Cardiff riots: What is to blame for the disorder in Ely and why did it happen?

A sense of calm has returned to the Ely area of Cardiff following from an eruption of violence after the deaths of two local teenagers.

Details of what led to the disruption are now starting to emerge as locals process the full scale of Monday night's events.

What we now know

Kyrees Sullivan, 16, and 15-year-old Harvey Evans were killed in Ely on Monday evening (May 22) while riding an electric bike.

CCTV footage time-stamped to 5.59pm appeared to show a police van following two people on a bike.

ITV News understands it is that video which caused tensions to rise following the crash and sparked the unrest.

Tensions reached breaking point after officers were called to the scene in Snowden Road shortly after 6pm on Monday.

A large crowd of people gathered, many wearing balaclavas and face masks, and were seen throwing objects at police and their vehicles.

But speaking at a press conference early on Tuesday, Chief Superintendent Martyn Stone, Divisional Commander for Cardiff and The Vale, said there were no police vehicles on the road at the time of the fatal crash on Monday night.

Police say they are 'continuing to investigate' CCTV footage.

'Close-knit community'

Ely is a close-knit community but it suffers from deprivation - it's one of Wales' most impoverished areas.

The local vicar believes there needs to be more support for people, especially young boys.

Canon Jan Gould, from the Church of the Resurrection Ely, said: "One of the big issues in Ely is that young people, especially young lads, don't have any direction in life and particularly when they leave school there's nothing for them to channel into.

"So all this energy that years ago would have been put into doing manual jobs in our local factories - the paper mill, the breweries - they would have been getting rid of that energy and doing something meaningful with their lives.

"They don't have that now, so this stuff just boils around inside them and then who knows what triggers it but just a little spark of something and before you know the whole thing ignites.

"But it's about lack of direction, lack of purpose for these young people."

Canon Gould said the riots are going to leave a mark well into the future, but the local people are resolute.

"I know it's going to devastate this community for a long time."

"Ely is the most wonderful community. I've been here 17 years and twice people have said in the hierarchy 'maybe it's time to go to a different parish now' because we move around, but I've refused to move because I love it here.

"The people are the warmest, most generous-hearted people you will find anywhere. It's a very close knit community where people will do anything for anybody.

"Especially in these times with the cost of living crisis, a lot of people are struggling, but that doesn't mean they're all off behaving in these crazy ways.

"People find ways to manage the struggle and it's just unfortunate that these young people I don't think have the emotional intelligence to know how to handle their feelings, and so they just over spill, and then one behaves in a certain way, others just follow and before you know it you've got a riot on your hands."

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To know...