been three long years and seven months since I lost my only daughter Morgan, my best friend," she says.

"Over three years since I laid eyes on her, over three years since I heard her infectious laugh."

She describes Morgan as "always smiling", "always happy" and a "gentle soul" and continues to say she will never be the same and can "never forgive Nerys Lloyd for what she has taken from me".

She adds that it was more than 12 hours before she was informed of her daughter's death as Nerys did not have her emergency contact details.

Theresa thanks the police and the CPS but also the public "who tried to help in the best way they could that day".

Nicola Wheatley's husband Darren has just addressed the media outside court.

He explains that the couple's two children were seven and two when Nicola died, which has "devastated our family".

"Nicola died in circumstances that were completely avoidable... decisions made by Nerys Lloyd, and only Nerys, led to the four lives lost.

"Any sentence served by Nerys in prison will never ease the pain of losing Nicola and our lives will never be the same again."

Mrs Justice Stacey tells the court the sentence was imposed due to the "wholesale failure" to consider how dangerous the trip would be.

The "overall gravity" of the four manslaughter offences was a deciding factor in the sentence of 10 years and six months.

The judge says Lloyd showed "flagrant disregard" of her duty to take care of the participants.

She adds: "You will be released from custody no later than two-thirds of the way through your sentence and the remainder will be served on licence in the community."

This means Lloyd will spend up to seven years in prison before being released.

Image source, Athena Picture Agency

The senior investigating officer with Dyfed-Powys Police has now also released a statement - initially extending sympathies to the families of the four victims.

Det Supt Cameron Ritchie describes it as an "extremely tragic" case.

“We have heard harrowing testimony from the victims and survivors during this hearing of the continuing impact this incident had on them," he adds.

"I sincerely hope that the conclusion of these proceedings helps to clear the way for them to be able to start the healing process."

This is the moment Mrs Justice Stacey sentences Nerys Lloyd to 10 years and six months at Swansea Crown Court.

While addressing Lloyd in her sentencing remarks, Mrs Justice Stacey says she provided an "inconsistent" account of what happened that day compared to the "CCTV evidence and the evidence of the survivors".

"When you were interviewed in August 2022 you firmly placed the blame on Paul who you said would undertake all the risk assessments and safety briefings," she adds.

"You also denied instructing Ceri to follow you down the middle of the weir, which I find was untrue."

The judge tells the court that neither Mr O'Dwyer or Lloyd had undertaken courses to organise paddleboard activities near a weir.

We can now bring you details of a statement from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) which says there are "no words" that can describe the devastation caused by this tragedy.

Specialist prosecutor with the special crime division Lisa Rose said: "Nerys Lloyd should not have taken participants on the water that day - the heavy flooding had left the river running very fast and it was beyond the remit of a beginner’s tour.

"The weir itself was in an extremely hazardous condition, with a high potential for loss of life, and all the possible exit points nearby had been flooded out.

"Lloyd was not qualified to take inexperienced paddleboarders out in such conditions and her actions fell very far below the standard expected of a paddleboard instructor and activity planner."

Addressing Lloyd before jailing her, the judge says she was was not "suddenly sucked" into the weir as she claimed.

None of the group would have known that she was telling them to "head to the middle".

"The CCTV shows you tried to paddle back," the judge adds, "because the current was too strong and you could not do so."

"They had been given no instructions or warning beforehand and for them the weir came out of nowhere."

We can now bring you some more details of what the judge said to Lloyd just before passing the sentence.

She acknowledges that Lloyd was "horrified" at what happened but adds that the group was left with no choice but to go over the weir which "inevitably" caused the "avoidable" tragedy.

Neither Lloyd nor Mr O'Dwyer were qualified to lead such a tour, Mrs Justice Stacey continues as she criticises the "abysmal" approach to health and safety.

Citing her police and RNLI training, the judge tells Lloyd she "knew better".

The judge says a number of people, including Joel Williams, tried to help the paddleboarders who fell into the river.

He climbed over the railings and "repeatedly" threw a lifebuoy attached to a rope.

"When Joel saw a woman, who was Andrea, he immediately stripped off and dived off the riverbank wall to try to save her," the judge adds.

The judge says she is recommending him “for tangible recognition" for what he did that day and that it was partly down to him that Andrea’s organs were able to be donated.

She says Lloyd "did not" realise the seriousness of the situation.

"At that stage you paddled over to help her get Nicola onto her board and out of the water and immediately commenced CPR. But by then it was too late."

The public gallery was silent as Mrs Justice Stacey read out the sentence.

Once the judge had left the court, members of the packed public gallery began hugging each other and shaking hands.

Image source, Crown

Here is the moment Nerys Lloyd tells police officers that the paddleboarding group fell into the water after trying to navigate the weir.

Paul O'Dwyer, Andrea Powell, Morgan Rogers and Nicola Wheatley drowned after the tour experienced "extremely hazardous conditions".

Addressing Lloyd, the judge says her first recorded reactions were “you were finished and you might go to jail rather than thoughts for the victims”.

Since then Lloyd has described herself as experiencing survivor’s guilt, the judge says, and her statement focused on what she had lost as well as what the victims had lost.

The judge says she appreciates people have different ways of dealing with grief – and Lloyd’s was to “present a confident front” and save her anguish for "the most private moments".

“I do not find your continued social media presence and life as normal presentation was a deliberate snub to the victims – it was your way of coping.

"But you can I hope with hindsight appreciate how insensitive it was in such a close-knit community."

Nerys Lloyd, 39, will be jailed for 10 years and six months, the judge says.

Image source, Dyfed-Powys Police

The judge says Andrea Powell, Nicola Wheatley and Morgan Rogers "could not escape" the tremendous power of the water from the drop over the weir.

Paul O'Dwyer was able to steer to the right side of the weir and "lifted himself" and his board out of the water and on to the bank.

The judge tells the court that he jumped back into the water to "try and save" the participants, but was "unable to do so and they all drowned".

The judge tells Lloyd she was in a "leading role".

Referring to her co-instructor Mr O'Dwyer she says they were "not equals" stressing that it was Lloyd's company and she "called the shots".

The judge further points out that Mr O'Dwyer had suggested alternative routes that avoided the weir, demonstrating he had "concerns".

"You dismissed them out of hand each alternative he put forward," Mrs Justice Stacey says.

Mr O'Dwyer was one of the four who died.

The judge says it is clear from the CCTV footage that Lloyd went "straight for middle" of the river without any attempt to get to the side.

"I find there was no clear plan to walk round," the judge says.

She says Lloyd rejected Mr O'Dwyer's suggestions to step down or start the tour beyond the weir "as too boring".

"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."

The judge turns now to Lloyd's character and background.

Lloyd, who will turn 40 in two days, trained as a firearms officer after joining South Wales Police following university.

Mrs Justice Stacey says she will have been "well-versed" in the importance of health and safety and risk assessments and was also a trained RNLI volunteer.

Lloyd has no previous convictions but did accept a caution in October 2021 for a fraud offence relating to a vehicle insurance claim.