A66 crash fundraiser for fallen officers PC Blades and PC Clough surpasses £1m

A fundraiser for two Cleveland Police officers killed in a wrong-way A66 crash has exceeded £1m. Seventeen people have been arrested as part of the ongoing investigation.

Fundraiser for A66 officers passes £1m as 17 arrests made in crash investigation

A fundraiser for two police officers killed in a wrong-way collision on the A66 near Middlesbrough has surpassed £1m, Google News UK — Crime (en) reports, as police confirmed 17 arrests in connection with the ongoing investigation into the crash.

PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough died in the early hours of Saturday when a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way on the dual carriageway at South Bank struck their vehicle. The five young men inside the Volkswagen also died, bringing the total death toll to seven.

The Cleveland Police Federation launched the fundraiser, which will be divided equally between the families of the two officers to use as they see fit. Among the contributions was £4,000 from the Cleveland branch of the National Association of Retired Police Officers. Its chair, Grant Thorburn, said the deaths had "hit home hard".

"Once you're a police officer, you're always a police officer," Thorburn said. "So even after you retire, particularly in Cleveland — it's such a small, compact force — everyone knows everyone else."

The Police Federation's acting deputy national chair, Paul Williams, described widespread grief within the service. "The policing family is deeply scarred by this incident," he said. "This just brings it home as to how vulnerable we actually are." He added that officers were ordinary people — relatives, friends, parents, partners and colleagues.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has previously stated that officers had been pursuing the Volkswagen Passat seven minutes after it was linked to earlier alleged criminal activity. The pursuit was abandoned ten seconds before the crash, when the Passat turned onto the dual carriageway. PC Blades and PC Clough were not involved in the pursuit itself; they had been searching for the vehicle after its cloned registration plates triggered an automated number plate recognition camera.

PC Blades, a father of two and former English teacher, was described by his family as a "beloved husband" and the "most devoted father". His wife said he had left the world "committed to the duty he believed in", and that his greatest legacy would always be the love he gave his family. "He will be forever our super hero," she added.

PC Clough, who had previously served in the Army, was remembered by a fellow soldier as a "true friend, fantastic soldier" and, by all accounts, an even better police officer. His family described him as having a "fantastic sense of humour", always willing to jump "into action whenever needed" and ready to help "anyone for any reason". They said he had been their hero.

Tributes have also been paid to the five young men who died in the Passat. However, a community group, Active Tees Valley, has appealed on Facebook for people to refrain from spray-painting buildings with memorial messages. The appeal followed graffiti appearing on the East Middlesbrough Events Centre — formerly the Middlebeck Social Club — including the phrases "RIP The Boys", "Never Be Forgotten RIP The Lads", and the initials of those in the car alongside "Rest easy boys".

"We understand that people want to express their emotions and pay their respects," the group's post read, "but damaging buildings that are being used to support local residents ultimately impacts the same community we are all trying to look after."

Cleveland Police confirmed that 17 people, aged between 18 and 61, have been arrested across Teesside as part of the investigation into events leading up to the crash. Those held face a range of offences, including possession of a firearm and membership of an organised crime group.

Source: Google News UK — Crime (en)