Three people including a Ceredigion county councillor, have been found not guilty of illegal dog breeding and fraud after the prosecution offered no evidence against them.

Euros Davies, 61, from Llys y Wawr, Penffordd, Cwmsychbant, who is the independent councillor for the Llanwenog ward on Ceredigion County Council, had previously pleaded not guilty to a charge of participating in a fraudulent business of dog breeding between 1 March 2015 and 17 February 2022, is the member for Llanwenog on Ceredigion County Council.

29-year-old Rhydian Davies, of Gwarcefel Farm, Prengwyn, Llandysul, also previously pleaded not guilty to participating in a fraudulent business of dog breeding between 1 March 2015 and 17 February 2022.

Delyth Mathias, 30, of 32 Carmarthen Street, Cardiff pleaded not guilty to two charges.

In December, Thomas John Jones, 28, pleaded guilty to participating in a fraudulent dog breeding business between March 2015 and November 2023.

Prosecutor Owen Edwards KC told Swansea Crown Court that the case against Euros Davies, Rhydian Davies and Delyth Mathias had been "carefully considered" and it had been decided to offer no evidence.

The three were formally found not guilty by Judge Huw Rees.

The case was brought by Ceredigion County Council and led by its trading standards team.

The authority said it had considered legal advice and reviewed the case before deciding against presenting evidence against the three.

The former winner of S4C's Cân i Gymru singing contest, Sara Pritchard Davies, has also pleaded not guilty to fraud related to illegal dog breeding, and will face trial on 9 November.

Nerys Wyn Davies, 56, previously pleaded guilty to charges relating to illegal dog breeding. The court heard today she had supplied 72 dogs to Jones.

Peter Jones, Cara Barrett and David Bethell accepted cautions in relation to the case.