Weekly news digest: Wales

If you are just back from a week's break, BBC News Online brings you up-to-date with some of the headlines from Wales while you were away.

Monday brought scenes reminiscent of shortage-stricken Communist Eastern Europe as hundreds of people queued for hours for the right to see an NHS dentist.

About half the 600-strong queue in Carmarthen had to be turned away after a practice announced it would be taking on new NHS patients.

Events took a sinister turn later when staff at the surgery received abusive phone calls.

Hundreds queue for an NHS dentist in Carmarthen

North Wales chief constable Richard Brunstrom got involved in a remarkable spat with a retired bank manager on Tuesday.

Mr Brunstrom called a news conference to criticise Bill Shaw, 71, who had attacked the police over his conviction for speeding at 39mph in a 30mph zone.

The following day Mr Brunstrom defended a 6% burglary detection rate in April by his force as a "blip".

The long-running legal case involving the Welsh Rugby Union and a paralysed player moved closer to the end following a House of Lords ruling on Thursday.

Arriva Trains will run the Wales and Borders service

The WRU was told it could not appeal against a ruling that former hooker Richard Vowles was a victim of the referee's negligence after a scrum collapsed and damaged his spine.

Mr Vowles' compensation claim against the union will now be discussed by its board this Thursday.

On Friday, we learned that there would soon be a new name on the trains of Wales: Arriva.

The company won the 15-year franchise to operate the Wales and Borders Service.

John Fashanu decided to get out of Barry Town

Extra trains, improvements to railway car parks and a more bilingual service are promised when the firm takes over by the end of the year.

John Fashanu capped an eventful week when he stepped down as chairman of Barry Town football club.

The former England international had begun it by denying newspaper allegations that he offered to fix football matches.

Then on Friday he announced that he was giving up his role at the Welsh Premier club because of his workload - although he said it was a temporary measure for about six months.

For full details of all these stories, click on the links on the top right of this page.