The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has launched an appeal for witnesses to a police pursuit which ended in the death of a teenager after the car he was travelling in hit a wall in Caister, near Great Yarmouth.

Just after midnight on Wednesday, February 2, officers in a marked vehicle on the Caister bypass and Yarmouth Road roundabout, became aware of a silver Ford Fiesta. They began following the car and, after briefly losing it, began a pursuit.

The pursuit continued on to Yarmouth Road, where the Fiesta hit a brick wall. Ryan Youngman, 15, of Middleton Road, Gorleston, who was the front seat passenger, died at the scene.

Three other people in the car, which had been reported stolen two days earlier, were taken to hospital.

IPCC investigators are keen to hear from anyone who witnessed any part of the pursuit or the collision in Yarmouth Road. They can be called on 0800 0969071 or e-mailed via Caister@ipcc.gsi.gov.uk.

Investigators have so far completed house-to-house inquiries in the area as well as retrieving some of the CCTV that covers the areas the pursuit went through.

The information from the police car's 'black box' has also been downloaded and will be analysed shortly.

Meanwhile, in the wake of thousands of Facebook tributes to Ryan, his family have issued their own statement.

It said: 'To those who knew him, Ryan was a cheeky, lovable, normal teenager. His friends and girlfriend meant so much to him, as did his family. Recently Ryan and his girlfriend had been very close and these were some of the happiest times of his life.'

stephen.pullinger@archant.co.uk