Police remain at the scene of a murder investigation in Cardiff following the discovery of a man's body earlier this week.
South Wales Police confirmed it had launched a murder investigation following the discovery of the man's body by a member of the public at around 11.30pm on Thursday, January 28 on Westville Road in Penylan.
The body of the man, believed to be in his 20s or 30s, has not yet been identified.
On Saturday, January 30, police remained in the area, with cordons still in place around Westville Road and Roath Brook Gardens.
The adjacent Roath Mill Gardens remains open to the public.
Nearby residents and businesses described the police presence in the area following the incident.
A resident of Sandringham Road, opposite Roath Brook Gardens, said she first noticed the “commotion” involving police on Thursday night.
“When we went to bed there was a load of commotion over there,” said the resident, who did not wish to be named, gesturing toward Westville Road and Roath Brook Gardens.
She said that after seeing the heavy police presence in the area at around 11.45pm, a police officer came to the door.
The woman said she has lived in her house for over 36 years and during that time she hasn’t seen anything as serious as this. She said it is usually a safe area where people walk with their children and their dogs, and where neighbours know each other.
“It is worrying and scary,” she said.
Frederick Heal, 92, who has lived near Roath Mill Gardens since 1987, described the streets around the park as a "quiet" area.
Mr Heal said that aside from minor issues involving students drinking in the park several years ago, there had been no major problems since he has lived there, and that he is shocked that anything “so violent” could have taken place near his house.
He said the neighbourhood is friendly and that people look out for each other in the area, with his neighbours checking on him on a daily basis throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr Heal said he wanted to know whether he should have reason to be concerned about his personal safety.
At nearby Waterloo Gardens, Neil Robjohn runs a local corner shop.
Mr Robjohn said he didn’t see anything on Thursday night but that police had been into the shop following the incident.
“They’ve taken our CCTV footage,” he said. "It’s around 36 hours in total.”
Mr Robjohn said that aside from the police visit it has been business as usual.
South Wales Police said on Friday night that the major crime team is leading the investigation from an incident room that has been set up at Cardiff Central police station.
They are appealing for witnesses and any CCTV.
In a statement, South Wales Police said: "Officers are appealing for anybody with information to come forward.
"In particular, they’d like to speak to anybody who may have seen or heard anything suspicious in Westville Road in Penylan, or who was in the vicinity of Newport Road and its junction with Albany Road, or in Broadway, between 10.15pm on Thursday (January 28) and 1am on Friday (January 29)."
Senior Investigation Officer, Detective Superintendent Darren George, said: “I would urge anybody with information to come forward.
"No matter how insignificant the information may seem, we would much rather you make the call to our incident room to speak to one of our officers.
“People may have CCTV in the area, or they may have driven through these areas between the times given.
"I would ask that if anyone who was in the area around these times, who has any dash cam or CCTV footage, to please contact the incident room at Cardiff Central police station.”
Anybody with information should contact the incident room at Cardiff Central Police Station on 02920 634184. Alternatively they can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Members of the public can also give information online via the Major Investigation Public Portal
