the times | Tuesday April 5 2022 2GM 21
News
A van driver who killed a young brother
and sister on their way home from a
birthday party was high on drink and
drugs, a court has been told.
Martin Newman, 41, was driving a
Ford Transit on the M4 in south Wales
when he crashed into a car carrying
Gracie-Ann Lucas, four, and her three-
year-old brother Jayden-Lee.
The two children were in the back
seats of the car, which was stationary on
the hard shoulder when the crash hap-
pened on February 5.
The pair were taken to University of
Wales Hospital in Cardiff but died from
gavenny, said: “[Jayden-Lee] was won-
derful, creative and a kind soul. Turned
the grey skies blue. [Gracie-Ann] was so
young. She had a bright future ahead of
her. She was such a wonderful child.”
The pair’s great-uncle Darren Lucas,‘Drink and drugs’ driver killed children
Laurence Sleator their injuries. The children’s primary
school head teacher paid tribute to the
“special children” and last month hun-
dreds of mourners gathered at a car-
toon-themed funeral for the pair who
loved Spiderman and Frozen.
At Newport magistrates’ court on
Friday, Newman, from Neath, was ac-
cused of a further charge of drink and
drug driving for which he did not enter
a plea. He has already admitted two
charges of causing death by dangerous
driving and another charge of causing
serious injury to Rhiannon Lucas, the
children’s mother, who survived the
crash along with her partner.
Newman is due back in court on
Friday and could face 14 years in jail.
A post-mortem examination found
that both children suffered multiple in-
juries. Gracie-Ann died the following
day and Jayden-Lee was pronounced
dead five days later.
A public appeal raised £17,000 to pay
for their funeral last month and hun-
dreds of people lined the streets near
the family home in Tredegar to pay
their respects. At the service, doves
were released into the air and mourners
were told that Gracie-Ann would al-
ways be remembered for her “cheeky
smile”.
In a family statement, Jamie Lucas,
19, a cousin of the children from Aber-also from Abergavenny, speaking just
after the crash, said: “We are a very
close family and we are all devastated
and heartbroken.”
Huw Waythe, head teacher of
Deighton Primary, which the children
attended, said the whole school was im-
mensely sad. “They both put a smile on
all our faces daily,” he said. “They were
a delight to have and both always lit up
any room with their positive personali-
ty and beaming smiles. Gracie-Ann and
Jayden-Lee’s lives will continue to be
celebrated and remembered by us all.
They both have a special place in our
hearts and Deighton Primary School
will never forget them.”Jayden-Lee and Gracie-Ann Lucas put
a smile on our faces, their school saidDressing up Joni Mitchell, aged 78 and walking with a cane, won a Grammy for best historical album for Archives, Vol 1, at the awards ceremony in Las Vegas on
Sunday night. Justin Bieber, appearing on the red carpet with his wife Hailey, and Billie Eilish had both been nominated for awards but went home empty-handed
MATT BARON/SHUTTERSTOCK; AMY SUSSMAN/GETTY IMAGES; JORDAN STRAUSS/APFootball stars
face ban from
betting adverts
Footballers will be banned from adver-
tising gambling although casinos will
still be allowed on kits.
In action designed to stop gambling
appealing to children, the advertising
watchdog will also ban other stars from
promoting betting.
The new rules, which will come into
force in October, in time for the World
Cup, will also stop gambling adverts
from referring to video games.
The measures should prevent players
such as Cristiano Ronaldo from ap-
pearing in gambling adverts in Britain.
In recent years he has been an ambas-
sador for Poker Stars.
The rules come from the Committee
on Advertising Practice, which has no
statutory power.
Concern has been growing over the
impact of gambling adverts on young
people and the influence of celebrities
with large numbers of younger follow-
ers on social media.
Ronaldo has more than 420 million
followers on Instagram and 150 million
on Facebook. Previous posts by the
Manchester United forward about Pok-
er Stars got close to one million likes.
Footballers will still play in shirts em-
blazoned with gambling websites,
which sponsor nine of the 20 teams in
the Premier League.Andrew Ellson