Wales Online • 11th October 2023

Opening date announced for pub given £1.4m revamp after it was 'left to rot'

A Cardiff pub that is undergoing a £1.4m revamp after it was "left for rot" for years will reopen in just a couple of weeks, it has been confirmed. The Unicorn Inn, a Grade-II listed boozer in Old St Mellons that closed in 2017, will finally welcome customers once again through its doors on October 26. The pub, which is located near the entrance to the new St Edeyrns village, will open at 12pm, owner Star Pubs & Bars has said. In the evening of the reopening day, bell ringers from the nearby 12

Wales Online • 7th October 2023

Two charged following unrest at asylum seeker hotel

Two people have been charged following two fires and significant disorder at a hotel controversially earmarked for asylum seekers. It comes as a total of 12 people have now been arrested following the unrest over the last week at Llanelli's Stradey Park Hotel. The Home Office wants to turn the hotel into a 200-plus bed facility for people claiming asylum. But there has been a major and long-running backlash to the plan from local residents concerned about the building's suitability for its prop

Wales Online • 3rd October 2023

'I'm worried about how I'm going to eat'

Nearly 500 people have lost their jobs after a large Valleys company went into administration. Staff were told in a conference call on Monday that they had lost their jobs with UK Windows and Doors which has sites in Treorchy, Llwynypia, Williamstown and Taffs Well. The firm's chief executive has said a decline in sales meant the business had become financially unsustainable. There had been days of speculation after staff were sent home at the start of their shifts, but there was still shock an

Wales Online • 20th September 2023

Golf club left almost completely underwater after 'heart-breaking' flooding

A golf club has been left almost completely underwater after flooding in Swansea. Shocking pictures show several feet of water engulfing Mond Valley Golf Club on Ynyspenllwch Road in Clydach on Wednesday, with levels reaching hedgetops on the course and bins and chairs seen floating near the surface. A van caught in the flood was spotted nearby - also almost completely submerged in water - apparently having been abandoned mid-drive with its windscreen wipers still working. It comes as parts of

Wales Online • 15th September 2023

Man arrested after reports of explosive devices in court buildings

A 37-year-old man has been arrested after police were called to reports that bombs were left in two court buildings in south Wales. People were evacuated from Newport Magistrates' Court on Usk Way in Newport and Cwmbran Magistrates' Court on Tudor Road in Cwmbran and there was a major police presence at the premises. A police officer walked into the a courtroom in Newport Magistrates' Court to tell people inside of the threat. Everyone there was evacuated to a nearby Asda car park, according to

Wales Online • 15th September 2023

Woman whose mum was killed by XL Bully 'ecstatic' at ban

A woman whose elderly mother was mauled to death by an American XL Bully dog in her own home has said she is "ecstatically over the moon" following the announcement that the dog breed will be banned by the end of the year. Shirley Patrick, 83, was mauled at an address in Heol Fawr, Penyrheol, in Caerphilly borough, on December 3 last year. The great-great-grandmother, who had dementia, suffered significant injuries during the incident and died in hospital just over two weeks later. After the i

Wales Online • 12th September 2023

Hailey Park campaigners stop builders as sewage pumping station gets underway

Campaigners delayed work from commencing on a controversial sewage pumping station in a Cardiff park for an entire day. Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water was due to start work on the development in Hailey Park, Llandaff North, at 8am on Monday, September 11. However, a small group of campaigners arrived at 7.30am to stage an impromptu challenge against the water's company's legal authority to begin work on the site. They prevented contractors from entering through an access gate and work was unable to take

Wales Online • 7th September 2023

Engineer to reduce how far he will travel for work due to new 20mph speed limit

An engineer says he has been forced to reduce his radius of travel ahead of the controversial rollout of the new 20mph default speed limit in Wales. All-service engineer Gary Keating, 61, whose services including repairs and installations of boilers, cookers and oil tanks, said he usually services around five boilers in a day, as he often has to travel far to get to customers. But with most of Wales’ 30mph limit roads set to be changed to 20mph next week, he said he "can't see myself getting fi

Wales Online • 6th September 2023

Well known hotel to become temporary accommodation for homeless families

A hotel in Cardiff is being turned into temporary accommodation for homeless families. The Copthorne Hotel Cardiff, a 135-bedroom hotel in Culverhouse Cross, will welcome families from this week, Cardiff Council has confirmed. The council said all of its current temporary accommodation is full with the city currently facing an "unprecedented demand for homeless services". It added the arrangement is only temporary and hotel staff will retain their jobs - with the building effectively continuing

Wales Online • 31st August 2023

Work on sewage pumping station in Cardiff park to begin within days

Work on a controversial sewage pumping station in a Cardiff park will begin in a matter of days. Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water has announced that it will be starting work on the development in Hailey Park, Llandaff North, on September 11. The not-for-profit company, which supplies drinking water and wastewater services to most of Wales, has sent a letter to residents informing them of the start date and details of the upcoming works. It said it expects to complete the work within 18 months as long as "

Wales Online • 29th August 2023

Welsh rugby club forced to stop match 12 times to remove dog mess from pitch

A Welsh rugby club was forced to stop a match 12 times so they could pick up dog mess from the pitch. Whitchurch RFC said dog fouling is a regular occurrence on their home pitch in Hailey Park, Cardiff, with mess having to be picked up at least once during every game. But the amount of faeces they had to pick up during a senior fixture on Saturday, August 27, was a new record. There was more dog mess the following day during their juniors and minis training session. The club has now issued an

Wales Online • 27th August 2023

Bittersweet emotions as Ukrainians celebrate their Independence Day in Cardiff

There were mixed emotions in Victoria Park as Ukrainian refugees marked exactly 18 months since Russia invaded their homeland A Cardiff park was full of singing, dancing and colour as displaced Ukrainians celebrated their Independence Day. There were bittersweet emotions at the celebrations in Victoria Park, as the day marked exactly 18 months since Ukraine was invaded by Russia, forcing millions to flee. Around 200 people - most of them Ukrainian refugees from across Wales - gathered in the C

Wales Online • 22nd August 2023

Disabled pensioner hit with £100 fine for parking 'one inch' outside bay

An elderly woman has said she feels "victimised" after receiving a £100 fine after parking her car "one inch" outside of a car park bay in Cardiff. Amal Bafaqih, 85, felt "angry, ill, sick, [and] disappointed" when she received the fine for parking incorrectly in a space in Cardiff Bay Retail Park on April 5 this year. Letters sent to Amal - who is disabled and owns a Blue Badge - from parking management company UK Parking Control included a picture showing how she had parked her car within a d

Wales Online • 9th August 2023

The five-year-old Welsh girl who's climbed Britain's highest mountains

For most five-year-olds a trek means walking to school, a friend's house, or to the local park. But five-year-old Seren Price has gone a remarkable step further and hiked up Britain's highest mountains. The schoolgirl from Llangennech, Llanelli, started climbing mountains with her dad, Glyn, when she was just three. Last winter, just a few months after she turned five, she became the youngest person ever to complete the National Three Peaks Challenge. In under 48 hours she scaled Snowdon, Scaf

Wales Online • 29th July 2023

Dedicated couple behind beloved Indian café in Cardiff to retire after 43 years

A hardworking elderly couple behind a much-loved Indian café and mini-market in Cardiff are retiring after 43 years. Dnyaneshwar Gaikwad, 89, and his wife Pushpa, 78, who own Madhav in Riverside, will hang up their aprons on July 31. They opened the business in Lower Cathedral Road in 1980 around 20 years after they moved to the UK from India. The unassuming eatery, which is attached to the grocery shop and serves up home-cooked vegetarian Indian street food, has amassed a legion of fans over t

Wales Online • 15th July 2023

Wales aims to become the safest country for women

Love bombing, gaslighting and coercive control: in recent years, such terms have flooded social media and infiltrated conversations around relationships. But when presenter Luke Davies travelled around Wales asking young men on the street whether the knew what these phrases actually meant, many drew a blank. Luke's vox pops feature in the promotion of a new Welsh Government campaign that encourages young men to reflect on their own behaviours when it comes to violence against women and domestic

Wales Online • 11th July 2023

Staff member at former mental health hospital bitten 'to the bone' by patient

A care assistant was bitten "on the shoulder to the bone" by a patient at a former mental health hospital in Wales, a court has heard. Other staff at the now-closed Priory Hospital in Aberdare were left with hearing loss, permanent scarring, discolouration, numbness, flashbacks and nightmares after being physically assaulted by patients. From July 2014 to August 2017 there were eight incidents at the specialist institution - which closed in July 2017 - that saw seven members of care staff and o

Wales Online • 29th June 2023

The massive row about a sewage pumping station in a beloved Cardiff park

A community fighting to stop part of their much-loved local park being developed for a sewage pumping station will have their day in court today at the Civil Justice centre in Cardiff. To coincide with the launch of the judicial review brought by the Llandaff North residents association, we've looked in detail at why Welsh Water wants to build a station to pump sewage in the historic Hailey Park green space and why the campaigners believe Cardiff council should have given it more scrutiny befor