OUR FAMILY’S AGONY
Rugby player found in road has been in a coma for six months ‘We feel let down by police’ admit relatives
THE family of a popular former rugby league player found with lifechanging injuries more than six months ago have spoken of their ordeal and how they feel let down by police.
Ex-Wales Dragonhearts fullback Scott Bessant, 34, was found seriously hurt near a bridge in the early hours of Sunday, August 13, last year.
Mr Bessant’s family said they feel they have been let down by the police investigation and have since lodged several official complaints.
Mr Bessant’s sister Sian Chere and her husband Neil Chere, Mr Bessant’s brother-in-law, said the family believe Gwent Police decided hours after Mr Bessant was found that the location was not a crime scene – but they believe he was attacked due to the injuries he sustained.
Mr Chere, 48, said: “Gwent Police have let us down as a family – simple as that. Everyone is in uproar about it. “We just want answers.” Mr Bessant, from Talywain, Pontypool, was drinking in the Little Crown pub on the night before he was found by a passer-by near a bridge in Pentwyn Lane in Abersychan.
According to those with him, he was in a “happy, joyful mood” and was dancing. He left after the pub closed.
Mr Chere said: “We think he walked up the old line [a disused railway line] but as of yet, because nobody has been able to confirm that, we’re not sure.
“That was on his way home. It could take you about an hour to get to where he was.
“From the time he left the pub until 5am we don’t know where he was.
“All we know is that at 5am a member of the public who was going to work found him.”
After police notified Mr Bessant’s parents the rest of the family were called to the hospital as it was a “minute-by-minute” situation while he was placed in intensive care.
Due to Mr Bessant’s height of 6ft 2in and the height of the bridge he was found near, Mr and Mrs Chere said they did not believe he fell through his own actions.
They said Mr Bessant suffered multiple fractures to his skull, a fractured neck, broken ribs on his entire right side, a fractured pelvis, and said since then he has had multiple strokes.
Mr Chere said: “We believe he
Gwent Police have let us down as a family – simple as that. Everyone is in uproar about it. We just want answers BROTHER-IN-LAW NEIL CHERE
was attacked. We’ve been up to the bridge ourselves. I’ve been to that bridge.
“If you’ve had a good drink, to try and pull yourself up over the rail, it doesn’t all add up.
“We don’t know – did this happen somewhere else? Was he taken there? Did something happen while he was walking up the road?
“We just don’t know. And the police haven’t got any way of telling us either.”
Documents seen by WalesOnline show the family’s allegation that police quickly came to a conclusion was upheld by an internal Gwent Police investigation.
The document states: “This type of case is always very difficult as the injuries caused to Mr Bessant as a result of jumping, falling, being pushed, being struck [by] a glancing blow from a vehicle or jumping to avoid being struck by a vehicle would be identical.
“Therefore, it is important to keep an open mind to ensure that all possibilities, including third-party involvement, are considered and all reasonable steps are taken to determine how the injuries occurred.”
It added that “due consideration of the options” does not appear to have been given to all possible scenarios at an early stage.
Other complaints upheld include an “unacceptable” length of time to collect items recovered by Mr Bessant’s family from the scene after the police search.
Mr Chere claimed after he was found Mr Bessant had what appeared to be a “bite mark” to the hand and a “footprint” on his arm.
After the police left the scene Mr Chere returned to the scene where, he claimed, he found a large plank of wood with hair attached to it and what were believed to be fragments from a car headlight.
According to Mrs Chere, 48, a family friend reported seeing a man at the scene after the police tape was taken down and later spotted there two more times.
The family said Gwent Police interviewed the person who was spotted and said they were just being “nosy”.
The family have since decided to appeal the findings of the Gwent Police internal investigation.
Mr Chere said: “We shouldn’t have to be dealing with complaints or even the press – we should be worried about getting him back to health. But if we don’t speak out then we’re letting him down.”
More than six months after he was found, Mr Bessant’s family are still unsure of his prognosis.
Mr Chere said: “He’s unable to walk, unable to talk. We don’t know if he does recognise us.
“He’s in a bed. Since the whole incident his mum and dad, there has not been one single day where they have not gone to visit him.”
He added that Mr Bessant, who worked as a fabricator and welder, was still unable to communicate.
Mr Chere added: “As you go on it’s getting harder. We have to look at things in relation to his house and what happens in the future.”
Mrs Chere said: “No justice has been done.”
In 2009 amateur player Mr Bessant – then the top scorer for Newport Titans and having appeared twice for Wales A – was invited to train with Super League side Celtic Crusaders and hoped to turn professional.
But dad-of-two Mr Bessant, who had scored on his international debut against Scotland the previous year, was unable to attend training after contracting salmonella.
Mr Chere said: “He’s a doting dad. The most loving, caring person you could know. He’s a gentle giant. He’s the sort of person, and I know it sounds old-fashioned, but if there was an old lady crossing the road he’d go and help them.
“And whatever happened, nobody deserves what he’s going through. And it’s not just that, it’s the knockon effect on the family.”
Mr Chere added: “They [Mr Bessant’s children] are missing their dad every day. He may never be in a position to be the dad that he was again.”
A Gwent Police spokesman said: “Gwent Police has completed its investigation into the complaint and a report has been sent to the family of Mr Bessant.
“The family has decided to appeal the findings and, in line with normal procedures, the appeal has gone to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, therefore it would be inappropriate for us to comment further at this time.”
He’s a doting dad. The most loving, caring person you could know. He’s a gentle giant. He’s the sort of person, and I know it sounds old-fashioned, but if there was an old lady crossing the road he’d go and help them