Ely riot in Cardiff: Everything we know after teens are killed in crash and police investigate CCTV showing police van following bike

Police dealt with the 'large-scale disorder' for more than nine hours Sign up

Police dealt with the 'large-scale disorder' for more than nine hours

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Riots broke out in a Cardiff suburb after police were called to a serious crash on Monday evening - May 22. Cars were torched and missiles were thrown at police officers as hundreds gathered near the scene of the crash in Ely.

Two people died in the crash, and police and crime commissioner Alun Michael said on Tuesday morning - May 23 - that rumours on Monday night that the deaths had followed a police chase were not true.

However, officers are now investigating footage that emerged later on Tuesday which appears to show two young people on an electric bike being followed by a police van just moments before the fatal crash.

Described by police as 'large-scale disorder', the riot that followed went on for more than nine hours as fireworks were thrown and police in riot gear tried to keep people back. Live updates on the incident here.

Here is what we know so far:

What we do know is that officers were called to the scene of a crash in Snowden Road, Ely, at 6pm. No details of people of vehicles involved in the crash have yet been formally released by South Wales Police.

There was a lot of speculation that there had been a police chase, but a statement from the force in the early hours of Tuesday morning said that the collision had "already occurred" when officers arrived.

It added: "We need to ensure that this evening's collision is effectively investigated."

Police are investigating footage from a CCTV camera in Ely which appears to show two young people on an electric bike being followed by a police van just moments before the crash that killed two teens. The footage emerged on Tuesday afternoon.

South Wales Police previously said the collision had "already occurred" when officers arrived. In addition, speaking on Tuesday morning on BBC Radio Wales, the police and crime commissioner for South Wales, Alun Michael, said there had been no police chase.

He said: "There were also unfounded rumours of a police chase which was not the case and it just shows how, particularly with things going around on social media which may have very little connection with the truth, things can escalate very rapidly."

But, during a press conference outside Cardiff Bay Police Station on Tuesday afternoon South Wales Police Chief Superintendent Martyn Stone said the new footage would "form part of the investigation". He appealed for anyone with any more footage to get in touch.

The video, which has been seen by WalesOnline, is time-stamped to 5.59pm on Monday, in Frank Road, Ely, 900m (2,953ft) away from the site of the suspected crash.

Mr Michael confirmed on BBC Radio Wales on Tuesday morning that there had been a loss of life in the crash. And Assistant Chief Constable Mark Travis later expressed his condolences to the families.

ACC Travis said: "First and foremost our thoughts are with families of the two boys who have died following the collision in Ely and with those affected by the disorder which followed. These are scenes we do not expect to see in our communities, particularly a close-knit community such as Ely."

On Tuesday afternoon, the boys were named locally as Kyrees Sullivan, 16, and 15-year-old Harvey Evans who were involved in a collision while riding an electric bike. There have been a number of tributes to the two.

Friends of the two boys, who were from the Ely area, said they were riding a Sur-Ron electric bike without helmets when they died.

They said their families were desperate for further information from the police about what happened.

During the press conference on Tuesday afternoon Mr Stone confirmed the force had referred itself to the IOPC.

An IOPC spokesman said later: "We have been contacted this afternoon by South Wales Police to make a referral regarding the circumstances leading up to the fatal collision in Ely yesterday (Monday). We will be sending investigators to a police post incident procedure to begin gathering information and to assess whether the IOPC will carry out an independent investigation."

Tensions reached breaking point as hundreds of people gathered in the area where Snowden Road meets Stanway Road after the crash.

At 8.21pm, South Wales Police tweeted: "There is now a large number of officers working to manage the collision, but also to de-escalate ongoing disorder at the scene. We urge anyone involved to leave the scene immediately and ask local residents to stay away while the matter is brought to a safe conclusion."

Rubbish and wheelie bins were set alight as well as cars by rioters as they continued to be moved through the streets by armoured police. At 11pm, police said officers were faced with what they called a "large scale disorder"

Scenes that were livestreamed on YouTube showed young people throwing fireworks and other missiles at a line of police officers with riot shields who were blocking one end of the street.

Police, including mounted officers on horseback, were seen outside Ely police station in the early hours of Tuesday after suggestions it could be targeted.

Shortly before 3am, rioters moved down Highmead Road in Ely, followed by police who were trying to disperse them. The rioters continued to throw missiles and set cars alight. A police presence remained at the scene on Tuesday morning.

At least two cars were set on fire as trouble flared for hours, involving scores of youths, with some covering their faces with masks.

Several police cars were damaged and we saw one with a smashed window and broken wing mirrors.

Shortly before midnight a car was set on fire and burned fiercely, while a second vehicle was overturned and set ablaze. In a 1.10am update police said a "number of vehicles have been set alight". They added that arrests were being made but didn't say how many.

A member of the public was attacked due to rioters thinking they were an undercover officer, according to one of the senior officers at the scene. Peope at the scene described seeing a man being shoved to the ground and kicked. He was shouting: "I'm not a fed".

Jane Palmer, the owner of a burnt out Ford Focus on Highmead Road, said she and her family watched from their window as rioters set fire to her car.

Ms Palmer said: "I'm disabled so now I'm trapped without my car. Why are they doing this? It's just stilly now."

The family attempted to stop the fire using water from their garden hose.

Another woman told us how she had desperately tried to reach her children while the riot was taking place.

Crime commissioner Alun Michael said that around a dozen police officers had been injured in the violence although none seriously. He said: "We saw a dozen police officers injured last night, fortunately none of them life threatening although that is a matter of luck not intention. There were a lot of calls from members of public in the area very worried about the activities that were taking place and the events to which the police responded to quickly."

It was later revealed that 15 officers were injured requiring medical attention. Eleven went to hospital, four were treated at the scene.

Mr Michael could not confirm how many arrests had been made. He said: "I know that there were arrests and again as much clarity as possible will be given as soon as possible. I think probably it illustrates better than anything else the speed with which communications happen before proper facts can be established." Police said later on Tuesday that more arrests would follow.

John Urquhart, the general secretary of the UK Harmony Party, lives in Ely and witnessed the incident escalate from the start of the evening.

He told the PA news agency and WalesOnline that a lack of communication from police to the community may have led to the escalation of the event.

He said: "The key thing right at the start was they did not communicate with the crowd, there was no attempt to communicate with the crowd and they showed nothing but disdain for the community and acted like we didn't deserve to know what happened on our own doorstep.

"There was nobody going through the crowd crucially, I think the police really needed people to be out talking to the community and putting their minds at ease."

Mr Urquhart, who has lived in the area for the last few years, said the situation started to escalate at around 8pm.

"The vast majority of people who were stood in that street were stood there because they wanted to know what would happen next, there were a very small number of people actually doing any sort of violence," he said.

He said he was very "counter-violence" and was offering first aid to people during the evening.

"There was definitely a small group doing things, but the vast majority of other people were just watching and having that normal comradery in the street that you have when something is happening in your street and you have no control over it."

He said the community in Ely was tight-knit. He said: "When you start to see it in context, it's emotions that have built up and bottled up and eventually, I think the police just brought too many people or were too visible."

Assistant Chief Constable Mark Travis of South Wales Police said: "We received a large number of calls from residents who were understandably frightened by the actions of this large group who were intent on causing crime and disorder.

"The level of violence towards emergency services and the damage to property and vehicles was totally unacceptable. Our focus now is to fully investigate the circumstances of the collision and the appalling scenes that followed."

A man called Connor, who also lives in Highmead Road, said: "It's been a mad night. This is not the norm around here but people are pretty anti-police and that's reflected on both sides, not that that's my opinion.

"Although we've been afflicted by this riot, I still understand it. When people have enough, this is what happens."

There were rumours in the early hours that rioters were going to attack Ely police station. Drone footage shows police charging people outside the police station.

The scene in Ely on Tuesday morning had been described as looking like a warzone. The smouldering embers of fires last night were still in the middle of the road. Cars used to block the road were still stranded. Buses were being re routed.

The floor was still littered with breeze blocks and stones and other items that were thrown at police. The burned out remains of some of cars that were torched were still on the street. A clean-up was underway.

A church leader has said the community did not deserve what had happened to it.

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Ely riot in Cardiff: Everything we know after teens are killed in crash and police investigate CCTV showing police van following bike