Congratulations to Dafen Ladies' Leah Randell who has been selected to join the Wales Women's Under 17 training camp for the UEFA Development Tournament, Lithuania. She will be one of twenty players selected from across the country, including those from clubs such as Swansea FC, Liverpool FC, Fulham, and Tranmere Rovers. Well done and good luck!

In a project they have called Bryngwatch, Bryngwyn School Science Department has set up a video camera to record activities inside a bird box near the school. Nest building usually starts in late March but varies according to the weather. The department hopes that the project will show birds nesting in the box as time goes on. Following the progress of these nesting birds will encourage pupils to engage in learning about nature at first hand.
Here is the latest footage from the Bryngwyn nest box camera.  There is no permanent nest in there yet but blue tits have been investigating it.

Activity is still happening early in the morning when the school is quiet. Every day one of the blue tits is guarding the entrance to the box for several minutes. Our pair of blue tits have already been given nicknames – William and Kate. Can’t think why….

Check out the Bryngwatch link from the Science Department  for more updates as things happen in the nest box.

Llanelli police are investigating two crimes in Havard Road during the night of Wednesday 17th and Thursday 18th April when catalytic convertors were stolen from two vehicles.  Any information on the crimes or any person seen behaving suspiciously, please contact Llanelli police: telephone 101

Llwynhendy police are investigating complaints of young persons visiting homes in the Llwynhendy and Dafen areas asking for sponsorship to a local school.  It is believed the sponsorship is false and sponsorship money has been handed over by deception. Please report any callers who you suspect to be collecting sponsorship without authority and identification, on 101.

RIBI (Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland) has for many years run public speaking competitions for young people, and each year thousands of young people take part in events that culminate in the Regional and RIBI Finals, to which participants travel from throughout the British Isles to take part.
There are two RIBI Finals: the Intermediate Competition for those aged 11 to 13 years and the Senior Competition for those aged 14 to 17 years old.

On Saturday 13th April, St. John Lloyd's 'Intermediate Youth Speaks Team' won the Regional Heat of the RIBI Youth Speaks Competition held in Barry, and will now travel to Hull University  on Sunday April 28th in the National Finals.

The team is made up of Blaze Roper (Chair person) , James McMillan (Speaker) and Greg David (Proposer of the Vote of Thanks). During the day, Blaze won the 'Best Intermediate Chairperson' Prize and James won the 'Best Speaker' Prize.

We wish them the best of luck in the finals.

Regular visitors to Dafen Pond would be right to wonder why our pond has been left to become a run down, litter and flytipping hotspot. As shown in the video below, a visitor at the pond this time last week would have been met with an overflowing waste bin, beer bottles and cans at the waters edge, wind strewn litter, industrial rubbish and tyres, and dog foul.
As a result of a complaint last week by a concerned resident who contacted the County Council through the Don't Ignore It -Report it! page via this website (and also forwarded this video), the Grounds Maintenance team immediately responded by tidying up the site, and there has been a great improvement. However, much work still needs to be done. Paul Murray, Grounds Maintenance Manager at the councils Technical Services Department, said in reply that instructions had been given to tidy up the site where access was possible, and that remaining areas would be cleaned up as and when staff were available to go out on the pond by boat. A superviser has also been instructed to monitor the site on a regular basis.
Dafen residents and visitors are urged to challenge and report anti-social activities and habits that spoil our community, and to share responsibility to create an environment that can be enjoyed by all. A list of online complaints forms can be found on the Don't Ignore it - Report It page of this website, and anti-social behaviour can also be reported to the police on 101. If anyone is interested in joining or forming a community group that tackles challenges faced by the community,Contact Us at Dafen Village Website and we will try to provide you with details.

by Paul Clement.

Dafen Under 12's have won the JH Evans Under 12's Cup Final with a deserved 5-2 win over a gallant Loughor Rovers outfit at Stebonheath Park. Loughor started brightly and opened the scoring after 4 minutes as Rhydian Lidwell netted. Dafen soon settled and responded with a goal by Tristan Jenkins. They were only level for 2 minutes though as Loughor regained the lead through Thomas Pullin. Jenkins equalised soon after with a cracker and Dafen led for the first time when Lewis Rees' shot got through the keeper's grasp. Dafen hit the post also, but there were no more goals. Half time Dafen 3 Loughor 2.

The second half saw Dafen extend their lead through a well taken goal by Osian Dylan. Loughor responded well, but their luck was out as two efforts in quick succession hit the woodwork. Dafen sealed the game late on with another from Osian Dylan to complete a memorable game for all the boys involved.

Dafen Welfare 5 - Loughor Rovers 2

In addition, another Dafen based school, St John Lloyd, celebrates 50 years.

Fundraisers are making headway towards a target of £10,000 that will help a Dafen toddler with a rare brain condition, one of only four known Welsh sufferers of Joubert syndrome which affects the part of the brain that controls balance and co-ordination. Their efforts began with an Easter bonanza event at St Barnabas Hall, which has taken the family more than a tenth of the way towards their target of £10,000, which should get Cameron the facilities he needs. Cameron needs specialist equipment and sleeps with oxygen because of respiratory problems. Because the condition affects development, Cameron is going to need all of the support he can get.

A fundraising Psychic Evening is currently being planned to be held at the Neville Arms in Dafen. Details will be added to this site when they are available. The pub has already started a collection for Cameron behind the bar and is providing a function room for the event for free.

Read more about this story on thisissouthwales.co.uk

Drivers in the Dafen area are advised to avoid the B4303 this Bank Holiday after a 63 year-old man was injured in the early hours of the morning when his car was swallowed by a hole in Dafen Road. The road has been blocked from both directions while engineers from the Coal Authority make assessments.

-More to follow.

Update:

A Coal Authority engineer said: "It is likely that repeated impacts over a critical point in the road by drivers coming down hard off the speed bump [at the zebra crossing], has caused a weakness to develop over a hitherto unknown subsurface branch of the Bryngwyn Pit. Unfortunately for this gentleman, this car was the straw that broke the camel's back."
A team from Swansea Metropolitan University will be working closely with the Coal Authority in the coming days to examine other roads in the area using GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar). Senior Lecturer Avril Sot said, "until the GPR study is completed there is no cause for alarm, but it is advisable that extra caution is taken when going over speed bumps in the area, and also where cars come down from kerbs after parking on pavements."
Because of the importance of the route for hospital services, it is expected that the road will be filled and resurfaced by as early as noon today. A spokesperson for the County Council said "We are pulling out all the stops to get this road fully repaired today so that Llanelli A&E patients are able to travel the quickest route to Glangwili after being redirected from Prince Philip Hospital."
In the meantime, locals are being urged to help the effort by bringing wheel barrows of soil down to the site to speed the process up. "While the weather is nice, if every household in the area could bring one barrow of soil from their gardens, the route could be restored by eleven," she said.
Drivers who are concerned about the safety of roads in the area are advised to avoid non-essential travel until the end of APRIL FOOLS' day ;-).