Accused van driver in court again

A van driver is to appear in court again accused of murdering a mother-of-three and attempting to murder 13 other pedestrians, including seven children, in a hit-and-run rampage.

Matthew Tvrdon, 31, is accused of deliberately driving into parents and young children during 30 minutes of mayhem spread over three miles in Cardiff's Ely and Leckwith districts on Friday afternoon.

He was remanded in custody at Cardiff Magistrates' Court on Monday and is due to appear at Newport Crown Court over a video link.

Karina Menzies, 31, was killed outside Ely Fire Station by a white Iveco van. She was one of 14 pedestrians, half of them children, hit by the van which allegedly mounted kerbs deliberately.

Tvrdon, of no fixed address, is charged with murder, 13 counts of attempted murder, four counts of actual bodily harm and one of dangerous driving.

Cardiff remains in shock as the wider community struggles to come to terms with the events of Friday afternoon.

Hundreds of people gathered on Sunday night to share their grief in a poignant prayer service at the Church of the Resurrection in Ely. Some 200 people visited the scene in Ely that day to hold a minute's silence for Ms Menzies.

Reverend Jan Gould, who led the special church service, had earlier broken down during her morning service at the church in front of a packed congregation.

"Whether we've personally known one or more of the victims of Friday's terrible events, or whether we are here as a member of this community simply wanting to show solidarity, there can be no one who has not been profoundly affected by what has happened here this week," she said. "This must surely be perhaps the deepest grief we have shared as a community."

Eight people injured in the incident remained in hospital yesterday - four adults and four children.