Lowri Lewis

Trainee journalist

Words in BBC Wales News, WalesOnline

My Latest Work

BBC News •

Annette Hewins: Mother was ‘collateral damage’ says daughter

A woman wrongfully jailed for a triple murder in south Wales was “collateral damage” as police sought a conviction, her daughter has said. Nicole Jacob said her mother Annette Hewins had her character and vulnerability “exploited” because she was a young parent. Annette was jailed after being convicted of arson with intent to endanger life, following the death of Diane Jones and her two daughters on Merthyr Tydfil’s Gurnos estate in 1995. Her conviction was quashed in 1999 after she had served t
Wales Online •

13,000 trees are being planted in memory of this extraordinary man

Thousands of trees are being planted in memory of a carpenter who helped build the Senedd by the construction company he worked for. Robert Procope worked at Churngold Construction for decades before he died in 2020 and was helped build the Senedd structure which opened in 2006.

He is now set to have 13,000 trees planted in his memory in the Robbie Procope Memorial Woodland in Carmarthenshire starting from April 5. “He was a good friend to a lot of us,” said a manager for Wales at Churngold Con
Wales Online •

Woman heartbroken after decorations stolen from relatives' graves in Cardiff

Four people from the same family have had decorations stolen from their graves in a cemetery in Cardiff. Samantha Power, whose mother, grandparents and uncle are buried in Cathays Cemetery, visited this week and found decorations had been taken from her relatives' graves.

“I visit them regularly to keep their resting place nice and someone thinks it’s ok to steal off the dead,” said Samantha Power, 42. Ms Power and her sister Johanne Brekke had decorated her mother’s grave with solar lights, a
Wales Online •

Tucked at the end of a terraced street, this restaurant is booked up for months

A restaurant at the end of a terraced street in a small town in the south Wales valleys has been voted the best restaurant in Wales. “Our Sunday lunches are completely booked up until the first week of September this year,” said Dayne Watkins, 34, who co-owns the family-run restaurant with his husband Curtis Lewis, 35.

You’ll also have to wait until the first week of August to book a meal on Fridays or Saturdays. Even weekday bookings at Butterflies Bar & Kitchen have a four-week waiting list.
Wales Online •

Trees ripped up in Cardiff park just months after they were planted

Trees planted just months ago have been ripped from the ground in a Cardiff park in an act of vandalism which the council says they won't be able to fix until the autumn. “It was lovely to see families and little ones there on Monday for the start of the holidays, and then we have a bin overflowing with tree stumps which is just wrong,” said local resident Lisa Wright.

All eight trees planted in a park in the Whitchurch area of Cardiff in November 2023 were ripped out according to Geraint Willi
Wales Online •

A colourful bird has been living wild in a Cardiff suburb for years

A Cardiff resident has befriended a colourful north African bird - and has been hand feeding it from her balcony for six and a half years. “We heard him before we saw him. It was just such a horrid noise, we thought it was a dog being strangled in the trees,” said Jane, who did not want to give her surname.

The bird is a white cheeked turaco, which is normally found in Sudan and Ethiopia. Jane said that she noticed a flash of red fly past her balcony in the Penylan area of Cardiff back in Novem
Wales Online •

Shop owner still unconscious two weeks after being hit by car

A grandmother and long-running business owner remains unconscious after being hit by a car nearly two weeks ago. Sharon Warren, 60, suffered serious injuries after the incident on March 3 including a brain bleed, a fractured neck and pelvis and broken legs according to her son Dean Warren, 38.

Mrs Warren runs one of Cardiff's oldest baguette shops, Baguettes & Bagel on Senghenydd Road. Since the incident, the community around her in Cathays has raised over £3,000 to keep her shop going, The Car
The Cardiffian •

A shop on Albany Road is letting people in one at a time as shoplifting on the street gets worse

Shop workers have been spat at and slapped by shoplifters as crime numbers almost double in two years across South Wales

SOME shops on Albany Road are closing their doors in the daytime as an alarming surge in shoplifting in South Wales has hit the street hard.

“Sometimes we’ll have the door locked nearly all day. We’re shattered by the end of it because we’re running back and forth opening the door,” said Ceri, assistant manager at the Beanfreaks health food store on Albany Road.

Clothing st
The Cardiffian •

Vandal caught on CCTV smashing window at popular Cathays cafe

Two attacks in four weeks cost Metchy’s £4,000 and put plans for a veranda on hold

A WELL-LOVED cafe in Cathays has had to spend £3,000 on shutters and a further £1,000 on new windows after they were smashed twice in one month.

Metchy’s Cafe has now been forced to cancel plans to install a glass veranda, according to owner Mehmet “Metch” Unvar.

“I don’t know what’s the next target now, what they’re going to do, if they’re going to do anything,” he said.

It is not yet known whether there is a
Wales Online •

Talented artist dies aged 32 just months after brain tumour diagnosis

A talented artist has died months after being diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour. Lazaros Sofikitis was months into beginning a full-time career as an artist when he was diagnosed with glioblastoma at the age of 32.

His mother Chrisoula Konstantakou, known as Chris, claimed when he first went to see a doctor he was offered antidepressants for his headaches, eye pain, and lethargy. She claimed Lazaros’ brain tumour was missed and she wonders at how much more time they may have had with hi

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