PFD report

John Michael Thomas · Prevention of Future Deaths report

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Issued 15 Dec 2023•North Wales (East and Central)

Report record

Published report and response evidence

This page connects the concerns raised in this report with statements found in recipients’ published responses. A link shows a clear evidence connection; it does not assign responsibility.

View original report
Concerns
3

Raised in this report

Recipients
1

Named on the report

Responses found
1

Of 1 recipient

Stated actions
6

Described in responses

Recipients and published responses

Source document

Full report text

This is the full text from the original published report.

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Concerns and recipient responses

Select any concern, action or position to view the source wording.

Concerns raised3

  1. Failure to maintain the general condition of the highway near the Sun Trevor Public House
    Part of recurring concern: Failure to maintain roads, pavements and verges in a safe state of repair
  2. Failure to control surface water and flooding on the A539 near the Wenfrwd Pocket Park entrance
    Part of recurring concern: Inadequate drainage control of hazardous surface water on public routes
  3. Failure to control flooding on the highway near the Sun Trevor Public House
    Part of recurring concern: Failure to reliably manage flooding and standing-water risks on roadsPart of recurring concern: Inadequate drainage control of hazardous surface water on public routes
Responses linked to these concerns

Each statement is shown once, even when linked to more than one concern.

Actions described in response An action is something a recipient says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to a concern raised.6

  1. Action

    Rectify private-land drainage flows and clear debris from the historical stone drainage feature.

    Stated by Denbighshire County CouncilStated completedThe respondent said that this action was complete when they made their response on 19 December 2023.
  2. Action

    Add the drainage feature to the critical-culvert list and monitor it more closely.

    Stated by Denbighshire County CouncilStated plannedThe respondent said that this action was planned when they made their response on 19 December 2023.
  3. Action

    Erect warning signs at the Wenffrwd Junction and Sun Inn locations alerting motorists to possible water or ice.

    Stated by Denbighshire County CouncilStated completedThe respondent said that this action was complete when they made their response on 19 December 2023.

Respondent positions A position is what a recipient says about a concern when it does not describe a specific action.2

  1. Position

    The Wenffrwd surface-water issue is not considered to require remedial action because it occurs only during heavy or extended rainfall.

    Stated by Denbighshire County CouncilNo action considered necessaryThe respondent said that no further action was needed.

Source evidence

How this individual concern was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. Response links show a clear evidence connection; they do not assign responsibility.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Failure to maintain the general condition of the highway near the Sun Trevor Public House

Wider context from the report

“Initial indications by way of witness evidence suggest that the loss of control occurred as a result of Mr Thomas’ motorcycle “slipping on the road”. My understanding is that this has occurred near to the Sun Trevor Public House, and I have been made aware that some issues regarding flooding and the general condition of this part of the highway had been made known to the Local Authority prior to the accident. Furthermore my understanding is that concerns have also been raised with the Local Authority in relation to surface water/flooding on another part of the A539 near to Llangollen, namely near to the Wenfrwd Pocket Park entrance. I am therefore concerned that if action is not taken to remedy these issues, there is a risk that future deaths may occur. ”

Is this part of a recurring concern?

Yes — Failure to maintain roads, pavements and verges in a safe state of repair.

Open source report

Source evidence

How this individual concern was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. Response links show a clear evidence connection; they do not assign responsibility.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Failure to control surface water and flooding on the A539 near the Wenfrwd Pocket Park entrance

Wider context from the report

“Initial indications by way of witness evidence suggest that the loss of control occurred as a result of Mr Thomas’ motorcycle “slipping on the road”. My understanding is that this has occurred near to the Sun Trevor Public House, and I have been made aware that some issues regarding flooding and the general condition of this part of the highway had been made known to the Local Authority prior to the accident. Furthermore my understanding is that concerns have also been raised with the Local Authority in relation to surface water/flooding on another part of the A539 near to Llangollen, namely near to the Wenfrwd Pocket Park entrance. I am therefore concerned that if action is not taken to remedy these issues, there is a risk that future deaths may occur. ”

Is this part of a recurring concern?

Yes — Inadequate drainage control of hazardous surface water on public routes.

Open source report

Source evidence

How this individual concern was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. Response links show a clear evidence connection; they do not assign responsibility.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Failure to control flooding on the highway near the Sun Trevor Public House

Wider context from the report

“Initial indications by way of witness evidence suggest that the loss of control occurred as a result of Mr Thomas’ motorcycle “slipping on the road”. My understanding is that this has occurred near to the Sun Trevor Public House, and I have been made aware that some issues regarding flooding and the general condition of this part of the highway had been made known to the Local Authority prior to the accident. Furthermore my understanding is that concerns have also been raised with the Local Authority in relation to surface water/flooding on another part of the A539 near to Llangollen, namely near to the Wenfrwd Pocket Park entrance. I am therefore concerned that if action is not taken to remedy these issues, there is a risk that future deaths may occur. ”

Is this part of a recurring concern?

Yes — Failure to reliably manage flooding and standing-water risks on roads; Inadequate drainage control of hazardous surface water on public routes.

Open source report

Source evidence

How this respondent action was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Rectify private-land drainage flows and clear debris from the historical stone drainage feature.

Verbatim wording from the response

“5.1 On the north side of the road there is a stone feature which collects run – off from the land behind it and feeds it into a culvert which again runs under the carriageway to outfall into the canal. This is shown as Location C on the plan at Appendix 2.”

Source location

Response from Denbigshire County Council
Page 2 · response
Published 19 December 2023

Open published response

Source evidence

How this respondent action was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Add the drainage feature to the critical-culvert list and monitor it more closely.

Verbatim wording from the response

“5.3 The council has a list of critical culverts which are known to require higher maintenance standards and this feature will now be added to a monitored more closely.”

Source location

Response from Denbigshire County Council
Page 3 · response
Published 19 December 2023

Open published response

Source evidence

How this respondent action was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Erect warning signs at the Wenffrwd Junction and Sun Inn locations alerting motorists to possible water or ice.

Verbatim wording from the response

“6.5 As an additional safety measure, the Council has also erected warning signs on the A539 at both the Wenffrwd Junction location and the Sun Inn location. These warning signs alert motorists to the possibility of the presence of water or ice.”

Source location

Response from Denbigshire County Council
Page 3 · response
Published 19 December 2023

Open published response

Source evidence

How this respondent action was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Continue investigating drainage improvements at the Sun Inn location.

Verbatim wording from the response

“4.2 At this location a drainage system from an adjacent road flows into a manhole which is partially blocked. As a result, there is an overflow which runs on the highway to flow into a gully approximately 70 metres away, before draining under the road and into the canal.”

Source location

Response from Denbigshire County Council
Page 2 · response
Published 19 December 2023

Open published response

Source evidence

How this respondent action was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Clear storm-affected drainage gullies and channels on the A539.

Verbatim wording from the response

“6.4 Following the extensive rainfall and disruption caused by Storm Babet on 20th October 2023, the Council implemented a specific response action of addressing the impact of the storm on drainage gullies and channels on the A539. This work has been completed with all gullies and channels being cleared.”

Source location

Response from Denbigshire County Council
Page 3 · response
Published 19 December 2023

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Source evidence

How this respondent action was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

Contact the adjacent field owner about possible land alterations to help retain excess water.

Verbatim wording from the response

“3.4 As a matter of completeness, the Council will contact the owner of the field adjacent to the highway to see if any alterations could be made to this private land that may assist in retaining the water on the land on the occasions when it becomes saturated.”

Source location

Response from Denbigshire County Council
Page 2 · response
Published 19 December 2023

Open published response

Source evidence

How this respondent position was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

The Wenffrwd surface-water issue is not considered to require remedial action because it occurs only during heavy or extended rainfall.

Verbatim wording from the response

“3.3 Prior to the Report from HM Coroner, the Council was aware of the aforementioned issue at this location. It was not (and is not) considered to present a specific safety concern or an issue that requires remedial action. As above, such issues are common across the highway network, particularly in rural locations and it is not caused by an issue related to the highway infrastructure. The issue only presents at times of heavy or extensive rainfall. It does not result in an amount of water that makes the highway in any way unpassable for traffic and the location is the subject of winter maintenance and gritting in accordance with the Council’s winter maintenance policy.”

Source location

Response from Denbigshire County Council
Page 2 · response
Published 19 December 2023

Open published response

Source evidence

How this respondent position was interpreted

PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

PFD Monitor interpretation

The Wenffrwd runoff is not a specific safety concern, does not make the highway impassable, and is unrelated to highway infrastructure.

Verbatim wording from the response

“3.3 Prior to the Report from HM Coroner, the Council was aware of the aforementioned issue at this location. It was not (and is not) considered to present a specific safety concern or an issue that requires remedial action. As above, such issues are common across the highway network, particularly in rural locations and it is not caused by an issue related to the highway infrastructure. The issue only presents at times of heavy or extensive rainfall. It does not result in an amount of water that makes the highway in any way unpassable for traffic and the location is the subject of winter maintenance and gritting in accordance with the Council’s winter maintenance policy.”

Source location

Response from Denbigshire County Council
Page 2 · response
Published 19 December 2023

Open published response
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Information checked against the published report and official responses · Data reviewed 7 Sep 2026 · About data quality and limitations

Data last updated 7 September 2026