South Wales Police has referred itself to the policing watchdog as CCTV footage showed one of their vans following two people on an electric bike before a fatal crash.
The serious collision, which killed two teenagers, sparked a riot in the Ely area of Cardiff on Monday night, with 15 officers being injured.
Kyrees Sullivan, 16, and 15-year-old Harvey Evans, died in the crash while riding an electric scooter.
Image: Footage shows a police van following an electric bike
The video, lasting a few seconds, shows a bike travelling along Frank Road in Ely at 5.59pm on Monday less than one mile from the suspected crash site on Snowden Road with a marked police van about 15 metres behind it.
The bike is travelling at about 28mph, with the van moving at a similar speed.
Some residents in the district claimed the teenagers were being pursued by South Wales Police – an allegation denied by the force.
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Officers say none of their vehicles were on Snowden Road when the crash happened.
Footage that “shows a police vehicle following a bike at just prior to 6pm” is forming part of their investigation, the force said.
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It received a report of a serious collision at 6.03pm on Monday and a police vehicle in Grand Avenue responded, with officers performing CPR, Chief Superintendent Martyn Stone told reporters.
“The investigation has involved studying CCTV and tracking data from the police vehicle.”
“At this stage, we do not believe that any other vehicle was involved,” he added.
An electric bike has been seized from the scene.
South Wales Police has now referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
The footage was taken at the house where a relative of one of the boys lived.
The bike takes 17 frames to get across the shot – 0.68 seconds.
The distance it travels in the video is 8.5 metres.
The bike is travelling at about 28mph.
It is going at a similar speed to the police van.
The bike is 31 frames ahead of the vehicle, which is 1.24 seconds.
The van is about 15 metres behind the bike.
The stopping distance at 28mph is around 20 metres.
Police said the collision had already occurred when officers arrived, and they remained at the scene to manage “large-scale disorder” until early on Tuesday.
During the unrest, fireworks and other missiles were thrown at a line of officers with riot shields who were blocking one end of the street.
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South Wales police refers itself to watchdog
Chief Superintendent Stone revealed 11 injured officers went to hospital while four were treated at the scene.
Harvey’s godmother Jenny Sampson said the disorder broke out because police wouldn’t let their parents get close to the crash scene.
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Teen’s godmother speaks out over death
She said: “Basically we were all at the scene, the police were just having none of it, they wouldn’t let the mums, the dads come up and see their own kids laying on the floor.
“They wouldn’t let [the parents] do nothing, it was disgusting how they treated them, and they made them walk home and give them the news in the house, didn’t give them any sort of news at the scene, we were there for hours waiting and waiting and they still wouldn’t let them through to see if their son was OK.”
Asked what caused the rioting, Ms Sampson said: “The police, how bad the police treated everybody, you can’t treat families like that… With two young kids laying on the floor, and their own family couldn’t even get to them, they couldn’t even see their own son’s last breaths, it’s wrong and it’s disgusting.”
She added: “They were telling everybody to go away and you can’t do that… We were all standing there for about two to three hours before anyone had any information. It was really, really bad.”
Chief Superintendent Stone told reporters: “I would like to acknowledge the impact last night’s disorder had on local residents, who are understandably very frightened.”
He vowed to “arrest all of those responsible. A number of arrests have already been made and more will follow”.
He appealed for witnesses and said footage can be submitted on its website.
Sir Keir Starmer has urged anyone with information on the Jeffrey Epstein case to come forward after Andrew Mountbatten Windsor missed the deadline to appear in front of US Congress.
US legislators have criticised Andrew for what they describe as “silence” amid their probe into Epstein after he failed to respond to their request for an interview.
When asked about Andrew missing the deadline and whether the former princeshould help the case in any way he can, Sir Keir said on his way to the G20 summit in South Africa: “I don’t comment on this particular case.”
He added that “a general principle I’ve held for a very long time is that anybody who has got relevant information in relation to these kind of cases should give that evidence to those that need it”.
Andrew is not legally obliged to talk to Congress and has always vigorously denied any wrongdoing.
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Image: Sir Keir Starmer spoke to reporters on his way to the G20 in South Africa. Pic: Reuters
It comes as Marjorie Taylor Greene, a loyal supporter-turned-critic of US President Donald Trump, said on Friday she is resigning from Congress in January.
Ms Greene’s resignation followed a public falling-out with Mr Trump in recent months, as the congresswoman criticised him for his stance on files related to Epstein, as well as on foreign policy and healthcare.
Members of the House Oversight Committee had requested a “transcribed interview” with Andrew in connection with his “long-standing friendship” with Epstein, the paedophile financier who took his own life in a New York prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges.
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Releasing the Epstein files: How we got here
But after saying they had not heard back, Democrats Robert Garcia and Suhas Subramanyam accused Andrew of hiding.
Their statement read: “Andrew Mountbatten Windsor’s silence in the face of the Oversight Democrat’s demand for testimony speaks volumes.
“The documents we’ve reviewed, along with public records and Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s testimony, raise serious questions he must answer, yet he continues to hide.
“Our work will move forward with or without him, and we will hold anyone who was involved in these crimes accountable, no matter their wealth, status, or political party. We will get justice for the survivors.”
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The new Epstein files: The key takeaways
It follows Andrew being stripped of his prince and Duke of York titles earlier this month.
He had previously agreed to stop using his titles, but had expected to remain a prince and retain his dukedom, ahead of the publication of the memoirs of the late Ms Giuffre, who had accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager – an accusation he denies.
A 13-year-old girl has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a woman in Swindon.
Police said the teenager was detained following an incident in Baydon Close, Moredon, in the Wiltshire town on Friday evening.
Officers responded to reports of disorder inside a house. When they arrived, a woman in her 50s living at the address was found to be not breathing. She was declared dead at the scene.
There were no other reported injuries.
Image: Forensic officers are at the scene to collect evidence
Detective Inspector Darren Ambrose, from Wiltshire Police’s major crime investigation team, said: “This is a serious incident in which a woman has sadly died.
“We have set up a cordon at the address while an investigation is carried out.
“I can confirm that we have arrested a teenage girl in connection with this incident and we are not looking for anyone else.”
Police have asked people not to speculate about the incident online as this could prejudice the case.
A police statement read: “Residents can expect to see an increased police presence in the area while we continue carrying out our enquiries into the woman’s death.
Rail fares are to be frozen for the first time in 30 years, the government has announced.
Ministers promised that millions of rail travellers will save hundreds of pounds on regulated fares, including season tickets and peak and off-peak returns between major cities.
The fare freeze applies to England and services run by English train operators.
People commuting to work three days a week using flexi-season tickets will save £315 a year travelling from Milton Keynes to London, £173 travelling from Woking to London and £57 from Bradford to Leeds, the government said.
The changes are part of Labour’s plans to rebuild a publicly owned Great British Railways. Other planned changes include tap in-tap out and digital ticketing, as well as investing in superfast Wi-Fi.
Image: The freeze applies to regulated fares, including season tickets and peak and off-peak returns. Pic: iStock
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the government was introducing a freeze on rail fares for the first time in 30 years, which “will ease the pressure on household finances and make travelling to work, school or to visit friends and family that bit easier”.
“We all want to see cheaper rail travel, so we’re freezing fares to help millions of passengers save money,” Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said.
“Commuters on more expensive routes will save more than £300 per year, meaning they keep more of their hard-earned cash.”
Rail unions and passenger groups welcomed the move, praising how it will make travel more affordable for passengers and promote more sustainable travel alternatives.
Eddie Dempsey, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, said: “More affordable fares will encourage greater use of public transport, supporting jobs, giving a shot in the arm to local economies and helping to improve the environment.”
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said the rail fare freeze “will be a huge relief to working people”.
“This is the right decision, at the right time, to help passengers be able to afford to make that journey they need to take, and to help grow our railway in this country, because the railway is Britain’s green alternative – taking cars and lorries off our congested roads and moving people and goods safely around our country in an environmentally-friendly way,” Mick Whelan, general secretary of the train drivers union Aslef, said.
The Tories welcomed the move but said the government was “late to the platform”.
Shadow transport secretary Richard Holden said: “In government, the Conservatives kept fares on the right track with below-inflation rises and consistently called for no further hikes to protect hard-working commuters.”