05/04/2017 BBC Wales Today

Following an inquest into their deaths,

the family of Cerys Yemm - unlawfully killed

by Matthew Williams - say lessons must be learned.

We feel that there is still a risk today that offenders will be housed

together with vulnerable or young people in the same establishments

without the local community around them having any idea of the

Matthew Williams' family say he needed treatment

for mental health issues but was failed by authorities.

Rather than being dropped at school, a ten-year-old -

who's deaf and has autism - was taken back to a

Eight o'clock he goes and it was gone 11 o'clock before they brought

him back. He had been on the bus for three hours. For that time he was on

his own on that bus. through the Gwent Levels

are described as The aim is to help create

a workforce with digital skills but there's a call

for a long-term plan. And supported by family and friends

- Jess Fishlock becomes the first Wales international to ever reach

a century of senior caps. The family of Cerys Yemm

have called for a reform of what happens when offenders

are released from prison. Matthew Williams killed

Cerys Yemm in 2014 at He had recently been released from

jail with a history of drug abuse. Today, an inquest jury decided

she was unlawfully killed. Williams died shortly

after having been repeatedly In his case, the jury returned

a narrative verdict. His family says "lessons

must be learnt". Caroline Evans is outside

Newport Coroners' Court. This inquest has lasted for more

than three weeks but it was clear from the reactions of both the

families of Cerys Yemm and Matthew Williams that it has not answered

all of their questions. Both families are now asking and

demanding actions from the authorities in terms of the way

ex-offenders are monitored and be that people with mental health

issues and drug problems are treated.

Cerys Yemm was just 22, described by her family as kind, caring and

someone who could always see the best in people. She died following a

brutal attack in which he sustained at least 89 injuries. Her killer,

Matthew Williams, a man just out of prison with the history of drug use

and mental health issues, had been given accommodation at this Sirhowy

Arms by the local council. The 34-year-old was still carrying out

the attack when police arrived. He was Tasered four times before he

collapsed and then died. After three weeks of listening to the evidence

of 40 witnesses, the jury found that Cerys Yemm was unlawfully killed. We

feel that there should be reform of the systems of monitoring and

information sharing between agencies when offenders are released from

prison. We have heard that relevant Welsh Government guidance only

housing offenders was not followed, even though Williams has said he

wanted to make a fresh start outside the area. In fact, he was

accommodated in an unsuitable B hostel and Argoed where he resumed

his cycle of drug abuse. Matthew Williams was released from Parc

prison on the 23rd of October 2013, within a short time he had met Cerys

Yemm, the girlfriend of a fellow inmate. The night they died they had

been at a friends house. Postmortem examinations suggest both had taken

drugs. Matthew Williams, the inquest was told, had taken amphetamines all

weekend. They arrived at midnight, around one hour later, screams were

heard coming from Matthew Williams' room. CCTV played to the jury should

that residents gathered on the landing and the owner Mandy Miles

called. She opened the door and saw what she thought was Matthew

Williams cannibalising Cerys Yemm's body. In court, experts said that

was not the case. 30 minutes later release officers entered the room,

one discharged his days are and said Matthew Williams was so strong he

was lifting them up as they tried to restrain him. He then used his Taser

three more times within 30 seconds until Matthew Williams stopped

resisting. 11 minutes later, paramedics were brought into the

room, at which point Matthew Williams was still alive and in the

recovery position. He was taken to an ambulance and at some point

stopped breathing. Efforts to resuscitate him failed and he was

declared dead. Returning a narrative verdict, the jury found that Matthew

Williams' death was sudden and unexpected, a culmination of illicit

drug use and the struggle against restraint. His family, while

offering their condolences to the family of Cerys Yemm, said that he

was let down by the services that should have supported him. In our

view, the evidence exposed clear feelings any mental health Housing

and Criminal Justice System, and we regret that the jury were not given

the opportunity by the coroner to express their views on this issue.

We hope that this case will highlight the need for better mental

health care and the to the effective sharing of information between state

agencies and that another family will not have to go through what

this family have had to suffer. During the inquest, questions were

asked about other police officers responded quickly enough and used

appropriate force in restraining and catering Matthew Williams. The

officers said they had acted in line with procedures. Tonight, Gwent

Police paid tribute to the professionalism of their officers

involved in the incident. The family of Cerys Yemm have called for

Caerphilly Council to work with the owners of the Sirhowy Arms to

demolish the side. They have said it serves as an unbearable reminder of

their loss. Well, tonight a statement from

Caerphilly Council which placed Matthew Williams at Sirhowy Arms,

seeing that legislation has now changed, so there is now a more

co-ordinated approach to resettling prison leaders. In terms of the

demolition of Sirhowy Arms, they have said they are unable to give

any commitment about the future of the premises at this point.

Caroline Evans at Newport Coroners' Court, thank you.

A 24-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion

of manslaughter, following the death of a baby in New Quay, Ceredigion.

Officers were called to an address in the town following reports

He was taken to hospital but later died.

A 26-year-old man has appeared in court charged with the murder

of Henry Ayabowei in Bangor at the weekend.

The father of two was found collapsed outside a nightclub

in the early hours of Saturday and died in hospital.

Kieron Roberts was remanded in custody and will appear

An investigation is underway after it emerged a ten-year-old

boy from Llanidloes, who's deaf and has autism,

has twice been left alone in a minibus depot, rather

than dropped at his school in Newtown.

Teachers and bus staff didn't realise Reuben Lewis

Our reporter Matt Murray has been to meet Reuben and his parents.

10-year old Reuben is autistic and death, he is at home with his family

after a day at a special school. It is now down to his parents to bring

him back and forward after a series of mistakes by the school and bus

company. On Monday, Reuben was not blocked off at his school. Instead,

he was taken back to the bus company offices, 45 minutes away. Transport

staff realised he was on board. He was left unattended for nearly one

hour. Reuben's family has said it is the dogma state in 12 months. He is

quite a loud child, so I cannot understand how the escort did not

notice him go past or even not notice them at all. He is also quite

a big boy, so, he is not going to be heading away very easily. In this

most recent incident it was only noticed that Reuben was missing when

a family member raised the alarm. His 20-year-old sister Julie works

part-time as a lifeguard here at the leisure centre in Newtown. She ran

her parents when she could not see her brother at the school swimming

lessons. They alerted the school and the police. Reuben was found your

nearly 30 miles away at this car is terrible. The company supplies

minibuses for the school run and Reuben was still on board. Even

though they would have been an escort and the driver, the

requirements for transporting children with special needs, it

seems both staff put the note as he was still in the vehicle. I have

spoken to the owner of this company, Simon Price, he has told me that

contractually he is unable to comment at the moment, but his

website states that he has been trading for 15 years, providing all

types of taxes services and the school transport and also special

needs transport, conveying children safely to their school or drop-off

point, which clearly was not the case for Reuben, as an investigation

has now been launched. The first time Reuben was left on the school

bus was in May last year, after that happened the School apologised and

promised to use the register to check the children in and out.

However, a similar situation happened in September last year when

Reuben was not returned home and left at the school. I cannot

understand how the school and the transport company have allowed it to

happen yet again. Because this is the third instance. There was meant

to be a register on and off the bus, where each child would be ticked off

and also the School office knew that if Reuben was not in school for any

reason and I had not called the school, then they were to phone me

and they failed to do that as well. Palace county council has said that

clearly there has been a breakdown in communication between the

transport provider and the school. The council's passenger transport

unit has spoken to the school and contractors to ensure that you

needed safeguards are put in place to prevent any similar incident

being repeated again. Reuben's family are looking at alternative

transport arrangements or they can get their son back and forward to

school safely. A five-year-old boy

was killed in a car crash Joseph Smith was too short to have

been travelling The jury was told he broke

his neck after a car - driven by his Mother's boyfriend

Dean Collins - ploughed into oncoming traffic

in Cardiff in 2015. He denies causing death

by dangerous driving. A young woman from Swansea,

who claimed she was imprisoned in her father's home in Saudi Arabia

says she's now happy Last year a High Court judge ruled

that 21-year-old Amina Al-Jeffery But she's since met with her

solicitor and said she wants Nature presenter Iolo Williams has

accused the Welsh Government of "ecocide" in a written submission

to the M4 relief He said proposals to alleviate

the billion pound scheme's impact on wildlife were "nothing short

of a joke". Our environment correspondent

Steffan Messenger has more. This landscape would be changed

forever if proposals for a new six-lane M4 relief

road are agreed. Is that acceptable, and how do

you balance hopes of boosting the economy with the damage it

could do to the environment? Those are the questions they are

wrestling with inside this building. It is week six of the public inquiry

into the Welsh Government's plans to build a ?1 billion motorway

across the Gwent Levels. The road would cut across five Sites

of Special Scientific Interest, areas set aside for nature

conservation. Environmentalists describe it

as like building a giant concrete wall across this ancient landscape

of salt marshes and woodland. And the impact on wildlife,

they say, would be devastating. It's a landmark case that ecological

consultants who work with developments large and small

are keeping a close eye on. There are very few projects

of this kind of magnitude. The survey work that has gone

into some of the ecological issues It is all about looking

at what will the direct impacts be, what will the harm be and can that

be mitigated in any way? The Welsh Government plans to build

otter and water vole tunnels The road would be mainly unlit

to avoid light spill, Large numbers of dormice would be

relocated to Bristol Zoo during construction and they will

also replace lost ditches But, in a written submission

received by the inquiry this morning, nature presenter

Iolo Williams said that was nothing short of a joke,

describing the scheme So one of our major

concerns is actually He has given evidence to the inquiry

on behalf of Gwent Wildlife Trust who also believe the mitigation

proposed by the Welsh They want to take all of this

amazing wetland and recreate it, so this amazing complexity from the

Roman times, this ecological and historical complexity and dig a few

holes and put some water and hopefully that will recreate this

2000 -year-old ecology. Effectively you have a massive biodiversity

lawsuit, it will not easily be replicated if not for tens of

hundreds of years. The inquiry city from several environmental objectors

including natural resources Wales over the coming months. The

inspector himself as said that compensation is critical for the

five months process. -- conversation. -- conservation.

Last night, a BBC Wales documentary highlighted a shortage

of appropriate placements for children in care

who have complex needs or challenging behaviour.

The Week In Week Out programme revealed that one girl has had 17

different placements in the last four years and hasn't been to school

There are calls for that case to be investigated.

So what provision is available for children in need and where can

they go if school isn't the right place for them?

It is not your average fashion, these teenagers have gathered wood

to cut, dry and sell to raise money for this farm, run by a charity,

sessions are held here for long people who have suffered --

struggled in mainstream education or hill from a tough background. Last

night's programme revealed the lack of therapeutic provision for

children with complex needs challenging behaviour. It is places

like this that can offer stability for young people, especially those

that have chaotic lives. At this farm in the Vale of Glamorgan,

learning is not about using pen and paper, you can use tools, care for

animals and learn to in a team. We have always existed to support

vulnerable people in our clear fun setting. Karen Turnbull runs the

firm. Often, when people come to us, they feel like society has given up

on them, they feel worthless and they are being pushed around the

system, nobody really cares about them. And so their confidence and

self worth is really, really low. It is the job of staff you to work

around the needs of the individual, the focus is about building

confidence, not just passing exams. How does coming here differ from

going to a normal school? You are not under pressure, or being

challenged, you can take it had to run pace and enjoyed it. Does it

Suju better? Yes. Why is that? It is easier to learn about work. How to

do stop. -- how to do stuff. Jess works with people who are often

referred by schools and councils and referral units. They feel more

grounded year, they know everybody, they get to know it inside out and

vice versa. It is a place that they can come and talk to people,

especially if the environment at home has changed a lot and they come

here and it stays the same. At this farm they concentrate on building

confidence in a caring and nurturing environment, it is clear that places

such as this can help people improve their chances in life. Something

that both the Welsh Government and Children's Commissioner have said is

a priority. India Pollock reporting,

and that Week In Week Out programme is available to watch

on BBC iPlayer. Digital skills even in primary

school, but do we need a longer-term And celebrations as Wales

international Jess Fishlock wins her 100th cap and makes

Welsh football history. There's just a month to go

until the local council elections. There are over 1,200

seats up for grabs in our All the main parties

are fielding hundreds of candidates, other than Ukip,

who are only fielding 80. That's despite them finishing fourth

in the last Assembly Our political editor Nick Servini

has been collating the figures. The nominations have closed, this is

the first time you can see how seriously the parties are taking

this council elections. Labour will have over 900 candidates, the Tories

just over 600, Plaid Cymru just under that and the Lib Dems, just

below 300. Here is an interesting is the suspect, over 700 independent

candidates, very strong tradition, busy, and wheels in particular in

council elections for independents to go for it. That figure of 80 from

Ukip, that will raise eyebrows, there was an expectation,

particularly after the presence they have generated at the assembly that

there would be more candidates from Ukip. The Conservatives are

certainly throwing numbers at this election, once the cystic, they will

have 70 candidates in Swansea alone. A significant figure.

And what do the numbers tell us about the likely role

of the biggest party in Wales - Labour - in the elections?

This is the key question, Labour-controlled 12 out of 22 local

authorities, now struggling in the polls. The question is whether the

dip below, maybe their low point of 2008 and in all sorts of local

authorities come under question, Plaid Cymru would be the party

looking to take advantage of that. A final thought, talking of national

trends, these are local elections and there are 22 separate battles

going on out there, we should not forget that. No, thank you for that,

Nick. Love it or loath it,

digital technology is everywhere. These days, most of us use

computers to pay bills or do some shopping online,

and smart mobile phones and tablets With more and more services moving

online, there's increasing demand for a Welsh workforce that's skilled

in new technology. One computer scientist

thinks a more coherent, In the first of a series of special

reports on the digital future Immersed in virtual reality,

thanks to a mobile phone placed From the First World War

to the great oceans of the world - Crickhowell High School pupils

in Powys also learn about evaluating the information they find online,

using computer code to solve problems, all part

of a new curriculum brought in on the advice of Professor

Tom Crick and others. Can anyone give me examples of how

they have used technology in lessons It is definitely getting into

the lessons a bit more than it was. It really helped us to research

and improve the quality of our work. Digital literacy is as important

as reading and writing. To understand concepts of things

like what is actual fact, what is, to use the word

at the moment, fake news... A visit from the Education Secretary

to Cadoxton Primary A new project helping both pupils

and teachers learn computing skills. But it will be years

before all classrooms have Steve Jones develops price

comparison websites in Cwmbran. He's already looking to provide

other services in the future based on all that data that is now

floating around us. Computers in our cars, our phones

and even our central heating system, perhaps there's room in this digital

marketplace for a product that can prevent your car breaking

down in the first place, or that provides advice

about the driver's health, Do something clever with data

like this and you are part of what is known

as the digital economy. We do have children going

through GCSEs at the moment and we do find that there is a big

disparity between what they are being taught in schools to actually

what they need when they come out of school into businesses

like ourselves. Work is being done in

higher education though. These students in Newport

are testing out a new app that they have built to help find

Welsh-speaking shop assistants. It is part of a new degree course

here which involves real-life commercial projects right

from the off. Students build up a network

of good contacts whilst they are going through their degree

and similarly, companies have the opportunity to come

in and work with the students and identify ones which they

think will be a good Now more than ever we need this

coherent and long-term commitment from the Welsh Government to this

idea of a digital Wales. Yes, we're making this improvement

is the education system, but we need to have these high-value

jobs for people to go into, Other countries have

made this digital pitch, for example, South Korea,

Estonia, Israel and they are doing these innovative things with digital

data and technologies. There is concern

about falling behind. The Welsh Government said

in addition to changes in the classroom, it has invested

heavily in digital infrastructure and is also working

on a new strategy for the digital Paul Heaney reporting,

and tomorrow night we'll be looking at innovative ways some businesses

are already adapting It's quite the sporting achievement

- footballer Jess Fishlock has become the first player ever

to reach 100 caps for Wales. The 30-year-old midfielder earned

the honour in today's friendly against Northern Ireland

in Ystrad Mynach, even scoring to give Wales

the lead in the first half. After more than ten years, and now

100 caps, there is no dying this is Jess Fishlock's moment although she

has chosen to share it with proud nephew will. At 30 years old she is

making history, the first wheels International Male or female to make

100 caps. She is celebrating the team-mates ahead of their friendly

with Northern Ireland. At times the emotion was too much. But after

brief congratulations, her focus it on to the ball. Come on, Jess! Her

family were able to enjoy the celebrations from kick-off, with

home-made T-shirts they were cheering her on proudly and lovely.

Everything she dreamt, I am getting gooey! Everything she dreamt, she

has said she was too small, which ever be able to do it, I used to say

to her, if you believe, you will do it. For her to actually do it, I am

just like, good or new, Jess. It started for Jess not too far from

here at the age of seven at Cardiff City ladies. Since then she has

travelled the world playing for teams in Seattle and Melbourne.

Where ever she is in the world, her dedication to wheels is unwavering.

It takes real hard work to get 100 caps. -- Wales. The first woman to

reach 50 caps knows just how much dedication it takes. She travels the

flights, 5000 miles to come home and play a friendly game of October. She

does not have to do that but playing for Wales is your pride and joy. The

party cannot yet start, Wales play Northern Ireland again on Friday,

with the work ethic like Jess Fishlock, the midfielder is already

looking for her next milestone, perhaps being at the women's World

Cup at France in 2019. Qualifying starts in September.

It's also a big night for Swansea City in their fight

They host title-chasing Tottenham Hotspur at

The Swans are without a win in three games and sit just one point

Top scorer Fernando Llorente is again out through injury. Will there

be sunshine for the Swans? We have the forecast for you.

Good evening. Fine and settled weather to come. And it should be

the same for the next few days, turning warmer by the weekend.

Tonight is mostly dry, with light winds, overnight lows of five to

eight Celsius. A touch of frost also possible. High pressure dominating

across the UK tomorrow, bringing more fine, settled weather. The

chilly start, some cloud, mostly dry, some sunny spells, they are

developing through the day. Another largely bright day, light westerly

breeze, not be sunny but pleasantly warm and any sunshine tomorrow, eyes

of 10 Celsius in Ceredigion. 12 in Newport. Tomorrow night, cloud will

clear, temperatures dropping a touch lower, for 27 Celsius. More dry and

settled weather on Friday, cloudy at times, some bright, sunny spells,

winds will be light, starting to feel a little bit warmer and the

warming trend continues into the weekend, that high is starting to

move towards the East towards Scandinavia and that allows a change

in wind direction. Winds turn southerly, drawing up milder air

from Spain and France, so it should stay settled, but with temperatures

rising. Chilly start on Saturday, the fine and dry weather will

continue, variable cloud with lengthy sunny spells but

temperatures creeping up into the teens. With high pressure

dominating, define and settled into the beat and into the weekend,

slightly warmer by day, but still with some chilly nights to come.

Thank you. A reminder of our top story. The family of women -- Cerys

Yemm have cold for a new approach to monitor offenders after they are

released from prison. Cerys Yemm was killed at a hostel in 2014 by

Matthew Williams. The jury today decided Cerys Yemm was unlawfully

killed. I will have an update for you at 8pm. That is all, join us

later goodbye. Whoo! This is what I call

a proper playground.