A young mother has revealed how she watched a gang of men reversing and crashing cars into each other on a sports ground car park.

She claims she also heard the sound of shots being fired at the Marley Stadium car park, near the Aire Valley Trunk Road in Keighley.

The woman, who has two children aged seven and four, and lives in Thwaites, does not want to be named.

"As soon as I went to bed I heard two loud bangs," she said.

"I ran downstairs to see what was happening. There were five or six cars reversing really quickly out of the Marley stadium car park and crashing into each other.

"As they were smashing into each other there were, I think, about ten or 15 more bangs. I'm convinced they were gun shots."

The terrified woman said the cars sped away as she called the police, and a large number of people ran down nearby Aireworth Road.

Another neighbour confirmed the Marley stadium car park is a common place for young men to meet in their cars and race.

Keighley police said they were called to the car park at about 2.30am on Wednesday morning. DCI Gary Baker said when the officers arrived there was no-one there.

He said he had heard claims of gun shots being fired in the car park and of a large gathering of cars and officers were looking into the matter and following a number of lines of enquiry.

He added the discovery of three seriously damaged cars in Keighley was being linked with the Marley stadium disturbance.

Three men were arrested and released on police bail.

Police say that no evidence has been found to suggest forearms were involved.

A spokesman for Bradford Council said: "The first staff knew of any activity involving police was when they arrived for work and found the car park and adjacent allotments cordoned off."

Anyone with any information about the abandoned cars or the incident at Marley should call Keighley CID on (01535) 617085.

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