Llanelli in Merthyr Tydfil?

No it’s not a hoax or an April fool’s day prank but people will be shocked to find that Thomas St is!

The street has been used as the gateway to Merthyr Tydfil in a new Cadburys advert.

The advert is part of a campaign promoting Team GB in the Olympics and sees hockey player Sarah Thomas meeting friends and family as she runs on a Welsh mountainside with them singing along to Queen’s ‘We will rock you’.  

What appears to be Thomas St is used to show that the residents of Merthyr have gone singing.

 One local resident, Rhian Morris told us:

“If true, it’s ludicrous!  Thomas St is not in Merthyr!”

“If you’re using our town as a location then you should be promoting our town and not another one!”

What appears to be Thomas St is seen in the video after 59 seconds.  Click here for the video.

A spokesperson for Llanelli Town Council told us:

“The Town Council welcomes the fact that Thomas St is used to promote such a positive message on a national scale, the only disappointment is that the viewers are misled into thinking it is a location in Merthyr Tydfil.”

“The Town Council would also like to wish Sarah Thomas and all our athletes the very best in the upcoming 2012 games.”

Gwyn Jacob, Owner of Thomas St business Manhattan Marketing told us:

“Astonished, I didn’t realise that I had a shop in Merthyr Tydfil!”

We have been unsuccessful in our attempts to contact Cadburys.

If you have any comments then please email us at news@llanellitown.com and our thanks to David Garland Jones for bringing the story to our attention. 

Some Merthyr Tydfil facts:

• Distance from Llanelli, about 40 miles

• Population of about 30,000.

• Was once the largest town in Wales

• According to legend, the town is named after Saint Tydfil,

• In 1804, the world’s first railway steam locomotive, “The Iron Horse” ran.

• In the 19th century, the ironworks at Dowlais and Cyfarthfa were the most productive ironworks in the world.

• In 1831 the workers took part in The Merthyr Rising.

• Site of the Hoover Factory

• At the Hoover factory the Sinclair C5 was built.

• Has several choirs, these are Ynysowen Male Choir, Treharris Male Voice Choir, Dowlais Male Voice Choir, Merthyr Tydfil Ladies Choir, Cantorion Cyfartha, and the mixed-voice choir Con Voce.

• Widely recognised for its soccer team, Merthyr Tydfil F.C.. nicknamed ‘The Martyrs’.

Notable people born in Merthyr Tydfil are:

• Laura Ashley — fashion designer and retailer

• Richard Davies — actor

• Michael ‘Micky’ Jones (1942 – 10 March 2010) —Guitarist, singer and songwriter with The Bystanders and Man

• Philip Madoc — actor

• Leslie Norris — poet

• Johnny Owen — boxer

• Joseph Parry — composer

• Mark Pembridge — Wales international football player

• Robert Sidoli — Welsh rugby international

• Eddie Thomas — boxer

• Malcolm Vaughan — Singer/Actor

• Howard Winstone — Boxer

• Ian Watkins — Lead singer of Lostprophets