Armed police attend flat search after hit and run
ARMED police were called to a residential street just hours after a hit and run outside a nightclub, it emerged yesterday.
Police confirmed that officers were sent to Conway Croft, in Newport, as part of “arrest inquiries” in relation to Sunday’s incident in the city’s Cambrian Road.
Four people were arrested after a car hit pedestrians outside The Courtyard nightclub, leaving two women with “potentially life-changing injuries”.
One of those arrested, a 22-yearold woman from Newport, was held on suspicion of assisting an offender, but has since been released under investigation. Gwent Police have now been given more time to question three men arrested in connection with the incident.
A police spokeswoman said: “Three local men, one aged 18 and two 19, will all be held in police custody following the extension to give officers more time to investigate the circumstances of what occurred.”
The 18-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and driving a motor vehicle dangerously.
One of the 19-year-olds has been arrested on suspicion of driving a motor vehicle dangerously. The other has been arrested on suspicion of driving a motor vehicle dangerously and assisting an offender.
Pictures taken at Conway Croft on Sunday morning show there was a heavy police presence in the street which included armed officers.
Resident Peter Bartlett claimed police spent hours talking to people inside one of the properties as they had barricaded themselves inside the flat.
Another resident, who wanted to remain anonymous, said Conway Croft was on “complete lockdown” while police searched residents’ attics.
“It was literally like something you had seen in a movie,” he said. “They had the guns pointing up at all the flats. It took the police four and a half hours to search the one-bedroom flat just to find them – it was madness.”
He claimed a property was guarded by police for nearly 14 hours with evidence bags taken outside.
Another resident, who also wished to remain anonymous, said there were a lot of armed police in the street, together with marked and unmarked police cars. He estimated there were up to 12 officers in attendance, half of them armed, and up to seven police cars.
He added: “It all started quite early in the morning – it must have been about 7am. I didn’t notice it until the dogs started barking.
“They were here for hours. It was probably 1pm when it was all wrapped up.”
Four people were injured in the Cambrian Road incident. A man and a woman have been discharged from hospital but two women remain in hospital with serious injuries.
The vehicle believed to have been involved was a 2004-plate navy-blue Ford C-Max. Officers are keen to speak to anyone who may have information about it – including dashcam footage leading up to – and after – the incident. The car went off from Cambrian Road in the direction of Maindee before being found burnt out in Magor Street later on Sunday.
The spokeswoman said: “Video footage circulated of the incident shows many witnesses, some of which are still yet to come forward. If this was you, you could hold vital information, which will assist officers with their inquiries. Please call 101 quoting log 110 29/04/2018 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800555111.”