A former paddleboard firm owner who caused the deaths of four people in south west Wales has been refused permission to appeal against her sentence.
Paul O'Dwyer, Andrea Powell, Morgan Rogers and Nicola Wheatley died after paddleboarding in "extremely hazardous conditions" on the Western Cleddau river in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire in October 2021.
Nerys Bethan Lloyd, 39, an ex-police officer from Port Talbot, pleaded guilty to gross negligence manslaughter in March 2025 and was jailed for 10 years and six months.
Three Appeal Court judges rejected David Elias KC's submissions that the sentence was "manifestly excessive".
Lady Justice May told the court they found the trial judge's approach to have been proportionate given the number of victims.
Dyfed-Powys PoliceLloyd was jailed for 10 years and six months in April 2025At the sentencing in April, the court heard Lloyd was unqualified to lead a paddleboard tour of this kind.
Neither Lloyd nor co-instructor O'Dwyer were qualified to lead the tour, and Mrs Justice Stacey criticised the "abysmal" approach to health and safety.
Citing Lloyd's police and RNLI training, the judge said she "knew better", although acknowledged she was "horrified" at what happened.
The group of seven participants, led by Lloyd and O'Dwyer, set off after 09:00 BST on 30 October 2021.
Three participants died along with O'Dwyer.
During the sentencing hearing, the court heard there had been heavy rain in the days before and "the river was in flood conditions" with a "visibly strong current".
The court was also shown photos of a weir the group was trying to navigate.
This included a section called fish pass, which was 11m (36ft) long and on an incline of about one in seven, or 14%.
The court was shown conditions on the weir on the day of the incident, with the prosecution explaining it showed "immense turbulence" of the water.
Family photosNicola Wheatley, Morgan Rogers, Paul O'Dwyer and Andrea Powell died after paddleboarding in 2021At the sentencing in April 2025, Stacey said the group "fell down the face of the weir" in no more than 20 seconds.
They were sucked into a hydraulic jump - or spin - a recirculating flow similar to a washing machine.
She added: "The ankle leashes attached to the boards of those stuck in the hydraulic spin, which are totally unsuitable for fast-flowing water, made it even harder for them to get free."
Stacey said that the "four participants were not wearing wetsuits and one had decided that a life jacket would not be necessary".
She added there had been "no safety briefing" beforehand, none of the participants had the right type of leash for their boards in these conditions and Lloyd did not have any next of kin details.
O'Dwyer initially exited the river safely, but then re-entered the water in an attempt to rescue the others.
O'Dwyer, from Port Talbot, Rogers, from Merthyr Tydfil, and Wheatley, of Pontarddulais, Swansea county, all died at the scene.
Powell, from Bridgend, died in hospital on 5 November 2021, about a week after the incident.
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