Fatal car crash referred to IPCC

Police are trying to trace a third man believed to have been in the car

A fatal crash in Cheshire which followed a police pursuit has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

One man died and another was seriously injured when the car hit a lorry in Chester in the early hours.

Officers had been trying to trace a silver Vauxhall Omega after three masked men armed with a sledgehammer were seen in it in a car park.

The car was followed, but sped off and lost patrol cars before it crashed.

Two men were found in the car at Capenhurst but police believe a third person in the car, who is missing, may also be hurt.

The driver suffered serious injuries and the passenger died at the scene.

Officers were called at about 0300 GMT, alerting them to the car and men in the car park.

A patrol car followed the vehicle onto the A5116 before losing sight of it.

Just after 0323 GMT another police patrol spotted the vehicle after it had collided into a parked lorry on the A540 at Capenhurst Lane near the Yacht public house.

The A540 at the junction with A550 at Two Mills traffic lights has been closed, a police spokeswoman said.