Mass violence and chaos broke out on the streets of Cardiff. Seven men were among those who took part, but they are only part of the story
(Image: Matthew Horwood)
A moment of tragedy lit the spark which led to scores of people involved in a riot that shook the community of Ely to its core. “Anger, despair and distress” at the death of two young boys led to the chaos on the streets which lasted all night.
Bricks, bottles, glass, stones and fireworks were among the missiles thrown at police officers who lined the streets, and many of them were left injured and traumatised. Property was damaged with cars overturned and set alight, mattresses and doors thrown at police, even a petrol bomb which struck an officer and engulfed her in flames.
Here is the full story of the Ely riots and the roles of the participants who have been convicted following a trial.
The death of Kyrees Sullivan and Harvey Evans
Kyrees Sullivan, 16, and Harvey Evans, 15, were killed on May 22, 2025, while riding an electric bike through the streets of Ely. The two young boys were involved in a fatal collision, and were later pronounced dead at the scene.
The mothers of the two teenagers attempted to run to their children, grief stricken and in desperation but their path was blocked by the police as the emergency services battled to save the lives of the two young boys.
A photo of the boys together as children (Image: John Myers)
Moments after the collision, large crowds consisting of members of the close-knit community of Ely came out to witness the horror as it unfolded. Shock and sadness quickly turned to distress and anger as rumours circulated that the police were responsible for the death of Kyrees and Harvey, who had previously been pursued by a police van.
Speaking at a trial at Newport Crown Court, prosecutor Matthew Cobbe said: “It was clear from communication directed at the police who attended, from the crowd that they, the police, were being blamed for the crash.”
After the deaths of Kyrees and Harvey had been confirmed, the boys remained lying dead on the floor as the investigation into their deaths began immediately.
(Image: Matthew Horwood)
Attempts were made by police officers to set up a cordon, to protect the scene, with individual officers standing shoulder to shoulder to prevent people from coming through and allowing access to the emergency services.
As time went on, a larger proportion of the crowd became hostile towards the police, with that hostility quickly escalating to the point the police were facing a flat out riot.
The riot begins
Hundreds of police officers were directed to assist colleagues as missiles were thrown from the crowd, including bottles, bricks, plasterboard, and fireworks.
Cars parked in the street were rolled over and set alight, doors were taken off their hinges and thrown at officers, mattresses were set alight and petrol bombs were thrown, with one police officer engulfed in flames. Helicopters were overhead, filming what went on below.
(Image: Matthew Horwood)
Mr Cobbe said: “The anger turned to threats and violence directed towards the police and others found it an irresistible opportunity to sneer and jeer and throw bottles and bricks, enjoying themselves as they did so.
“Their emotions were a stark contrast to the grief and distress so obviously felt by others.
“The police formed cordons and a temporary line to prevent others passing to protect the scene, to give the emergency services space to work and to protect the scene for investigation to begin.
(Image: Matthew Horwood)
“It was necessary for the police to create more space and cause members of the public to step back.
“The hysteria grew and many in the crowd became openly aggressive, openly doing what they could to stir up trouble for the police lines holding firm until it was necessary for them to push back.
“The police pushed backwards and managed the direction given at various stages to move forward and withdraw.
Riot Police with dogs are trying to contain a large group of people on Monday(Image: Matthew Horwood)
“During those early stages of the riot, police officers did not have the benefit of protection from shields and protected clothing.”
Despite the “sneering, jeering, threats and missiles” the police kept the line and did their best to manage the space the riot occupied, namely in the areas of Wilson Road, Stanway Road and Snowden Road.
Police officer accounts
Several police officers were injured during the riot, and suffered psychological trauma as a result of their experiences.
Police officers feared they would be seriously injured or killed during the riots. One officer said she cannot watch footage of the riots without feeling “physically sick”.
PC David Morgan who described rioters using a “flame thrower device”.
(Image: Matthew Horwood)
He added: “I thought it was going to be used on me and my colleagues in the cordon.”
The officer said there was a loud explosion from a vehicle and he could see a “fire ball”.
He said: “I heard further explosions and a vehicle had been set on fire. It was engulfed in flames, the horn was sounding. If the car exploded, I thought police and people present would be injured. I shouted to a number of residents to go back inside their houses in case of an explosion.”
(Image: Matthew Horwood)
Another vehicle was rolled over and set alight and the officer heard someone say: “Everything set on fire.”
The officer described the smoke and chemicals in the air as “thick and heavy”.
PC Morgan said: “I remember thinking officers would be seriously injured or killed if one of them [the vehicles] exploded.”
(Image: Matthew Horwood)
Describing the aftermath of the riot, police sergeant Laura Spence said: “I’ve worked for South Wales Police for 13 years and I have never experienced anything like this. I thought I might not be going home due to violence and hostility and the strong chance of getting seriously hurt.
“The mental trauma still remains, I have tried my best to block most of the events out since. It was a horrific incident to be a part of. I cannot watch any footage of that evening.
“Events that evening were widely reported on news and TV for days afterwards and I couldn’t stay in the room when it was on and would have to turn it over. I felt physically sick watching it.”
(Image: Matthew Horwood)
PC Adam Treadwell spoke about being “engulfed in black smoke” and being shot with fireworks by rioters
Describing his condition afterwards, PC Treadwell said: “I was mentally and physically exhausted from this traumatic incident. My heart was racing for hours while I was resting, due to the strain of dealing with the disorder for so long without support, water or breaks.
“Without protective clothing I would have been seriously injured. It was heartbreaking seeing a child as young as nine join in with the disorder and throw stones at the police.”
The aftermath of the clash on Tuesday(Image: John Myers)
PC Zoe Lee also described how she went down to the ground after suffering an injury to her leg. She was one of a number of officers who described being injured by missiles thrown at them.
She said the contents of a fuel can were also thrown over her and petrol was on her shoulder.
Her visibility was affected and her overalls were covered.
The clean up on Tuesday(Image: WALES NEWS SERVICE)
The officer said: “I feared if any petrol bombs hit me again I would have serious issues extinguishing it due to there being so much fuel on me.
“Fireworks were fired at me and landed at my feet. It was so loud I had serious ringing for a minute. A rioter smashed a car window and started pushing it towards us.”
PC Lee said another car window was smashed with a breeze block and was set alight with a lighter and a can of aerosol used as a flamethrower.
Fires were started and missiles were thrown towards police(Image: Matthew Horwood)
Another car was flipped and pushed into the middle of the road before being set on fire.
This caused black smoke and the crowd ran behind the burning vehicles. The amount of smoke and fumes left PC Lee unable to see behind the cars.
Concluding her statement, the officer said: “I feared for both the safety of myself and my colleagues. The level of violence and intention to cause us harm was horrific.
A damaged police car on Wilson Road(Image: Matthew Horwood)
“I had swelling and bruising to my left knee, swelling to my right shin, tenderness towards my shin and knees and bruising to my right foot.”
The court heard the whole community didn’t support or condone the violence shown, and there were occasional acts of kindness shown by people, who were left feeling “bewildered and frightened” by what was going on around them.
The involvement of each defendant
Lee Robinson
Lee Robinson, 38, of Heol Deva, Caerau, placed himself at the front of the police cordon. He was wearing a grey Chicago basketball shirt and became an “aggressive focal point” of the early stages of the riot.
He became fixated on a police dog handler and pointed at that police constable, telling him ‘I want you’, ‘You kill dogs, you kill kids’, ‘Come on bruv, stop hiding behind you dog bro, I’ll f****** kill you here’.
He directed his aggression towards a different officer and told him ‘The police is the biggest organised crime gang going’.
(Image: WalesOnline)
Mr Cobbe said: “He directed his aggression towards a different officer and told him ‘The police is the biggest organised crime gang going’.
“He continued his aggressive behaviour and missiles were being thrown at the police, he pulled himself close to the police line even when others retreated down Stanway Road.
“He was fortunate not to be hit by several missiles, he was intent on encouraging aggression towards the police, he was not seen to throw objects but his aggression gave encouragement to others.”
(Image: John Myers)
Following his arrest, Robinson’s phone was seized and several videos were recovered, on which his voice could be heard referring to police as “murderers, shooting people, shooting dogs, killing kids, the biggest organised crime group”.
The defendant later messaged a man named Liam, and said: ““We flipped a car and blew them up.”
Zayne Farrugia
Zayne Farrugia, 25, of Heol Ebwy, Caerau, was wearing a black hoodie and black shorts. His hood was pulled over his head and he pulled his zip up tight.
He was present in the early stages and part of the group remaining close to the police cordon when batons were drawn. Farrugia was the first to enter a nearby garden and gathered stones to throw at the police. He placed some stones in his pockets and threw several stones in quick succession at the police.
(Image: WalesOnline)
When police began their first surge on Stanway Road, he threatened to throw more stones at police.
He later accepted he threw stones, saying he was “angry” at the police, believing they were responsible for the deaths of his friends, Kyrees and Harvey.
Jaydan Baston
Jaydan Baston, 21, attended the riot from the beginning and threw his own missile at 9.11pm, thrown as part of a flurry of missiles thrown during that period. He also accepted throwing a tile or plasterboard at the police.
Baston was seen to approach an officer and smiled. He could be heard saying: “Oh would you actually hit me with that then?”
The defendant could be seen laughing and smiling as another threw an object at officers on the line.
He was later seen wearing a hood and walked towards officers with a clenched hand.
(Image: John Myers)
Baston was seen crouching down towards some rubble, and he picked up an object with his left hand, switched it to his right and threw it towards officers.
In his police interview, he blamed officers for the incident and said the riot wouldn’t have happened if it was not for their conduct.
During the interview, he said: “Innit mad though. If that hadn’t happened then none of this would have happened
“This all happened because of you, have you ever sat down and thought about it? Two of your lads killed two of our lads.
“Murderers that’s how we think of them…
“If people see them on the street, it’s not looking good for them…
(Image: WalesOnline)
“They’ve killed two young boys and they’re going to get away with it because they’re police officers, they’re going to live their lives happily and get away with it.
“Police are not meant to chase you when you’ve got no helmets on
“All this has caused it because of them two, those two should be blamed for these riots, not us, they caused it.”
Nadine Evans, the mother of Harvey Evans, 15, and Bellinda Sullivan, mother of Kyrees Sullivan, 16, both spoke out in support of Jaydan Baston, who threw a piece of plasterboard at police.
They described him as a “polite, hardworking and reliable young man” and said he had great respect and manners and was always respectful.
Jordan Bratcher
Jordan Bratcher, 27, of Glyndwr, Ely, was present when the crowd moved back along Stanway Road. He entered a garden with others to collect gravel to throw at police.
In footage played to the court, Bratcher was seen to walk towards Wilson Road, he picked up a large object and walked towards the police line before dropping it.
(Image: WalesOnline)
The defendant is later seen to point to police officers and talk to members of the public.
He then enters Stanway Road and moves forward while gesturing towards the police line.
Bratcher was seen to run down to a garden and pick something off the floor before moving to Stanway Road.
(Image: WalesOnline)
The defendant was seen picking something up, throwing it towards officers and then leaving the view of the camera.
After leaving the scene, Bratcher was sent a message which read: “How’s it going brah, it’s popping off at your end?”
Bratcher responded: “Trust me, was in there bro.”
Callum O’Sullivan
Callum O’Sullivan, 26, of Caerau Court Road, Caerau, was part of a small group who approached within a few metres of the police line and threw missiles at police which connected with that line.
The footage shows him to triumph in his assault and fist bumped with an onlooker when he returned from the line.
He was later part of a group seen carrying a door towards the police line and throwing it.
The defendant claimed he was pressured into taking part in the riot, and had been threatened by others that he would be beaten up and his windows smashed.
In video footage played to the court, O’Sullivan was seen throwing a missile towards the police line before running away.
Connor O’Sullivan outside Newport Crown Court.(Image: WalesOnline)
O’Sullivan was seen to take his vest off and wrap it around his face and threw another two missiles before casually walking away.
The defendant was seen near a fire, near the front of the crowd, and adjusted his face covering. He was then seen to follow others towards the police line and hand over an object to one of them.
O’Sullivan was later seen to throw the brick with his left hand.
Mr Cobbe said the defendant was seen to “actively encourage and incite others to continue violence and beckon them forward”.
He could be heard saying: “Come on boys, come on, any more?”
O’Sullivan was seen again to throw another missile towards the police line and casually walk off. He was then seen to throw more objects towards the police line, and “appeared pleased with himself”, fist bumping another member of the crowd.
O’Sullivan was then seen to assist others carrying a door towards the police line, before watching others throw the door at police in an aggressive manner.
Footage was shown of O’Sullivan looking at the camera and waving his arms in the air, shouting “Ely gang, Ely gang” before walking to join others by a car which had been set alight.
At around midnight, O’Sullivan engaged in conversation with a YouTuber who had been filming the riot.
Luke WIlliams
Luke Williams, 32, of Deere Place, Ely, live streamed the riots and gave active encouragement to people watching to join. He was also aggressive towards police officers, pacing back and forth along the police cordon and shouting abuse towards them.
In a video played to the court, Williams can be heard saying “This is in Ely on Stanway Road, for anyone watching and wants to join in, I am not inviting you to, I advise you stay away.’
(Image: WalesOnline)
He referred to officers as “f****** bullies” and “f****** c****” and “w******”.
The defendant was also heard to say “You kill kids and now you want to lock them up.”
In further footage, he is heard to say: “Go on boys, go on the boys, come on the boys.”
The defendant is then heard to say: “Ha, ha, they’re going to get f***** up now those feds, they’re going to get f***** up, bunch of brave b******* because you’ve got a drone in the sky, you think you’re brave.”
Further footage was played to the court in which Williams was heard to say: “F****** tack team, look at that for a tack team. Literally killed off two kid and they f****** does this. F****** idiots.”
The defendant was also heard to say: “Police killed two youngsters on a bike and respond by trying to hurt even more, f****** p*****.”
He adds: “Go on, I want to see a copper drop. Basically guys, I’ll update you, they chased two young kids earlier on on their electric bikes and they have sadly passed away. Now they have come to attack the people who have come to show their respects, this is how you get treated in Ely.”
Further clips were shown from Luke Williams’ livestream.
In one clip, he said: “Ha, ha. One down, about f****** time. Euthanise the c**** now. He’s injured. This is in Ely, in Cardiff, in Stanway Road.”
Williams also said: “Ah ha, yeah boy, yeah, that’s what I have been waiting for, there’s a f****** door. Go on, fall over again.”
Luke Williams
The defendant is also heard to say: “I’ll punch you face to face with your back turned mate, I’m not like you. Stick people in headlocks and punch f*** out of them. F****** bullies, I am not wrong, it’s on Facebook.
“Those c**** every day f*** people up. Yo, f*** them up boys.”
The defendant referred to 15,000 people watching him on the livestream and asked “What’s the gameplan?”
In another clip, the defendant was heard to say: “It’s probably not what the parents wanted, but they probably didn’t want their kids dead by these c****.
“They (the police) deserve all this, they deserve all that, they should have way more done to them than that. Every single one of them a bunch of c****. C**** trying to justify what they done, c****, c****, all of them c****, here come more of those c****.”
Williams was heard to say: “South Wales Police get £500 for every single Sur Ron they can get their hands on. The cost of two teenagers and then this, f****** idiots the lot of them.”
The defendant continues: “So tempted to go two foot them from behind, oh my days, I am not going to but oh my days I am tempted.”
Williams referred to 7,300 people watching his stream.
He said: “It would be nice if the 7.3 thousands people would be here to stand the f*** against those c****.
“They killed two teenagers and half the comments saying it’s us, it’s our fault. Is it f*** our fault, it’s f****** them.
“We were stood there paying our respects to the fallen and they come with their batons with orders to smack us, that’s why I went live, they want to smack us, the f****** p*****.”
The defendant said: “Police killed two kids on a bike, we’ve come out to pay respects and they start hitting us with batons so we hit back, what do you expect?
“I am not naming the boys, it’s not my place, you’ll soon hear who it was, I am not disrespecting their families like that.”
Williams tells the livestream he needs a charger and he has 21,000 people watching.
His last comments were: “I told you guys, things are going to get lit just as it dies (referring to his phone). F****** no.”
The livestream cuts just as a petrol bomb has been thrown
McKenzie Danks
McKenzie Danks, 22, Heol Trelai, Caerau, assaulted two police officers but did not take part in the riot itself.
He was described as “laughing” in front of the police line and called an officer a “p**** bruv”.
At the police cordon, he was pushed back by an officer which caused him to stumble back and fall to the floor after tripping on his friend’s shoes.
(Image: John Myers)
After falling to the floor, he was kicked to the head by someone on a bicycle but he directed his anger towards the police.
He hopped up to his feet and threw his slider at an officer and then he took another off and threw that at the police officer.
Danks then spat at or gestured to spit at the police officer.
The verdicts
Three of the defendants in the Ely riots trial. Pictured from left to right: Jordan Bratcher, Lee Robinson and Luke Williams(Image: John Myers)
Following the trial at Newport Crown Court, on Thursday, October 23, Robinson, Williams, Baston, Bratcher, Farrugia and O’Sullivan were found guilty of rioting.
Danks was found not guilty of rioting, and had already pleaded guilty to assaulting two police officers.
The defendants will be sentenced at a later date.
