Daily Post

Beaches Tested for Quality in New Drive

AROUND 100 beaches in Wales will be tested for water quality starting today. As the official bathing season gets under way this week, Environment Agency water quality sampling teams will be out taking weekly samples at every site until September - a total of 2,000 in Wales.

I Owe Gats so Much Insists Boss Howle

CARETAKER Wales boss Rob Howley has hailed the "immeasurable" influence of Warren Gatland on his coaching career. Former Wales captain Howley will take charge of next month's Millennium Stadium clash against the Barbarians and three-Test Australia tour while Gatland recovers from fractures to both heels sustained after a fall at his holiday home in New Zealand last month.

Biggar Deserves Recall Says Jenks

SKILLS coach Neil Jenkins praised Dan Biggar's growing maturity after the Ospreys fly-half was restored to the Wales squad for their summer meetings with the Barbarians and Australia. Biggar, 22, won the most recent of his nine caps in the December defeat to the Wallabies at the Millennium Stadium, but was not included in the squad for the victorious Six Nations campaign having also missed out on last year's World Cup.

Dublin's the Host

TOURNAMENT organisers have announced that both showpiece European club finals next year will be held in Dublin. The Aviva Stadium will host the 2013 Heineken Cup final on May 18, with the Royal Dublin Showground staging next season's Amlin Challenge Cup final the night before.

Wales in Eighth As England Are Third

WALES finished in eighth place in the Sevens World Series after winning the Bowl at the London Sevens on Sunday. Wales ran out 27-5 winners over Scotland in the final of the third tier competition on Sunday afternoon thanks to tries from Richard Smith, Alex Walker, Dan Fish and Rhys Patchel.

Who's Hero of Your Community?

NFU Cymru has launched its 2012 Welsh Rural Community Champion Award with pounds 700 up for grabs. Sponsored by the Principality Building Society, applications are invited from farmers who go out of their way to help their local communities.

'Kicked, Punched and Stamped Him to Death'

A COUPLE relived the horrific moment they witnessed a fast food delivery driver being brutally beaten - just hours before he was killed. John and Doreen Clements described seeing a man suffering "heavy punches" and "forceful kicks and stamps" on the night Gabor Peter Sarkozi died.

Giant Poster Heralds Eisteddfod Countdown

A HUGE poster has been hung over the River Dee to promote the Llangollen International Eisteddfod. Abseilers positioned the giant poster at Llangollen Heritage Railway Station to mark 50 days to go to one of the region's biggest festivals.

Drunk Woman Beach Rescue

DOZENS of rescuers, many of them volunteers, were called to the aid of a drunken woman on the beach at Rhyl. A Holyhead Coastguard spokeswoman said they were called about 6pm by a member of the public.

Two Are Hurt in Rush Hour Car Crash

TWO people were taken to hospital after their vehicles collided in Prestatyn yesterday morning. Emergency crews were sent to the scene at Ffordd Isa near the junction of Knowles Avenue shortly after 8am.

Tv Star Denies Safety Breaches

A TV presenter-turned-wildlife park owner who denies breaching health and safety regulations at the animal attraction will stand trial with her husband next month. Celebrity interior designer Anna Ryder Richardson, 48, is accused of serious breaches which sent a mother and son to hospital.

Vote for Your Favourite Charity and Win Pounds 15,000

Garden Day Raises Pounds 1.4k

AN open day at a garden once owned by noted architect Clough Williams Ellis raised more than pounds 1,400 for a hospital cancer unit. The gardens, designed by Williams-Ellis' nephew Roger, at Glasfryn, Pencaenewydd near Pwllheli, are not normally open to the public.

The Young Need a Decent Living Wage

I AM writing to ask your readers to support Save the Children's campaign for a Living Wage for Wales. We launched this campaign because the young people we work with told us that they were more concerned about finding well paid employment when they grow up than any other issue. These Welsh young people told us about the daily struggles they see their friends' parents encountering because of low household incomes and spoke of their own worries about finding a decent wage to live on when they a...

Clarity Is a Must On Organ Donor Consent

IN the Welsh Government White Paper proposing a Soft Opt Out system for Organ Donation, it states six times, After death relatives will be involved in the decision making process around donation. After the Press Conference to launch the White Paper, the BBC reported that Families would have no legal right to stop dead relatives organs being used for transplant if the person has not opted out in advance, under a proposed Welsh law. When pressed the Health Minister, Ms Griffith said she could n...

Famous Birthdays

Duty of All Dog Owners

SOME say that it isn't the breed of dog which is intrinsically dangerous, but the kind of owners some breeds attract. Maybe so, but what matters is that the public are protected. Time after time there are horrific instances of dogs attacking people, often children, and wrecking lives.

More to Education Than Top Grades

THERE is a national obsession with exam grades as if A-star excellence in all subjects were the benchmark of a good education. In fact, a good, well-rounded education is about far more than a clutch of good GCSEs and A levels. Unfortunately, it is far harder to measure the other vital skills which schools ought to be instilling into pupils - but often don't.

'Scrap Regional Pay Plans'

UNIONS yesterday stepped up demands for the Government to scrap plans for regional pay in the public sector after the Deputy Prime Minister said no final decisions had been taken. Nick Clegg said the idea of "local" pay was simply being looked at.

Tumour Turned My Life Upside Down ... But Now I'm Helping Run County

A COUNCILLOR who battled through cancer is looking forward to taking up one of the lead positions in a new authority. Mark Pritchard of the Democratic Independent Group is to be the new deputy council leader for Wrexham following the local elections.