Nestled in the idyllic West Wales countryside lies the quaint little farming village of Llandysul – a place that was once a thriving community.
In the past, the lively village had two schools, four banks, and numerous shops and restaurants that drew in visitors from the vicinity, drawn by its famous river.
But after a £23 million road was built to by-pass the village, as well as £25 million ‘super school’ on its outskirts, the village has been left a ‘ghost town’.
Coupled with high property prices, locals claim changes over the years have turned the vibrant slice of countryside into ‘the back of beyond’.
With its vanishing high street and banks came empty buildings as well as disused schools – making it prime real estate for drug gangs.
In July of this year £2 million worth of cannabis was found in a former primary school in the village, with 1,500 plants sprawling across two floors.
Two men, Alfred Perkola, 43, from London and Adli Gjegjaj, 25, from Salford admitted running the farm.
A week after the bust the first abandoned school on Marble Terrace caught fire – with the local joking that firefighters were getting high as they fought the flames.
In November another gang was charged after a separate cannabis farm with 700 plants in another disused school was discovered next to a main road.
After £2 million worth of cannabis was found in July in abandoned school (Pictured) on Marble Terrace, Llandysul
Two men, Alfred Perkola, 43, from London and Adli Gjegjaj, 25, from Salford admitted running the farm and pleaded guilty to drug charges (Pictured: Cannabis in the abandoned school)
Local joked that firefighters were getting high as they fought the flames in the former school turned cannabis farm (Pictured)
But until the two busts, residents had no clue that millions of pounds worth of cannabis was being grown under their noses.
Mari Slaymaker, 37, told MailOnline: ‘No one knew a thing but the next thing there were police everywhere.
‘Cannabis is known as “mwg drwg” (bad smoke) here. When the police raided the place you could smell it in the air.
‘The drug gangs seem to target the most obvious buildings, like they are hiding in plain sight.
‘We don’t know how long they had been growing the stuff for but the police estimated the crop inside the [first] school was worth £2m.
‘I’ve been told they can grow a full crop every three months so they were making a lot of money. A lot more than us locals.’
Gentleman’s barber and café owner Mari has watched in despair as her hometown has become a ghost town but she’s trying to breathe new life into the village.
She used to bank at the small branch of Barclays in Wind Street, the town’s main thoroughfare.
More recently three men have been arrested and charged after a cannabis farm was discovered in another disused primary on Heol Llyn Y Fran in the village (Pictured)
Until the two busts, residents had no clue that millions of pounds worth of cannabis was being grown under their noses (Pictured: The by-pass built on the outskirts of the village)
Some locals have laid blame on disappearing banks (Pictured: previously an HSBC bank) as well as the by-pass for the village’s decline
Gentleman’s barber and café owner Mari Slaymaker (Pictured with her pet) has watched in despair as her hometown has declined but she’s trying to breathe new life into it
However with it’s closure, Mari saw a business opportunity to transform the building into a pop-up shop selling seasonal goods.
‘I know a lot of business people in the town have retired and the younger generation has left to find work in Cardiff or England,’ Mari said.
‘The opening of the by-pass means visitors no longer come through Llandysul and we have become a forgotten place.’
Despite Llandysul’s decline, Mari, who lives with her 17-month-old dog Coco, is hopeful it can make a comeback to its hay-day.
‘I’m a glass half full person and if I set myself a goal I usually achieve it,’ she said.
‘I still believe in the town and I’m positive about the future. I can’t wait to open the shop.’
A lack of footfall in the village and empty buildings has left it a hotspot for drug gangs to take advantage, according to resident Anne Fletcher.
She said: ‘A lot less people come here and maybe they [drug gangs] think it’s safer now because there are not many people coming in.
She saw the former Barclays bank (Pictured) and saw a business opportunity, adding: ‘I’m a glass half full person’
Rhydian (Picturedleft) recalls playing in the streets and fields as a child – a sight no longer common in the quaint village
‘I still love Llandysul but it’s the younger generation I feel sorry for,’ the 26-year-old Floor Layer added (Pictured: A street in Llandysul)
‘It is a quiet sleepy village so there might not be as much activity going around.’
The beautician also noted that the changing dynamics of the once tight-knit community has made it easier for thugs to slip under the radar.
‘My clients say just ten years ago they used to walk down the street and they used to know everybody,’ she said.
‘I walk down the high street and there are faces I don’t know.
‘They are managing to do it a lot more easily now because when we see a new face we don’t bat an eyelid anymore,’ she said: ‘It isn’t the community it used to be.’
When asked what she believed has contributed to Llandysul’s decline, the mother-of-one boiled it down to the disappearing banks.
‘The banks shutting the post offices going that made a huge difference from what everyone has said,’ she noted.
‘This was a thriving little village. Even 15 or 20 years ago it was thriving, but the banks leaving really made a difference.’
‘Some people who never locked their doors now they lock them,’ she said: ‘In the back of your mind you think “oh okay a bit of unsavoury things going on”. ‘
Huw Thomas, 67, echoed the impact of disappearing brick and mortar branches on Llandysul
However he does not want the recent cannabis farms found in the quaint West Walian village to define the community
However Anne confessed that some people she had spoken to in the area didn’t seem too concerned about cannabis farms popping up.
‘I don’t think people care and that sounds horrific but from what I have gauged it’s just a bit of cannabis,’ she said: ‘But it’s not just a bit, its a lot. It’s not very nice.’
‘They both [the council and Dyfed Powys Police] need to be doing more really at the end of the day.’
Floor layers and painters and decorators were busy turning the bank into a smart shop in time for Llandysul’s 1,200 inhabitants to do some of their Christmas shopping.
But for their Christmas turkey, sausages and meats they will have to travel further afield – the only butcher recently shut his doors after 50 years in the town.
Mum-of-four Mandy Evans, 53, – known as ‘Handy Mandy’, who was gloss painting the doorway of the new shop, said: ‘There’s not much left here but I’m happy to be helping a new business open.
‘It’s what Llandysul needs,’ she said: ‘I worked for the butcher here for 10 years, he was brilliant, delivering to people during Covid to keep them going.
‘But he closed and now people have to travel to Newcastle Emlyn, eight miles away.’
Floor layer Rhydian Owens 26, who grew up in the village confessed he was concerned for the generations to come in Llandysul.
‘I still love Llandysul but it’s the younger generation I feel sorry for,’ he said.
Breian Teifi, 67, grew up only speaking Welsh and can remember being aged four or five when he first heard English being spoken expressed sadness when discussing how Llandysul as well as it’s community has changed
‘When I was a kid we would be out playing in the streets and the fields – you just don’t see that any more.’
The town which once boasted 20 pubs has been whittled down to only four and even they are struggling to survive.
Huw Thomas, 67, runs the long-standing village staple Cilgwyn Bach pub almost single-handedly, opening at four every day and closing at 11pm.
Although he echoed the impact of disappearing brick and mortar branches on Llandysul, the landlord has high hopes for its future despite recent events.
‘The banks went one-by-one but a hairdresser has moved into one and now Mari is turning the Barclays building into a shop,’ he said
‘There is still hope here and it’s a strong community.’
‘We don’t want to be known for being a town where there are drug factories. It was a shock to me that it was going on here. You don’t expect it.’
‘The first I knew was that there were police everywhere,’ he said.
‘We had a police helicopter above and they were also flying drones. I’ve never seen anything like it.’
Breian Teifi, 67, runs the Kings Arms in the town, a pub well known for its Friday night whisky club where 15 regulars sample a different bottle of Scotch each week.
The father-of-two grew up only speaking Welsh and can remember being aged four or five when he first heard English being spoken in the town.
He said: ‘People tell me they can walk up the main street now and they don’t hear anyone speaking Welsh. It hurts me a lot to lose the language like that.
‘It’s all changed, you can walk through town now and see people you’ve never met before.
‘It’s so sad the world is changing so quickly and it’s never going to come back as it was.’
Although Breian was mournful over how the village had changed, he acknowledged that the sense of community was still a close.
Despite his mourning, he acknowledged there is still a sense close of community, with not even a traffic warden being able to walk the streets without everyone knowing
He added: ‘That’s why it was surprising that these drug farms were going on in the village. Whoever was running them, we never saw them’
‘If a traffic warden turns up in Llandysul the whole town knows about it in minutes,’ he quipped.
‘That’s why it was surprising that these drug farms were going on in the village. Whoever was running them, we never saw them.’
However the West Wales native revealed it wasn’t only a problem in Llandysul alone, with another cannabis farm also being uncovered in a nearby town in November.
‘But it’s not just here, they found one in Newcastle Emlyn, there are probably more. It’s the new thing.’
The cannabis farm was discovered in abandoned Co-op store in the town’s highstreet only a few doors down from a police station.
In March 2023 it was discovered another abandoned primary school – four miles away from Llandysul in the village of Pontsian – was being used to grow cannabis.
