JUSTICE FOR CERYS
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Justice for Cerys
On 06/11/2014 Cerys Marie Yemm was the victim of a savage attack at The Sirhowy Arms Hotel. The events that took place that night caught the attention of the world-wide press each reporting graphic details of the attack, but in all the media circus surrounding the attack it seems that somehow Cerys has been forgotten.
Cerys was a beautiful, vivacious girl with a spirit as free as the wind and a heart as big as any heart could be, and at just 22 years of age she had her whole life ahead of her and a huge lust to live it. She leaves behind a family now broken in their grief, and friends that will forever feel a space where Cerys should have been.
The Sirhowy Arms Hotel is a B&B used by the local authority (Caerphilly County Council) to house vulnerable people who present themselves as homeless. At the discretion of the proprietor a prison leaver could be temporarily housed there at any given time, shockingly the B&B is also allowed to operate as a commercial venture taking in paying guests.
Cerys’s attacker Matthew Williams had been released from prison just two weeks prior to his attack, it appears he was released with no supervision from probation and despite being informed of his violent past the proprietor of The Sirhowy Arms accepted him to be temporarily housed there. It would appear that once in there the residents have very little in the way of rules to follow, so Matthew Williams was allowed to come and go as he pleased just as a paying guest would.
Our campaign centres on getting The Sirhowy Arms closed down as a mark of respect to the Yemm family and to honour Cerys’s memory. We feel that the other residents housed at The Sirhowy Arms are unduly put at risk by both the proprietor and Caerphilly County Council. There has been widespread local opposition to the practices of the B&B before the tragic events that night, local residents do not feel safe in there community. It seems that as well as housing section 15 (violent offenders) the proprietor has also housed schedule 1 offenders (sexual violence), surely this system is unacceptable in anyones eyes. The money raised by this campaign will help with the fight to get the place shut down. The Yemm family are still struggling to get answers from the various agencies involved in the decision to house Matthew Williams at The Sirhowy Arms Hotel with no supervision. In order to get the answers they so rightly deserve it seems they will need legal representation and any money raised will help to fund this.
The Sirhowy Arms Hotel has recently changed its name and is now operating under the name The Retreat Argoed, the name may have changed but Caerphilly Council are still using it as they were prior to this horrific attack and the B&B is still advertising its rooms for paying guests at £49.99 and claims it offers all guests a friendly welcome!
We have set up a group on Facebook which gained rapid support "Opposed to violent offenders being housed in hostels within our communities"
Facebook Group
We have also set up an online petition in order to get current legistation changed "Improved supervision of both early released offenders and newly released offenders with a violent history and or mental health disorders"
online petition
On 06/11/2014 Cerys Marie Yemm was the victim of a savage attack at The Sirhowy Arms Hotel. The events that took place that night caught the attention of the world-wide press each reporting graphic details of the attack, but in all the media circus surrounding the attack it seems that somehow Cerys has been forgotten.
Cerys was a beautiful, vivacious girl with a spirit as free as the wind and a heart as big as any heart could be, and at just 22 years of age she had her whole life ahead of her and a huge lust to live it. She leaves behind a family now broken in their grief, and friends that will forever feel a space where Cerys should have been.
The Sirhowy Arms Hotel is a B&B used by the local authority (Caerphilly County Council) to house vulnerable people who present themselves as homeless. At the discretion of the proprietor a prison leaver could be temporarily housed there at any given time, shockingly the B&B is also allowed to operate as a commercial venture taking in paying guests.
Cerys’s attacker Matthew Williams had been released from prison just two weeks prior to his attack, it appears he was released with no supervision from probation and despite being informed of his violent past the proprietor of The Sirhowy Arms accepted him to be temporarily housed there. It would appear that once in there the residents have very little in the way of rules to follow, so Matthew Williams was allowed to come and go as he pleased just as a paying guest would.
Our campaign centres on getting The Sirhowy Arms closed down as a mark of respect to the Yemm family and to honour Cerys’s memory. We feel that the other residents housed at The Sirhowy Arms are unduly put at risk by both the proprietor and Caerphilly County Council. There has been widespread local opposition to the practices of the B&B before the tragic events that night, local residents do not feel safe in there community. It seems that as well as housing section 15 (violent offenders) the proprietor has also housed schedule 1 offenders (sexual violence), surely this system is unacceptable in anyones eyes. The money raised by this campaign will help with the fight to get the place shut down. The Yemm family are still struggling to get answers from the various agencies involved in the decision to house Matthew Williams at The Sirhowy Arms Hotel with no supervision. In order to get the answers they so rightly deserve it seems they will need legal representation and any money raised will help to fund this.
The Sirhowy Arms Hotel has recently changed its name and is now operating under the name The Retreat Argoed, the name may have changed but Caerphilly Council are still using it as they were prior to this horrific attack and the B&B is still advertising its rooms for paying guests at £49.99 and claims it offers all guests a friendly welcome!
We have set up a group on Facebook which gained rapid support "Opposed to violent offenders being housed in hostels within our communities"
Facebook Group
We have also set up an online petition in order to get current legistation changed "Improved supervision of both early released offenders and newly released offenders with a violent history and or mental health disorders"
online petition
Organizer
Sarah Smart
Organizer
