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Boy, 16, assaulted by teacher, court hears

Family photo Llyr Davies, in school short with short brown hairFamily photo
Llyr Davies, 16, died three days after the alleged assault, in an unrelated incident

A 16-year-old boy was assaulted by a teacher on a night out, a court has heard.

Llyr James, 31, is accused of assaulting Llyr Davies, 16, in Newcastle Emlyn on 9 March.

Llanelli Magistrates' Court was shown CCTV footage of the incident on Cawdor Terrace in the Ceredigion border town.

Llyr died in a crash involving a dumper truck at Gilfach quarry, Pembrokeshire, three days later but the court heard it was not connected to this alleged assault.

James Ashton, prosecuting, said Mr James, who taught at Ysgol Bro Teifi, dragged the 16-year-old into an alleyway and assaulted him.

Dafydd James, 18, who had been drinking with Llyr at The Three Compasses, said their group left the pub and were walking towards his mother’s car.

He said he realised something was happening in a nearby alleyway and walked over to see Mr James on top of Llyr with the teacher "grabbing him".

Dafydd said he told Mr James to "pick on somebody his own size" and that he "started to cool down" after seeing his mother nearby.

Mair Williams, defending said the teenager was "nowhere near the alleyway" and his "statement was incorrect".

The jury heard neither Dafydd nor Llyr made a complaint to the police.

Google The Three Compasses pubGoogle
Llyr Davies had been drinking with friends at The Three Compasses in Newcastle Emlyn before the alleged incident

A 17-year-old, who cannot be named due to his age, was part of the group of four leaving the pub.

He said he heard screaming on the street and saw his friend being dragged by Mr James, whom he described as "crazy", with his "eyes popping out of his head".

He denied the defence's claim that he and his friends had exaggerated what happened.

A photo of the exterior of a court of law building with a tree and a road sign on the right-hand side
The jury at Llanelli Magistrates' Court were told Dafydd's mother Nia James saw Mr James grab Llyr and pull him into an alleyway

Dafydd’s mother Nia James said she saw Mr James grab Llyr, pull a hoodie over his head and drag him into an alleyway.

When asked her how long Llyr and Mr James had been in the alleyway, she estimated 2-3 minutes.

Ms Williams told the court that CCTV footage clearly showed that it was no more than 10 seconds and put it to her that her "version of events is completely incorrect".

Cian Jones, 19, another eyewitness, described Mr James as in "jolly spirits" but not "out of his mind".

He said he saw Llyr sitting outside a kebab shop when Mr James ran over to the group of boys, grabbed Llyr and took him into the alleyway.

He said they walked out together seconds later and there was "nothing to it".

In Mr James's police statement, he said he had drunk eight or nine pints of cider on the night and called the incident with Llyr "play fighting" after the pair exchanged banter.

He agreed his actions had been unprofessional but said he had a close relationship with Llyr and was "distressed" to hear about his fatal accident.

He said he always showed pupils the "utmost respect".

The trial continues.