Police in the Welsh valleys have arrested a man on suspicion of attempted murder over the stabbing of a woman this morning. Witnesses told Sky News that the victim, who is in hospital, was heavily pregnant. Read back through our live page to follow events as they happened today.
Wednesday 6 December 2023 07:27, UK
After the arrest of a 28-year-old man on suspicion of attempted murder, we are closing down our coverage.
Scroll down through this page to catch up on all the developments as they happened over the course of the day.
Or you can read more in our story here:
Chief Inspector Rob Miles is giving an update on the stabbing in Aberfan.
We updated this post as he was speaking:
By Tomos Evans, Wales reporter
"Everyone knows everyone."
That's how one resident described the community of Aberfan, in Merthyr Tydfil.
Those living in this South Wales valleys community are all too familiar with tragedy.
This was the very community devastated by the collapse of a colliery spoil tip in 1966, which killed 116 children and 28 adults.
Today, when local nurseries and schools were put into lockdown, some feared the worst.
Pauline Hopkins lives on Moy Road.
She was out for a walk when she told me she had been left "shocked" by the incident.
"You hear about it in other places but when it's on your doorstep, it's different, isn't it?"
Tom Power, while walking his son home from school after the lockdown was lifted, said "most of the people are very close".
With the update from South Wales Police that the injuries obtained by the 29-year-old victim are "not believed to be life-threatening", people here are relieved.
There is a sense of relief that a further tragedy for this "close-knit" community has been averted.
Chief Inspector Rob Miles will provide an update at Merthyr Tydfil police station at around 5.30pm.
We'll bring you all the updates from the briefing here on our live page.
It has been an "incredibly dramatic day" for the residents in Aberfan, our news correspondent Dan Whitehead says.
He says the stabbing "kicked off a series of events", including armed police carrying out searches across the immediate area.
Whitehead says that due to the manhunt lasting some seven to eight hours a number of schools and nurseries had to go into lockdown.
"The school gates were closed and no one really knew just how serious this was," he adds.
He says the officers from South Wales Police have now concluded their search.
"The 29-year-old woman remains in hospital and we do not understand her injuries to be life-threatening," he adds.
A man has been arrested after an extensive police search.
The arrest comes just over seven hours after a woman was stabbed on a residential street in Aberfan.
South Wales Police said in a statement: "Following a report that a 29-year-old woman had been stabbed on Moy Road, Aberfan, Merthyr earlier this morning, officers have arrested a 28-year-old man from Merthyr on suspicion of attempted murder.
"He is currently in police custody."
Mark Drakeford, the first Welsh minister, has said his thoughts are with the people of Aberfan.
After Andrew RT Davies, the Welsh Tory leader, mentioned the stabbing in the Senedd today, Mr Drakeford said events were unfolding and his thoughts were with the "people caught up in them".
He said: "Can I echo what the leader of the opposition said about the events that are unfolding in Aberfan?
"I was grateful for the briefing I received earlier in the day from Dawn Bowden, the constituency member.
"Events continue to unfold and for the moment our thoughts are with people caught up in them and there will be more, no doubt, that we will learn."
A father close to where the stabbing took place has told our Wales reporter Tomos Evans that he found out about the incident through a group chat between parents in the local area.
Tom Power lives "five or six" doors down from where the stabbing took place.
His son was at school when he heard it had been locked down at about 10am.
He told Sky News he was "happy that they had that kind of system in place".
"Happy that we knew that no one would be able to take any children out," he added.
"We were aware of [the stabbing] before the lockdown and then there was a group chat between the parents and we found out through that."
Mr Power said he had lived on Moy Road for a couple of years but worked away.
"I know most of the people are very close," he said.
"Crazy to think that kind of stuff happens."
We reported earlier that Greenfield Special School in Aberfan had locked all its gates and was keeping its pupils indoors as police carried out investigations (see post at 1.24pm).
The school has now issued an update, saying it is no longer in lockdown and is "resuming normal procedures".
Its Christmas fair, it adds, has been postponed until tomorrow.
Our news correspondent Dan Whitehead has been speaking from Aberfan in the past few moments.
In the hours since the stabbing took place, he says, a dozen houses have been sealed off by police.
"That intensive search of the immediate area by armed officers continues."
He has been speaking to neighbours up and down the street and they have told of their "shock".
He says: "As it stands we are six hours or more since this incident unfolded and the manhunt is still under way."
