A WOMAN sustained serious injures after the car she was a passenger in collided with a tree following an early-morning police chase near Chepstow.

She and the male driver both had to be freed from the vehicle by a specialist rescue crew before being taken to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff.

A 24-year-old man was later arrested over the incident, which happened around 2.20am on Thursday morning (November 22) on the B4293 Itton Road.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct confirmed that Gwent Police had referred the incident to it and it was investigating.

A force spokesperson said the crash happened "following a brief police pursuit" and the male driver of the vehicle and a female passenger both received suspected serious injuries and were taken to hospital for treatment.

The condition of the woman was later described as serious, while the man had been discharged.

Gwent Police confirmed that a 24-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of causing injury by dangerous driving.

A spokesman for the IOPC said: "We have begun an investigation into a road traffic accident near Chepstow this morning which followed a short police pursuit.

"A driver and a passenger in a Volvo car were taken to hospital after a collision with a tree in Itton Road at around 2.20am.

"We understand a woman passenger sustained serious injuries and remains in hospital. After being notified by Gwent Police we deployed investigators to the scene and to the police post-incident procedures."