Five officers involved in a pursuit that culminated in the death of a driver have received written warnings after they failed to obey orders to stand down.

An IPCC investigation into the death of Lee Lewis four years ago found that four of the South Wales Police drivers were not pursuit trained – and a sergeant in one of the vehicles had failed to enforce the order of the control room to stop.

The investigation also found that the vehicles, which included a dog van, were not authorised to give chase. Yet the pursuit reached speeds of nearly 90mph.

Details of the IPCC investigation, which concluded in March 2009, were revealed following Inquest jury's narrative verdict at the Guildhall in Swansea on January 26.

The probe found that Mr Lewis had been seen in a Ford Fiesta driving without the lights on in Port Talbot at about 00:45 Hours on May 18. He had taken the vehicle without consent.

As officers attempted to stop Mr Lewis he drove off and crashed soon after. He was taken to hospital and died 12 days later after contracting a blood infection.

IPCC Commissioner for Wales Tom Davies said that control room staff had recognised that those involved in the pursuit "were not authorised drivers in authorised vehicles".

He added: "During some stages of the pursuit there were four police vehicles in a convoy travelling at speeds of up to 87mph on roads that had a 60mph limit. This included two police cars and two police vans, one of which was a dog handler's van.

"When the officers involved in this incident were first interviewed by the IPCC they gave an account in which they were unable to recall travelling at excess speeds or that they were ordered to stop the pursuit but continued.

"The public perception of a police officer is an individual who gives reliable and accurate evidence," he added. "During the course of our investigation it has been disappointing that the officers actively involved in the incident found it difficult to recall distances, speeds and the actions of others.

Mr Davies emphasised that South Wales Police considered the officers actions as evidenced by the independent investigation and had "rightly disciplined them".

He added: "Since this incident police pursuit guidelines have been given the force of law and will go a long way to ensuring that police pursuits are carried out correctly."