British Transport Police are appealing for information about the incident

Two men who died when the quad bike they were riding was hit by a train in south Wales may have been involved in the theft of £40,000 of outdoor gear shortly before their death.

South Wales Police are examining CCTV footage after the GO Outdoors store in Roath, Cardiff was broken into in the early hours this morning, Wednesday. Soon after, the two men, from Rumney, Cardiff, were killed when an empty passenger train hit the quad they were riding along the track near the store. Two men on another quad ran off uninjured.

Two hundred technical outdoor jackets were later found stashed near the store.

The two men who died were named as Trevor Davies, 20, and David Cooper, 27, both of whom lived close to the GO Outdoors store. The train was believed to be travelling in the same direction as the men at about 70mph when they were hit. It was heading for a depot in Cheltenham for maintenance.

Police said the train driver was ‘pretty shaken up’ by the incident.

Chief Inspector Sandra England of British Transport Police said: “At quarter to four this morning, an empty passenger train travelling from Cardiff towards Newport struck two quad bikes and unfortunately two men have died.

“We now believe two other persons have made off from the accident.”

She urged anyone with any information to come forward so police can trace the two people.

Train services were disrupted for hours after the incident as the mangled quad bikes were recovered and track repaired.

A note on the GO Outdoors website this morning said: “Due to unforeseen circumstances the Cardiff Store will be closed this morning for trading. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause to our customers.”