A CAMPAIGN is being launched targeting drivers who are rude and abusive to lollipop men and ladies in Carmarthenshire.

The Stop Means Stop campaign follows an increasing number of incidents involving motorists failing to stop for lollipop men and women.

It starts in September to coincide with the new school term.

Carmarthenshire Council's road safety unit supported by Carmarthenshire Road Safety Action Group is launching the drive which will be backed up with radio advertising, school banners, posters and leaflets.

It starts in September to coincide with the new school term. There are currently 72 schools crossing patrols officers working at schools across the county.

There were 12 reported failure to stop incidents reported to police last year.

There were many more reports of abuse to lollipop men and women logged.

County road safety manager Keith Griffiths said: "School crossing patrol officers play a vital role by ensuring school children are provided with a safe route to and from school.

"They should be able to do this without fear of intimidation and threatening behaviour from some inconsiderate motorists.

"The school crossing patrol team are among the most committed group of people that continue to play a very important role in keeping our community a safe and friendly place.

"The message is quite simple. All road users must stop when a school crossing patrol officer asks them to do so.

"Drivers should allow a little extra journey time if their route takes them through a patrolled area — and be prepared to slow down and stop when requested to do so by a patrol officer."

Today, every school crossing patrol officer is issued with a notebook to record detailed information about any motorist that fails to stop or continues to drive by when it is obvious that the patrol officer has asked them to stop from the side of the road.

They are encouraged to make a note of the registration number, make, model and colour of vehicle, time of the incident and gender of the driver.

The information is forwarded onto Dyfed-Powys Police so they can take appropriate action.

There are vacancies for lollipop people throughout the county including Felinfoel and Llanelli.

Contact transport officer Rhys John on 01267 228285.

I'VE never been more excited about anything in my life! I've seen how events like this can market an area.

I saw what it did for Glasgow and Liverpool and it will put this region on the map too. It is crucial that we win this bid — everyone has got to get behind it.

I am immensely proud to come from Swansea. We are a lovely, friendly group of people but we are also cultured with a strong tradition of performance.

I grew up in Plasmarl and started performing when I was at school. We set up a little group and went round singing at OAP homes.

I wrote my first joke at 13 but I can't remember if it was funny.

That's the problem with Swansea — you can think you are a better performer than you are because Swansea people laugh a lot and audiences here are generous, supportive and very kind

They have got a wicked sense of humour. I think one of the best places to hear funny remarks is in a football or rugby crowd. People say hilarious things.

That's where some of the best humour comes from. I moan all the time about things like the one way system and the traffic but I won't tolerate other people slagging off Swansea! I love the city centre, all the busy little shopping streets, wherever people gather.

I also love the area around the Sail Bridge — that's probably my favourite place.

We lost a lot of our beautiful buildings in the war, but we are slowly rebuilding. Every time I drive back to Swansea down Fabian Way and see all the cranes in SA1, I feel excited that we are moving forward.

In the future I would like to see Swansea Bay have more attractions like an aquarium, and a theme park called Milk Wood that recreates the Dylan Thomas story.

Under Milk Wood is a soap opera of life in any place in Wales, and when I read it I can picture the characters because they are just like the people I grew up with.

I've lived away in London, Liverpool and Colwyn Bay, but I had to come home to Swansea. I missed the sound of the seagulls, the beaches, and Joe's Ice Cream — but more than anything, the people."

CHILDREN have been dicing with death — dodging in front of articulated lorries to get to a play centre in Llanelli, a councillor has warned.

After witnessing the dangers herself Tegwen Devichand is appealing to parents of children to keep them safe while visiting Play King in Dafen.

She has also taken steps to ensure traffic parking restrictions are imposed at Heol Copyn and enforced to help remove any dangers at the popular party venue.

Thousands of children have been attending Play King over the summer holidays causing problems on the road because it is sited on an industrial site used by many heavy goods lorries.

The car park outside the centre quickly fills up and the problem is being caused by parents and guardians who tend to park on the road serving the industrial estate to drop off the children.

The 20,000sq ft indoor play centre is housed in an industrial warehouse for children up 12 years. It has a separate sports area and a toddler's activity area. Mrs Devichand said Play King was a tremendous success and was providing hours of fun for children.

She said: "It has been attracting families with children from as far as Swansea.

"I have had to ask our transport officers to act quickly because of the risk to so many children getting to the centre which is in the middle of a busy industrial estate.

"Once inside this magic kingdom of play is entirely safe with so much to do.

"It is a tremendous facility and has been a huge bonus for families looking for something the children to do, especially over the holidays.

"But there is a huge problem with heavy commercial traffic passing or attempting to pass vehicles parked by parents and guardians destined for Play King.

"I have seen children excitedly running across the road and along the road from a parked car to the Play King site while mum, dad or their guardian is on the mobile.

"They naturally want to get in and have fun as soon as possible. Their parents should be in strict control at this time.

"Articulated vehicles cannot pass vehicles parked without any consideration for the fact that Play King is located in a prosperous industrial estate."

After meeting with Play King management and the managing directors of four businesses on the industrial estate Mrs Devichand and county traffic officers have agreed to introduce prohibition of waiting to avoid danger to road users and maintain free passage traffic.

STUDENTS across South West Wales are celebrating after achieving higher GCSE grades than the national average.

In Swansea there were more youngsters celebrating A* and A grades than in other parts of Wales.

A total of 22.4 per cent were awarded the top marks in the city compared to 19.2 per cent across Wales and it is even higher than last year's A* and A results of 20.9 per cent.

More than 90 per cent of students achieved the higher grades of A* to C in 13 subjects — the same as during 2012.

The figures come hot of the heels of the success of Swansea's A-Level students who are celebrating better results than those living elsewhere in Wales.

Will Evans, Swansea Council's Cabinet Member for Learning and Skills, said: "I'm delighted to see that students in Swansea have attained results well above the national average again this year.

"It's particularly pleasing that this has been achieved in a year when national results have not shown improvement.

"The results are a credit to the students and their teachers, and emphasise once again the high standards in Swansea schools. These results will stand these students well in further education and employment, and I wish them well for the future."

In Carmarthenshire, results showed 68.1 per cent of pupils were awarded A* to C — an increase of two per cent on last year — higher than the Welsh average of 65.7 per cent.

A total of 6.3 per cent of the county's students achieved A* compared to 6.1 per nationally and 20.7 per cent of pupils were celebrating A* and A grades compared to the Welsh average of 19.2 per cent.

Findings show A* — G results were achieved by 99.1 per cent of Carmarthenshire pupils — a 0.2 per cent increase on last year.

Carmarthenshire Council's education executive board member, Councillor Keith Davies, said: "We wish to congratulate the large number of pupils in Carmarthenshire who have achieved excellent results in their WJEC GCSE examinations.

"As in the WJEC A and AS level results, the percentages for grades A*-C, and overall passes demonstrate a positive picture and have maintained the considerable achievements of previous years. Whilst paying tribute to their efforts and success, the council also wishes to acknowledge the dedication and support given to them by their schools, teaching, support staff and, naturally, the parents for whom today will be a proud day."

The percentage of students celebrating A* — C grades has increased to more than 68 per cent at schools in Neath Port Talbot compared to the national average of 65.7 per cent.

And the number of youngsters who achieved five GCSEs including English, Welsh and maths has improved by two per cent to 56 per cent.

Neath Port Talbot Council Leader Councillor Ali Thomas said: "I am very proud of our young people and would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have supported them to achieve such impressive results."

THE Scarlets have signed a New Zealand wing ahead of the start of their RaboDirect Pro12 campaign.

The Evening Post understands that Taranaki's Frazier Climo has agreed to link up with Simon Easterby's side for the new season.

Easterby has confirmed that a deal has been done on a winger who is due to arrive in the opening couple of months of the campaign.

"We have signed a back-three player, but he won't come in for a month or so because of his commitments. He is playing in New Zealand's provincial competition (ITM Cup) at the moment. We aren't quite ready to announce who it is, but it is pretty much done, we have just got to make sure it is done in the right channels."

Asked about the prospect of further signings, Easterby added: "We are still out looking, it is about finding the right player, but we are not going to sign a player just for the sake of it.

"There are a lot of comments flying around about who we should sign, but at the end of the day it has got to be the right person and right player. We are not going to throw good money after bad just to sign someone for the sake of it."

Climo, 26, has enjoyed a previous spell in the UK having played for Scottish club side Ayr. He can also play at full-back and fly-half and has an impressive 80-plus per cent kicking rate at goal.

Easterby was speaking at the announcement that British Lions centre Jonathan Davies and last year's skipper Rob McCusker will operate as joint captains for the coming season.

They will be supported by a 'leadership group' that will include the likes of fellow Wales internationals Ken Owens and Rhys Priestland.

Explaining the decision, Easterby said: "What we do lack at the club is a bit of maturity age-wise.

"We have experienced players, but in terms of age we have just two players over 30, Deacon Manu and Phil John.

"In the last few years we have lost some older players like Sean Lamont, Stephen Jones and Matthew Rees, so we wanted to look at how we could improve our leadership.

Leadership

"We as a coaching group didn't always give Rob the support he needed last year to develop his leadership.

"We felt we had a couple of leaders in the group to assist, and with Jon stepping up as he did last year, we felt there were enough games and enough work for two players to take on the captaincy role.

"They will share the responsibilities from week to week — obviously both won't be able to play each week — and we will decide each week who is the best to lead the team.

"Waikato Chiefs did something similar in the Super 15 with Clarke and Messam as their captains. In a long season there are a lot of demands on a captain, on and off the field. Sharing that responsibility is one of the reasons why we have made this alteration."

Davies himself said the appointment was a huge honour.

"I have grown up in the region so this is a proud moment for me," he said.

"Last year Rob was appointed captain and virtually left alone to do it; hopefully we can share the role and work together.

"There are a lot of boys like myself, Rob, Rhys and Ken who have played a lot of games for the Scarlets and it is important we set standards and keep those standards high.

"We can't accept mediocrity."

Robert Lloyd

SHOPPERS have been rushing to get their hands on the new Big Heart of Swansea loyalty card.

A total of 5,000 signed up to the new scheme yesterday alone.

Queues of people went along to Oxford Street during the course of the morning and afternoon to collect the plastic card which boasts more than 100 discounts at city centre stores.

A celebration was staged in the street, along with in the city's Union Street and Portland Street to mark the launch of the Swansea Council and Bid campaign.

Youngsters were having a kick-about with Swans ambassador Lee Trundle, who owns the city centre bar Ten in Kingsway.

While others had their faces painted and children carried their free heart-shaped balloons.

Welsh cakes and love spoons were also given away as part of the heart-themed day.

Lee said he was pleased to be a part of the major launch which is designed to help shoppers save money and boost firms in the city centre.

He said: "I have always had a good response from the people of Swansea — it's good to be meeting with the children.

"I have got bar Ten in Kingsway."

He added: "Although I'm from Liverpool, I've chosen Swansea as my home — I enjoy living here and have enjoyed my best football here.

"It's good to get the football club involved. "The more people talking about the card the better as it will be good for businesses in the city centre."

Dancers from the Dani Dee School of Dance troupe were on hand to entertain shoppers and there was live music from the Stagecoach Theatre Arts School Choir.

Mum-of-two Shereena Maguire, aged 23, of Blaenymaes, said she would always take her old loyalty card out with her on a visit to the city centre as it helped her save.

She said: "I was shopping in Wilkinson a lot with last year's card — it's a good thing.

"I think it will make more people want to shop in Swansea."

Joanna Evans-Taylor, aged 42, a cafe assistant, from Winch Wen, said: "The card does really encourage you to come into Swansea. I think the event has been really good especially things like the face painting for the children as they are off school."

The water in the Castle Square fountain was turned red in celebration of the launch and a "bubbleologist" was blowing heart shaped bubbles to keep youngsters entertained.

Fred Hughes, aged 71, who is retired, from Mumbles, said: "The card is brilliant — it's more substantial this time.

"I use it quite a lot in Wilkinson and Health & Herbs.

"They have got to draw people into the city centre — more people will come in and they have some incentive as money does not go so far nowadays."

To register or for more information visit www.bigheartofswansea.co.uk

OLD Pirate Joe Bearman is preparing to set sail for another campaign with the Ospreys, still bristling with enthusiasm at the age of 34.

The evergreen back-rower provides the all-important element of experience in a youthful pack whose seven other members boast an average age of just 23 for the friendly with Worcester Warriors at the Liberty tomorrow (3).

Formerly of Cornish Pirates and the Dragons, Bearman has proved an outstanding acquisition since arriving from Rodney Parade in 2011. He may not have an asterisk next to his name in match-day programmes, but he is available throughout the season, is a tireless worker and a player who plays each game of rugby as if it might be his last, with enthusiasm bubbling over.

"I can't wait for the new season," he said at the Ospreys' base in Llandarcy yesterday, blood trickling down his face from a cut he had picked up in training.

"It does not take much motivation for a new campaign.

"We have been waiting a long time for the new season to get going and done a lot of training. We play this game because we enjoy it, and we're all looking forward to the matches starting."

The competition will be as hot as ever in the back-row at the Liberty this term, with James King, Ryan Jones, Tom Smith, Tyler Ardron, Morgan Allen, Dan Baker, Justin Tipuric, Sam Lewis and Arthur Ellis among those competing for the shirts.

But every one of those players will respect Bearman and understand how strong his challenge will be.

"There is massive competition in the back-row again, with about 12 players trying to fill three spots," laughed Bearman.

"I know my place will be under threat hugely.

"But I want to stay fit and play as many games as I can."

The Cornish-born player has been preparing to face an old mate tomorrow in Jonathan Thomas, who switched from the Ospreys to Worcester earlier in the summer.

"JT is a good boy," said Bearman.

"You could call him an Ospreys legend.

"He welcomed me with open arms when I came to the club. It would be nice to play against him."

He added: "The main thing over the next few weeks is that we hit the ground running this year because last term we began the season with three defeats on the bounce.

"That was our downfall and we ended up not making the play-offs.

"People say the start is not the be all and end all, but as we learned last year it can really affect you."

SWANSEA residents are calling for CCTV to help deter drivers illegally using a bus lane "before somebody is killed".

People living in Landore say cars are using the short 20m bus lane in both directions next to the roundabout on Neath Road near the Liberty Stadium.

The rules are being broken despite large signs at each end of the stretch of road and no entry written in four foot tall letters on the road.

Dorothy Watt said: "Somebody is going to get killed here, definitely.

"They shoot through because they know they are not supposed to use the road.

"There are quite a lot of children and elderly people living around here and I hold my breath whenever they cross.

"There are signs up but they ignore them. It's ridiculous, all we need is a camera to pick them up."

And Mrs Watt, who has brought the matter up with local police, added: "In fairness to the police community support officers they are fighting a losing battle."

Fellow Landore resident Joyce Butler said: "Busses stop either side of the road and people get off to go over to the Liberty Stadium without looking.

"We are not putting up with it any more. We have had enough. Enough is enough."

Tracy Brown added: "They know they shouldn't be driving through, yet they go so fast. Who will be the first to be knocked over?"

The concerned residents said that the police, understandably, were unable to monitor the situation full time and instead called for a camera as the practice had been going on ever since the bus lane was built.

Landore councillor Mike White said that he would invite someone from Swansea Council's highways department to address residents at a future Pact meeting.

A spokesman for the council promised action saying: "Traffic officers will visit the location and monitor the situation."

He added: "We would urge motorists to observe road signs and drive responsibly and legally."

"IT is whispered about all the time. All I heard during the summer was, 'Blimey, it's going to be tough for you next year' — and it has been."

So said Alan Pardew last season, when Newcastle United put together a decent run in Europe but made a right mess of the Premier League.

At Stoke City in 2011-12, Tony Pulis felt his team suffered a string of Europa League hangovers when they returned to domestic action the following weekend.

Even at Liverpool, one of the heavyweight clubs who have been in Europe more often than not over the years, there was a belief that their involvement in overseas competition last season hindered their bid to finish in the Premier League's top four.

Hence Brendan Rodgers suggested in the spring that it would be a "blessing" if Liverpool missed out on cross-border competition this year because they could then focus all their efforts on reaching next term's Champions League.

He got his wish, of course, as the Reds ended up seventh in last season's final table.

But while their former manager concentrates on domestic competition, Swansea City are fighting on four fronts this term — and on Sunday comes a first test of their ability to cope.

Swansea had tasted Europe before last night's meeting with Petrolul Ploiesti, of course, but their two-legged tie with Malmo had no direct impact on their league campaign because it was not yet up and running.

The Malmo games were used as souped-up pre-season friendlies for Michael Laudrup's squad, who had nine days between their game in Sweden and Manchester United.

Now, having taken on the Romanians, Swansea face the challenge of tackling Tottenham Hotspur around 67 hours after the final whistle sounded last night.

The good news on this occasion is that Spurs have been in Europa League action as well, against Dinamo Tbilisi — and they were away from home.

So if Swansea are a little weary on Sunday, their opponents should be too.

Having said that, however, Andre Villas-Boas's men have far more experience of European weeks than Swansea — and they have a squad which seems to be getting deeper by the day.

Tottenham appear intent on stockpiling as many high-class players as possible, which is an approach that will not have disappointed many of their supporters.

Kitty

Yet even if he had a transfer kitty to match that handed to Villas-Boas, Laudrup is adamant he would not sign a lorry-load of players.

Swansea's manager has talked again and again about his desire to work with a tight squad since the day he was unveiled 14 months ago.

And his thinking has not changed despite European qualification.

Laudrup's argument is that even with four competitions to think about, he is only likely to use around 23 players.

Having any more on top of that will only make his life more complicated, he says, for no manager wants discontented players who have no chance of making a matchday 18 coming into training every day.

Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins, meanwhile, rejects the idea that a club's Premier League form will inevitably suffer if they are thinking about Europe on Thursday nights.

He says players would much rather have an extra game than another training session — and cites Swansea's rousing run through December and January last season as evidence that they can cope with a fixture pile-up.

Swansea's followers can only hope the men at the top of their club are proved right.

Nobody in these parts fancies the sort of slump Newcastle endured last term, after all.

A result at White Hart Lane — a ground where Swansea have never won in 15 previous league visits — would be quite a way for Laudrup's men to announce that they are in for a good year.

In truth a draw would be a fine result at a ground where Swansea have played okay in spells but never really looked like avoiding defeat in each of their two Premier League visits.

Gareth Bale looks like he is on his way out of Spurs, and that has to be good news for Swansea given that the Welshman was almost single-handedly responsible for Tottenham's win in SA1 last season.

Dominated

"We dominated that game, but then suddenly Bale changed everything," Laudrup recalls.

Even without their wonder winger, Tottenham look like being a formidable side once more this season.

They have spent big money on some top-class players and will expect to brush aside Swansea on home soil.

If they are to stop that happening, Laudrup's team must be more precise than they were on the opening day of the new domestic season against Manchester United.

Swansea did okay against the champions, and the 4-1 scoreline was a little harsh given the balance of the contest.

But against the best sides in the land, Swansea cannot afford to be loose.

Their passing was not quite crisp enough against United and some of their defensive work might have been sharper.

As a result, Robin van Persie and Co ran riot.

And though Bale may be missing, Tottenham also have players who will punish Swansea if they are not somewhere close to their best.

"We are playing against another big Premier League team and, while United's finishing was great last week, we have to look into what happened before that," Laudrup adds.

"Against United we lost possession in areas where we didn't have to.

"We could have done a little better, and that's what we must do against Spurs."

IT is only half-time in the tie, but for Swansea City it is close to mission accomplished.

Next week's return in Eastern Europe looks like being a formality after Michael Laudrup's men ran riot against Petrolul Ploiesti in the Europa League play-off first leg at the Liberty last night.

Swansea's Continental adventure now seems certain to last at least until December after the Romanian cup holders were outclassed.

For Laudrup, the first box of his second season at the helm will soon be ticked.

He set reaching the group stage as the target when the campaign began, and Swansea can now start planning for at least six more European matches after the Petrolul trip.

There will be much harder examinations than this ahead, but Laudrup will be delighted with his team's response in the wake of defeat by Manchester United.

Laudrup had admitted on the eve of this game that none of his squad had heard of the players they were up against.

Geraldo Alves, Damien Boudjemaa, Alexandru Benga may not be known in these parts, but there was no lack of respect shown in the side Laudrup picked.

There were three changes to the XI which lined up against United last weekend, but the reshuffle did not weaken the Swansea line-up.

Neil Taylor took over from Ben Davies at left-back, while Pablo Hernandez started on the right flank with Nathan Dyer unavailable through injury.

The third switch brought added firepower, with Wilfried Bony back up front, Michu moving into midfield as Jose Canas dropped out.

Swansea's plan was to repeat what they did in their first leg against Malmo earlier this month, when they chalked up four goals and kept a clean sheet.

Laudrup stated that any win plus a shut-out would do here, but his team quickly set about delivering a handsome victory.

On paper, Petrolul looked weaker than Swansea's opponents in the previous round of this competition.

They looked it on the pitch too.

Swansea took a few minutes to get their passing game going, but this was very quickly shaping up as a game of attack versus defence.

Routledge was bright from the outset, Swansea's left-winger exchanging passes with Hernandez early on and sending a cross towards Bony.

Benga stretched to head clear, but the Romanians were breached on Swansea's next attack of any note.

Hernandez was involved, winning a free-kick down the right which Jonjo Shelvey took quickly, drilling the ball across the face of goal.

When Michu stepped over, Routledge shot goalwards and Ovidiu Hoban only succeeded in diverting the ball past his goalkeeper as he attempted to block.

Swansea seemed capable of doing damage whenever they came forward, and it was 2-0 on 22 minutes when Routledge sent Shelvey in on the left.

This time the former Liverpool man sent in a deep cross which a sliding Hernandez met at the far post.

Petrolul keeper Pecanha parried, and Michu was on hand to smash home his second goal of this campaign from point-blank range.

Ropes

The visitors were firmly on the ropes, and Swansea delivered another blow within three minutes after Michu slid in to win possession on halfway.

He fed Leon Britton, who instantly rolled Hernandez in down the right.

The Spanish international had overhit a cross a little earlier in the piece, but here he picked the perfect centre, lofting the ball to the far post for the unmarked Routledge to head home.

Petrolul's only attacking outlet was left-winger Gheorghe Grozav, who found space for a long-range shot just before the half hour but could only slice the ball horribly wide.

There was not much sign of the Yellow Wolves, as Petrolul are nicknamed, showing their teeth.

The first half was all about Swansea's frontmen, and Laudrup's side should have been 4-0 up when Michu slipped the ball through for Routledge.

A hat-trick beckoned as the winger had only Pecanha to beat, but his driven shot kissed the crossbar as it flew over the top.

There was still time for another big opportunity before the interval, but this time Bony fired wide after yet more good work from Hernandez.

The same two players were at it again straight after the restart, Hernandez crossing for Bony, who held off his marker and drilled a shot on the turn which hit Pecanha on the shoulder and came out off the bar.

Swansea came again, and Hernandez was involved once more as he picked out Michu on the edge of the area.

His volley deflected narrowly wide, but Swansea would be back.

Routledge's last act of a productive evening was to play a clever pass to Michu.

Last season's top scorer might have shot but opted to square for Bony, whose right-foot shot was half-saved by Pecanha but then crept over the line.

Petrolul's Brazilian stopper inadvertently pushed the ball into his own net after making the initial stop, but Bony claimed his fourth Swansea goal.

The misery did not end there for the visitors.

Jonathan de Guzman and Alejandro Pozuelo arrived from the bench, and the new boys quickly came to the party.

He might have shot himself, but instead de Guzman fed Michu and he picked out Pozuelo.

Just as he had done against Malmo, the young Spaniard took his chance in style, taking a couple of touches before lifting the ball over Pecanha and into the net.

Swansea might have added a sixth, but it was Petrolul who scored the goal of the night three minutes from time to breathe a hint of life into the tie.

Grozav had been their best player throughout, and he left his mark on the game with a fabulous overhead kick which left Michel Vorm helpless.

A 4-0 win next week would now send Petrolul through on away goals.

But on this evidence, that is not going to happen.

LLANELLI'S Big Brother winner Sam Evans was given a hero's welcome by friends and family at a surprise party to celebrate his success.

The party, organised by his sister Rachel to mark his homecoming, was held at Llanelli Cricket Club a day after Sam arrived back from his triumphant 68-day spell in the famous house where he won the show and £100,000 prize money.

The 23-year-old who has played for the Wales and Great Britain deaf football teams, was met by members of the squad from West End, who had a contract made ready for him to sign up for next season.

One of his fellow housemates, Callum Knell also made the trip from London to make an appearance, after the pair struck up a good friendship while in the house.

He tweeted: "So good to see @Samarious4 again, and glad that I didn't let slip about his surprise party! #lads #welcomehome."

Sam, who is a former Ysgol y Babanod Felinfoel, Five Roads primary and Maes Yr Yrfa school student was born with 70 to 80 per cent hearing loss and entered the house with the hope of being an inspiration to others.

He has revealed that from his winnings he will give 25 per cent to charity, 25 per cent to his family and friends, and invest the remaining 50 per cent to secure his future.

Sam took to Twitter the next morning to tell his followers: "Just woke up from my surprise party last night, mouth as dry as a 90yr old man's scalp! Thanks so much for everyone who came down! Brilliance."

HOMEOWNERS in Port Talbot are being given an extra helping hand to clean unwanted dust pollution.

Tata Steel is putting new initiatives into action in an attempt to tackle dust pollution and is also assisting residents who are being affected.

A spokesman said the steel giant was operating a "formal claims process".

He said: "Handled by our insurers, some appropriate claims are resolved by the offer of a cleaning process."

The company stresses it does not have a policy of offering cleaning services for local houses in general. An assessment will be made and if there is specific damage or unsightly dust if will remedy the problem.

A Wood Street resident said they had received a letter from Tata apologising for the dust and giving them access to the services of a local cleaning company for free.

"We were surprised to get a letter saying they would be cleaning our PVC on our homes," she said. "It is nice of them but it is the whole of Margam who are going through this.

"It saves my husband from doing it. It was not long ago he cleaned down the conservatory but it is black again.

"You can't open the windows because the dust comes in."

Last month Natural Resources Wales (NRW) issued Tata Steel with an enforcement notice to carry out a further review into the dust problems. It followed complaints from residents.

Tata has revealed that one of several initiatives to tackle the problem is a £800,000 wheel-wash, which has been launched for the heavy vehicles that carry raw materials onto the site. The facility aims to reduce fugitive dust emission from the fleet of heavy vehicles operated by Tata Steel and its suppliers.

Manufacturing director Ian Hobson said: "There are hundreds of heavy vehicle movements on our site every day, and these contribute to the generation of dust which can affect the local community. This is just one part of our plan to improve our environmental impacts on local residents."

The former hub director, Jon Ferriman — who from this week has moved onto a different role — has also written to residents apologising for the dust nuisance in the company's community newsletter, SA13.

Call the community support line on 800 138 6560.

SWANSEA City travel to face a Spurs side who look to be preparing for life without Gareth Bale.

The Welsh winger has been the subject of frenzied transfer speculation all summer, with Real Madrid tipped to be lining up a world record bid for his services.

That move looks increasingly likely as Andre Villas-Boas continues to spend big.

Tottenham are hoping to complete the signing of Brazilian midfielder Willian for £30 million before Michael Laudrup takes his side to White Hart Lane on Sunday.

That would take their overall outlay to more than £80 million since the end of last season, leading many to suggest the funds from Bale's sale are already being reinvested.

The North London club broke their transfer record to land Roberto Soldado in a £26 million switch from Valencia and have also brought in the likes of Paulinho (£17 million), Etienne Capoue (£9 million) and Nacer Chadli (£7 million).

Even if Bale goes, Spurs could be genuine title contenders this season, especially given the uncertainty surrounding Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea, all of whom have recently appointed new managers.

Incredibly, Villas-Boas is entering a second season with the same club for the first time in his career.

His first term with Tottenham is broadly regarded as a success despite the fact they were narrowly pipped to a Champions League spot by arch-rivals Arsenal.

The Portuguese's new recruits complement a squad that already contained quality.

Gylfi Sigurdsson showed his class during a loan spell with Swansea two seasons ago before joining Spurs last summer.

He failed to hit such heights in his maiden campaign with the Londoners, but hopes to play in a central midfield role this term, a position he hopes will be more profitable.

"It will be nice to play there again, I enjoy playing there," he said.

"It's taken a bit of a longer time than I wanted (to settle) here at Tottenham and hopefully I can do well this season.

"Hopefully I'll stay there behind the striker because Soldado and Jermain (Defoe) are top strikers and it's quite easy and good to play behind them.

"As long as I'm playing I don't really mind, but that's one of my better positions — playing behind the striker.

"I think that's probably what I prefer but if the gaffer wants me to play on the left or right side then I'm quite happy to play there."

POLICE are appealing for help in catching a man after three young girls were sexually assaulted in Swansea's LC leisure centre.

Officers were called to the popular family attraction on Wednesday evening after reports of an incident in the centre's waterpark.

The LC was in lock-down for a time while police searched the building but the suspect could not be found.

Now officers have released a description of a man they want to talk to in connection with the incident — he is described as having a tanned complexion, being unshaven and having collar-length brown hair.

He was wearing black or blue knee-length board shorts.

Police said the victims — a teenager and two girls under 10 — were in the centre's main pool at around 4.20pm when the incident happened.

South Wales Police acting detective inspector David Butt of Swansea Central CID said: "I would like to thank the staff of the LC for their prompt action in closing the centre, in order for us to search for this man.

"Thankfully none of the victims were injured but these incidents are concerning, and we are treating them very seriously.

"I am appealing to anyone who was in the pool at the relevant time and saw this man or can assist in identifying him to come forward."

He added: "In addition I would also like to thank the users of LC for their patience during the brief closure and apologise for any inconvenience that may have been caused."

In April the LC installed new CCTV cameras and increased staff patrols in a bid to boost visitor safety.

The six additional cameras were switched on just weeks after a 56-year-old man used a mirror to look under a cubicle wall at a naked woman in the changing area.

MICHAEL Laudrup saluted his players after they thrashed Petrolul Ploiesti last night — then hinted that Ki Sung-Yueng could leave Swansea City before the transfer window closes.

Swansea hammered Petrolul 5-1 in a one-sided contest at the Liberty Stadium to all but secure their place in the Europa League group stage.

Wayne Routledge scored twice, while there were also goals from Michu, Wilfried Bony and Alejandro Pozuelo before Gheorghe Grozav scored late on for the visitors with a brilliant overhead kick that gives Petrolul some hope to cling to going into next week's second leg, but Laudrup reckons Swansea's job is almost done.

"I said before the game that it is important not to give away an away goal, but I think you would agree that 5-1 is better than 1-0," said the Swansea manager.

"To score five goals in the first leg is excellent. We still have to finish the job, but we are very, very close to making some more history at this club by getting into the group stage of the Europa League.

"We still have to finish the job, though. We have done our bit here by dominating and scoring goals. Now we don't have to do that in the second leg, but we still need to go there and be strong to get a result."

Reports surfaced in Italy yesterday suggesting Ki could be on the radar for Sunderland boss Paolo Di Canio.

The £5.5 million South Korean was not involved last night and, amid talk of a loan move to the North East, Laudrup admitted he has spoken to the midfielder about his future.

"I haven't heard from Sunderland today — I have had other things on my mind," Laudrup said.

"There are a lot of things being talked about and we have to wait until something is more certain.

"But we all know there is a lot of competition for places here, especially in midfield.

"I have spoken to Ki, but I will not tell you what was said."

Petrolul coach Cosmin Contra, meantime, reckoned his players had dipped well below their best in SA1 and conceded that the tie was close to over as a result.

"The goal we scored means we have some chances to go through, but I would say it is less than five per cent," he said.