Detectives not linking A66 crash which killed two policemen to fatal house fire
Detectives have confirmed they are not linking a house fire which killed a seven-year-old girl and her aunt to a crash on the A66 last weekend which left seven people dead, including two police officers.
Hundreds of extra police officers have been drafted in to support officers after a series of recent incidents in the Middlesbrough and County Durham area – starting with the head-on crash that killed Pc Matthew Blades, 37, and Pc Tom Clough, 38, and five young men.
On Friday, the head of local policing at Cleveland Police confirmed the force is not linking the crash to the fire.
Assistant Chief Constable Dave Sutherland said: “Since the tragic incident last Saturday morning in which seven people, including two of our serving police officers, Pc Matthew Blades and Pc Tom Clough, sadly lost their lives, officers and staff have remained working around the clock to continue to serve the public of Cleveland.
“In the same week, we have also seen a tragic house fire on Wednesday in which two people lost their lives, which is also understandably impacting the force and our local communities. At this time, we are not linking this incident to the fatal collision on the A66.
“Our thoughts remain with all those affected by these incidents as we continue our investigations into what happened.”
Following Wednesday’s house blaze, which killed Natalie McDonald, 34, and her niece Valentina Foster and injured four others in Grangetown, on Thursday a property was rammed and a man was stabbed.
Later that day, a crowd set fire to a number of cars as part of a tribute to one of those who died in the A66 crash between a police car and a Volkswagen Passat
The incident in Haswell, some 20 miles north of the crash site, is understood to have been a vigil to remember Michael Cahill, 23, who was travelling in the VW Passat alongside Cole Worthy, 17, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and 23-year-old Jakub Matusiak. All five young men died.
Police said it was deemed safest to let the torched vehicles in Thursday’s incident burn out and condemned it as “completely unacceptable”.
Durham Constabulary said they were called to the private field in the Haswell area of the county shortly after 5.30pm on Thursday, where five vehicles were wrecked as a large crowd gathered to release balloons, flares and fireworks.
Videos shared on social media appeared to show several cars on fire while others appeared to show burnt-out cars being moved from the field by a tractor.
On Friday, remnants of fireworks, smoke canisters and balloons were scattered around the field where cars had been torched, with scorch marks visible on the ground.
The cars have been removed but a section of a front bumper remained in place.
Assistant Chief Constable Jon McAdam, of Durham Constabulary, said: “The behaviour we saw at last night’s gathering was completely unacceptable.
“We utterly condemn anyone who would use that tragedy as an excuse for disorder and expect the overwhelming majority of the public would join us in doing so.”
Labour MP for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East Andy McDonald described what is going on in the area as “terrorism” and said locals were scared to go to the shops.
He told Times Radio: “This is terrorism and we’ve got to have an appropriate response to deal with the people who are causing such mayhem in our communities and to allow people to lead their peaceful lives.”
Anna Turley, MP for Redcar, said: “People are feeling frightened in their communities and I’ve just come from a really important briefing with the chief constable, who said that ‘I really want to reassure people that we have all the resources we need’.
“We are working day and night to keep people safe.
“We have over 200 extra officers from all across the country who’ve come in and who are doing everything they can, and we’ve seen from the number of arrests so far already that they are taking action.”
She stressed that the string of incidents were “not all linked”.
“It could feel that way at the moment because of the national spotlight on us, but unfortunately, we know we’ve had a high level of crime and in this area for a long time now, these are incidents, sadly, that we see all the time,” Ms Turley said.
“It shouldn’t be this way, and it’s up to us to make sure that there isn’t a business as usual which sees that high level of crime and disorder going forward.
“But Cleveland Police have been at pains to say we shouldn’t think that these are all connected, and we shouldn’t be jumping to conclusions.”
Police arrested 17 people after the A66 crash, which followed a police pursuit, as part of investigations into alleged organised crime.
On Friday, Cleveland Police said Kai Inico, who was arrested on Monday on suspicion of participating in an organised crime group, has been charged with possession with intent to supply a class B drug.
The force said four other people arrested on Monday have also been bailed – a 16-year-old boy and 18-year-old man arrested on suspicion of participating in an organised crime group, a 55-year-old man arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender, and a 23-year-old man arrested on suspicion of threats to kill.
Earlier this week, two people were charged with offences and appeared in court and 10 others were bailed.
Meanwhile, two men have been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the fire which killed Ms McDonald and her niece Valentina.
Ms McDonald’s devastated brother Josh Kirton told reporters: “My sister was not involved with anything to do with gangs, or the (crash on the) A66.
“That’s what makes this so senseless.”
Ahead of their game against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, Middlesbrough FC asked fans to show their respect to Pc Blades and Pc Clough.
The club said in a statement: “Immediately before kick-off, we’re asking supporters to join us in paying respects to Pc Matthew Blades and Pc Tom Clough, the two Cleveland police officers who tragically lost their lives in the line of duty last weekend.”
Published: by Radio NewsHub