The family of a three-year-old girl sexually assaulted by the paedophile Craig Sweeney said last night that they would begin a civil action against South Wales Police “for their failure to protect our child against this known and dangerous molester”. Earlier, Barbara Wilding, the chief constable of South Wales, apologised to the child after criticism of the force by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

Researchers say they have created a new training technique which can help hard drinkers ignore alcohol. The computer programme at the University of Wales, Bangor, helps excessive drinkers become less distracted by stimuli such as photos of drinks and alcohol on display in shops. Psychologists said those tested cut down significantly and felt more in control after taking part. It is hoped the programme could eventually be accessed online.

Mental health patients in Wales are being let down by bureaucracy, according to an audit report. The Welsh assembly’s audit committee said too many patients found themselves in a crisis before help was available. It said different public authorities were failing to work together. The chair of the committee called for “urgent action” from government. The Welsh Assembly Government said improving mental health services in Wales was one of its top priorities. Bill Walden-Jones, chief executive of mental health charity Hafal, said there were two problems facing services in Wales: money and bureaucracy.

A ‘pathetic’ sentence for a convicted paedophile who struck again after being released from jail early has re-ignited the row over soft sentencing. Malcolm Clifford Elliott, 37, subjected a 14-year-old boy to a degrading sexual attack after overpowering the teenager as he took a shortcut home through woodland. Elliott was on conditional release from jail after being freed five months earlier. The serial paedophile had served just HALF of his 10-year sentence for indecently assaulting a four-year-old boy in 2000. Amazingly, despite being sentenced to life, he could be free again in just six years and nine months because of his early guilty plea.

Two parents of disabled adults living in sheltered accommodation in Gwynedd have criticised review plans which could mean moving their children. They said they had not been consulted beforehand and heard about the proposed changes in an “impersonal” leaflet. Gwynedd Council said the Welsh Assembly Government had requested the review of the care provided to disabled people. The authority apologised for any “upset” caused by the leaflet and promised a full consultation.

Lives could be at risk across parts of Wales from tomorrow as a new row erupts within the crisis-hit ambulance service, union leaders warned last night. The latest emergency to strike the ailing Wales Ambulance Services NHS Trust could see certain parts of Wales could without 999 cover as paramedics hold their bosses to ransom over a pay dispute. Trust chiefs were due to enforce a new ambulance deployment system in South East Wales from tomorrow. The plan would have seen extra rapid response vehicles tackling emergency calls in Monmouthshire, the Vale of Glamorgan and north Gwent.

Raising the price of alcohol is the controversial cure to the Welsh boozing culture, according to doctors. Alcohol-related deaths have increased more than four-fold among Welsh men and more than three-fold among women in the past 20 years, according to the report from the National Public Health Service for Wales. It says the price of alcohol relative to national income has more than halved since the 1960s. During the same period alcohol consumption has more than doubled in Wales.

Cardiff is to receive international recognition for tackling domestic violence. Jan Pickles OBE, manager of the Cardiff Women’s Safety Unit, will represent the UK at a European Commission conference. Jan

Parents of a 16-week-old baby who died after suffering dozens of fractures could see the criminal investigation into her death reopened. Little Chloe Thomas had suffered 40 fractures to her ribs, and other breaks to her skull, wrists and legs, when she stopped breathing at her Bridgend home in April, 2003. Cardiff coroner Mary Hassell said there was no doubt in her mind the child had been the victim of ‘sustained’ abuse, as she returned a verdict of unlawful killing.

Free workshops for parents on how to support a child with dyslexia are being run in South Wales this month. The Dyslexia Action Cardiff Centre will run the six-hour course