GWENT Police will be out in force at this weekend's Pride Cymru 2018 in Cardiff.

The annual big weekend event will once more take over the City Hall Lawns, and surrounding streets - supporting the LGBTQ+ community and our commitment to values of inclusion, unity and progress.

Gwent officers will at the event on Saturday, when the highlight of the Pride Cymru Parade takes place at 11am.

The news follows controversy after the Gwent Police logo changed to include rainbow colours.

The force will be represented by Inspector Wendy Keepin, Det Supt Nicky Brain, Police and Crime Commissioner Jeff Cuthbert, Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner Eleri Thomas, and a further five officers.

They will also help staff a stall on Saturday afternoon, alongside colleagues from Dyfed Powys Police and South Wales Police, aimed at engaging with the public and promoting equality for all in the police.

Inspector Keepin said: "We are all really looking forward to the day. As well as being a lot of fun, we are taking this event very seriously as it is sadly underpinned by many decades of inequality.

"We want Gwent as a place and Gwent Police as an employer to embrace everyone, irrespective of background or identity, and we want to celebrate and promote that this weekend.

"Across Gwent we have seen homophobic and transphobic hate crimes double over the past two years, and nationally, homophobic attacks sadly hit the headlines on a weekly basis.

"We hope that our participation in Pride Cymru is an indication of our support to the LGBTQ+ community and our commitment to values of inclusion, unity and progress."

For more information about the event, visit http://bigweekend.pridecymru.co.uk/.

If you have experienced or witnessed an incident or crime you perceive to be motivated by hostility or prejudice, please report it to the police directly on 101 or 999, online at www.report-it.org or through Victim Support on 0300 30 31 982.