A former weekly newspaper editor was left fearing for his safety after being publicly harassed by far-right activists in the street.

Robert Lloyd, left, who edited the Llanelli Star and the Carmarthen Journal, was confronted as he and his wife attended a festival in Llanelli.

The couple were surrounded by activists who run a far-right video blog called Voice of Wales, the Nation.Cymru website reported.

They have falsely accused Robert of stealing money from a campaign fund set up to oppose a now-abandoned proposal to house asylum seekers in the town’s Stradey Park Hotel.

Robert, who now runs his own PR firm, has previously been involved with a group called the Furnace Action Committee which was working to halt the Home Office plan.

The group has retained a “fighting fund” of around £10,000 to cover the costs of any potential legal action relating to the plan, but although Robert set up a GoFundMe page which helped raise the cash, he has not handled any of it personally.

In a message posted on Facebook, Robert said he and his wife were having a conversation with the Mayor of Llanelli, Cllr John Prosser, when they were confronted by some of the Voice of Wales activists.

He said: “There were other people on the fringes, many chipping in with the standard Voice of Wales chant of ‘Where’s the money, Rob?’ At least four video and mobile phone cameras were pointed in my face.

“This is not the first time that members of Voice of Wales have targeted me with harassment in the street. They have a long-standing mission to harass me on social media and in person following the Stradey Park Hotel asylum seeker saga. I have complained about their behaviour previously, but Dyfed-Powys Force has been unwilling or unable to take action.

“My wife and I were enjoying a happy day meeting friends in our home town. That quickly turned into a nightmare as these people harassed me in front of other members of the public against the busy backdrop of the festival. It was possibly the busiest day in Llanelli town centre for many a year.

“Their actions were intimidating, threatening and left us both shaken and fearing for our safety. The incident was also distressing as it occurred in full view of a large crowd.

“Against that backdrop, we have been left fearful of an attack on our house. We are also concerned about our own personal safety when leaving the house. What should have been a happy occasion, strolling around my home town, was turned into a disturbing and frightening experience”.

Robert told HTFP: “It is a tragedy that Voice of Wales has gained a foothold in a town like Llanelli, which has a longstanding tradition of delivering a warm Welsh welcome and being a tolerant and diverse community.

“The video bloggers have a poisonous agenda and created an intimidating atmosphere at the Stradey Park protest, taking pride in ‘running out of town’ mainstream media outlets such as WalesOnline, the BBC, ITV and freelance photographers.

“They have a playbook that seems to have been handed down to them by Donald Trump and have adopted every conspiracy theory under the sun, from worldwide domination by the World Economic Forum and their own climate change nonsense, to The Pope being the Anti-Christ.

“They claim to be ‘journalists’, so they need to be called out at every opportunity. Politicians should ask to see their press credentials (they claim to have diplomas in journalism) and press passes.”

Johnny Rose, moderator of the Furnace Action Committee’s Facebook page, posted a message stating: “There have recently been posts and videos etc on social media speculating about one of our members. Hopefully this statement by Furnace Action Committee will put this matter to rest.

“We have retained a fighting fund of more than £10,000 should any further legal action be required to save our hotel and the jobs and economic boost it provides for the area. As we have previously explained, that money sits securely in a bank account. The funds have three signatories – three very reputable local people who watch over the money.

“To clarify, the GoFundMe page, which provided the bulk of the fighting fund, was set up by the committee’s spokesman Robert Lloyd, purely because he had the technical expertise needed to kick-start the page.

“Robert’s direct involvement with the GoFundMe ceased at a very early stage. He has not handled any cash. Any decisions about the funds raised are for the membership of the Furnace Action Committee.”

A complaint has been made to Dyfed-Powys Police about the June 29th incident but the force has not so far issued a public statement on the matter.