Tributes were being paid today to a teenage girl who was found dead in a car stopped by police.

A murder investigation was launched after the body of Chanelle Sasha Jones, 17, was found in a Ford Fiesta brought to a halt on a coastal road on Sunday.

Police tracked down the car near Aberaeron, Ceredigion, West Wales, after Chanelle was reported missing hours earlier that afternoon.

A stinger device was used to stop the car after police followed it on the A487.

A man was arrested in connection with the death
and was in hospital last night.

Dyfed-Powys Police called in the Independent Police Complaints Commission because of the way the car was stopped. It hit a camper van parked in a lay-by, leaving the van's occupants with minor injuries.

It is not known whether Chanelle, from Cardigan, was dead before the crash or whether she died as a result of the accident. A post- mortem examination is due to be carried out.

Police said last night that an official identification had not taken place, but they believed the dead girl was Chanelle.

Friends left dozens of messages to the teenager on a Facebook group dedicated to her.

Ceri Ann wrote: "I love you so much Sasha."

Vicki James said: "When I saw you the other day and said see you soon I never thought I'd be writing on here... Such a shame that such a beautiful soul was taken from us all."

In a statement released through the police, her mother, Jayne, said: "My beautiful daughter Chanelle Sasha has been taken from us due to a cruel set of circumstances.

"She has been through so much in her short life and I was and we all are so proud of how she was turning her life around for the better and she now had so many ambitions.

"She was my lovely daughter who will be so sadly missed by her sister and two brothers and all her family and her boyfriend Brian.

"We all love you and miss you darling babe."

A stinger is a chain of steel spikes thrown across the path of a vehicle to deflate its tyres. The devices were introduced to stop joyriders and car thieves.

Police want to speak to anyone who may have seen Chanelle between 3.30am and 10.15pm on Sunday.

They have also appealed to anyone who saw a beige 2003-plate Fiesta on the Haverfordwest to St Clears road, or in the Lampeter, Poppit Sands and Gwbert-on-Sea areas during the day.