A 20-year-old male driver was killed and a 15-year-old boy suffered serious head injuries when the car they were in crashed at high speed while it was being chased by police.

Two other passengers in the black Seat Leon, a 16-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy, also needed hospital treatment following the incident shortly after midnight yesterday.

Police chiefs have voluntarily referred the case to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

A spokesman said an unmarked police Vauxhall was in South Street, travelling towards Haworth, at about 12.20am when the Seat Leon went past and the officer started to follow it.

The Seat turned into the Jet filling station where the driver performed a U-turn and drove back along South Street towards the town centre ignoring police orders to stop.

The spokesman said: “The police vehicle followed the Seat which failed to stop and made off at speed. It failed to negotiate a left-hand bend and collided with a wall and a metal security gate outside Keighley Business Centre.

“The driver of the Leon, a 20-year-old man, of the Stockbridge area, was pronounced dead at the scene.

“A 15-year-old Keighley male, who was a passenger in the Seat, was taken to Bradford Royal Infirmary with serious injuries and was later transferred to Leeds General Infirmary for treatment to serious head injuries.

“Two other passengers, a 16-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy, were also taken to hospital for treatment.”

The dead man has been named locally as Saeed Iqbal, a bank worker.

Councillor Zafar Ali (Con, Keighley Central) said: “The family are devastated, they have lost their only son. It is an extremely hard time for them and my sympathies go to them.”

Councillor Abid Hussain (Lab, Keighley Central) said: “I really feel very sorry for the family, they have lost a young man who had a bright future.”

Councillor Khadim Hussain (Lab, Keighley Central) said: “He was a young lad and he was the only son.

“Obviously the family is very distraught. It is a very sad loss under very tragic circumstances, so my sympathies obviously are with the family. The community is shocked at what’s happened.”

As well as the IPCC referral, the incident is being probed by the force’s Professional Standards Department because a police pursuit had led to a fatality, said the police spokesman.

An IPCC spokesman confirmed it was assessing the information it had received about the incident.

He said: “We will be assessing the information and we will make a decision whether to investigate.”

Witnesses or anyone who saw the Seat shortly should contact the West Yorkshire Police on 0845 6060606.