Man jailed for raping and sexually assaulting female as she slept
16:00 13/07/2026Joel Hookings, of Lon Cae Glas, Pwllheli, was jailed for eight years and four months
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Joel Hookings, of Lon Cae Glas, Pwllheli, was jailed for eight years and four months
Officers from North Wales Police’s Roads Crime Unit have been carrying out proactive enforcement activity targeting food delivery drivers across the region following a rise in incidents involving uninsured drivers and vehicles found to be in a dangerous condition.
A 61-year-old man has sadly died following a single-vehicle collision in the Beddgelert area on Thursday 25 June.
North Wales Police is reminding motorists that there is no excuse for getting behind the wheel under the influence of drink or drugs, as officers continue their proactive enforcement campaign throughout the summer months.
North Wales is currently under an Amber weather warning, and temperatures are set to stay high all week.
Anti-social Behaviour
Issued 09 July 2026
We have issued 16 Yellow cards for ASB across our districting ranging from youths causing annoyance to adults causing neighbour issues. Joint patrols with various partner agencies like Housing and Gwynedd Street enforcement officers have taken place in our newly created crime stoppers zones in Blaenau Ffestiniog. Two adults have been issued with Full Community Protection Notices for continually trying to exploit a vulnerable adult in the Blaenau Ffestiniog area. Two adults have been issued with a Community Protection Warning Notice for exploiting a vulnerable female in the Barmouth area. As a result, there have not been other ASB incidents reported at the location which has restored trust and confidence for the community. There have also been targeted patrols in the Bala and Dolgellau areas following reports of youths harassing older persons within the community. As a result, several referrals were made to our partners in the youth justice team to work with these youths. A known male from the Blaenau Ffestiniog area has recently received a 46-week custodial sentence for domestic violence offences who was also committing regular Anti-Social Behaviour in the town. We have also worked with the landowner of a commercial property on Blaenau High Street to secure their property that has prevented ASB from the location. There have also been several high-profile music events in the Bala and Barmouth area in May, where our team tackled several incidents of ASB and confiscated a large amount of alcohol from underage drinkers. This helped ensure the events ran without any problems, ensuring everyone attending had a good time. ASB questionnaires have been distributed in the area of Penrhyndeudraeth and Tremadog to aim to understand the antisocial behaviour issues affecting these communities so we can seek to resolve. Further partnership working was completed in the Porthmadog areas with Grwp Cynefin as they conducted a Hate Crime Roadshow. Further joint working including visits was completed in other areas in Porthmadog with Grwp Cynefin. Specific patrols in Criccieth have been conducted due to concerns regarding youth ASB in Criccieth. A number of individuals have been summoned to court regarding breaches of the PSPO in Pwllheli. A joint visit was carried out with housing in the Cesail y Bryn area of Pwllheli due to ongoing ASB concerns. Joint working undertaken with housing in Harlech and Prenteg to navigate ongoing ASB concerns in these areas.
Actioned 09 July 2026
Drugs
Issued 09 July 2026
We have conducted a joint warrant with trading standards at a business property in Blaenau Ffestiniog. There was counterfeit tobacco seized and we are investigating looking at offences surrounding counterfeit goods, money laundering, and fraud. As a result, we also gained valuable intelligence in tackling the drugs supply in the area. We held an impact day at the local college in Pwllheli and Dolgellau working in partnership with the Colleges welfare team following concerns around drug taking on their sites. A drugs dog was utilised by the college where it was positive to note that there were no positive findings on anyone on the two sites. We have had several action days with Neighbourhood officers out looking to target known individuals in the Barmouth and Blaenau area. This involved numerous persons being stop searched. As a result of this proactivity, we now have several persons in the district released under investigation for drugs supply offences as well as several persons being prosecuted for drugs possession offences. Work is ongoing within our teams and with other agencies to develop our intelligence and information surrounding drugs within our communities. There has also been some good joint working with partners to safeguard two vulnerable adults suspected of being exploited by drug dealers in Barmouth and Blaenau Ffestiniog . These vulnerable persons are now safeguarded and being supported by the relevant agencies. We have also had several drugs possession seizures from positive stop searches in the Barmouth area where offenders were issued with community resolutions. Work has been ongoing developing intelligence in Porthmadog and Pwllheli areas, and a positive warrant was conducted in the Morfa Nefyn area. An increasing number of intelligence logs have been submitted. The NPT team have conducted numerous drug drive stops and stop searches resulting in findings of possession of cannabis. An address was visited with housing and a dog unit due to cuckooing related concerns in the Porthmadog area. A walkaround was conducted in the Maes Deudraeth area with Grwp Cynefin and Clwyd Alun to understand community concerns. Ongoing partnerships working is ongoing here.
Actioned 09 July 2026
Speeding
Issued 09 July 2026
A joint operation was conducted with our Road Crime Unit team in Dolgellau and Tanygrisiau area where we issued 20 Traffic Offence Reports for speeding, 10 verbal cautions for speeding , 4 Traffic Offence Reports for no seat belts. There was also an adult male arrest for Section 5A drug driving and possession of cannabis. PCSOs have conducted speed enforcement exercises in the 20 mph speed limits district wide including the Harlech, Llanbedr, Barmouth , Tywyn and Bala areas. It was positive to see a high rate of compliance for all these areas. The dedicated GO SAFE team have come out to the designated sites where we have received complaints and received positive feedback from our communities. Speed checks have also been conducted by Ysgol Tan Y Castell, Harlech due to concerns of speeding outside the school. Questionnaires were circulated due to speeding concerns in Harlech. Further speed checks conducted in Borth Y Gest after being informed from the local councillor of Morfa Bychan that members of the community have raised concerns about speeding through the village. Concerns raised in Criccieth outside Ysgol Treferthyr regarding speeding in the 20-mph zone especially during school pick up times. Speed checks carried out. Plans in place for a joint operation with the Road Crimes Unit in this area to enforce speeding offences. Section 59 notices have been issued by the NPT team due to antisocial driving at Black Rock Sands. Patrols are also regularly undertaken here. A POP plan is underway to try and reduce to issues we see here. An evidential speed laser has been purchased for the district and so NPT officers and sgts will soon be trained to utilise this in order to be able to issue speeding tickets.
Actioned 09 July 2026