Middlesbrough has been gripped by escalating gang violence after a stolen car crashed head-on into a police vehicle on the A66, killing seven people.
The fatal collision killed Police Constables Matthew Blades, 37, and Tom Clough, 38, alongside five teenagers and young men inside a stolen Volkswagen Passat that was travelling the wrong way down the dual carriageway.
Detectives revealed the group in the Passat were pursuing a Volvo XC60 that had rammed into the home of Gye Worthy, father of 17-year-old occupant Cole Worthy, just 40 minutes earlier in the early hours of last Saturday.
The crash triggered a wave of lawlessness across Teesside, including arson, stabbings, and house-ramming attacks that have prompted the local Member of Parliament to describe the wave of disorder as terrorism.
An additional 200 police officers are being drafted in to support investigations into the A66 collision and a fatal house fire in nearby Grangetown.
Police officers killed in collision
PC Matthew Blades, a father of two young boys and a popular football coach, was remembered by his wife Sarah as their superhero.
She said that the pain of losing him is beyond words and their lives will never be the same, adding that the love he gave them will never fade.
PC Tom Clough, a former soldier who served in Afghanistan, leaves behind a partner. His family said he proudly fought for his country to make the world a better place and was always on public duty throughout his short life, praising his fantastic sense of humour and willingness to help anyone for any reason.
Fatal house fire and shooting links
Tensions mounted further at 5.23am on Wednesday when a house fire in Grangetown, on the outskirts of Middlesbrough, killed seven-year-old Valentina Foster and her aunt Natalie McDonald, 34.
Cleveland Police stressed that detectives are not linking the arson attack to the car crash. However, Natalie McDonald's uncle is Marty Timms, 55, a notorious Teesside gangland figure serving 14 years with two accomplices for gunning down a 21-year-old man in a drive-by shooting in Grangetown on May 28, 2024.
Two men, aged 23 and 31, have been arrested on suspicion of murder over the blaze and remain in custody. Another woman rescued from the house remains in critical condition in hospital with much of her hair burned off, while three others suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Barely 24 hours after the fatal fire, the front garden wall of an address near the scene was demolished in a vehicle-ramming attack. Shortly afterwards on Thursday afternoon, armed police surrounded a property in the area after a man was stabbed and taken to hospital in an air ambulance.
Backgrounds of the car occupants
A memorial poster for 17-year-old Cole Worthy showed him gesturing with a trademark gang hand sign alongside the words: "A life so beautifully lived, deserves to be beautifully remembered." Balaclava-wearing associates made similar gestures on social media ahead of a balloon release in his honour.
Worthy had convictions for using threatening or abusive language to cause harassment, alarm and distress, assaulting a police officer, failing to surrender to custody, and using a mobile phone while driving. His father Gye Worthy, 39, an offshore worker and director of a petroleum support services firm, led a normal life at home according to a neighbour, but a local parent noted Cole was anxious to build a reputation as a hard man looking up to his father.
Best friend Theo Rae, 17, who also died in the stolen car, had 21 previous convictions, including assaulting a police officer, aggravated vehicle taking, and shoplifting. In a deleted online post, his uncle Ryan Young wrote: "Just to let you know the police killed them. I will fight for justice for you all. The police threw a stinger on the wrong side of the road and made them lose control and this hasn't been mentioned anywhere. It is disgusting..."
Makai Saddington, 18, lived with his mother across addresses in the deprived TS3 postcode in east Middlesbrough. Former neighbours described him as an out-of-control menace who rode motorbikes dangerously before graduating to car chases with police, which he filmed for TikTok.
Criminal records and vigils
Saddington, who became a father to a son born in January last year, was of no fixed address when he appeared in court in June for racially aggravated harassment of an Asian police officer. His uncle Aaron Saddington, 23, was jailed in June for driving 100mph the wrong way down the A66.
Jakub Matusiak, 23, was brought up by his mother alongside his sister and younger brother, and was described by acquaintances as a good kid who was easily led. He had a fascination with motorbikes and held convictions for driving without insurance and driving without a licence.
At a vigil for Matusiak, friends in balaclavas set off flares in his memory. A separate vigil on Thursday night for 23-year-old Michael Cahill of Peterlee, County Durham, the only vehicle occupant with no convictions, descended into chaos as a mob of youths torched several cars and set off fireworks.
Escalating violence and police shortfall
Cleveland Police revealed that seven more people have been arrested in the aftermath of the crash, bringing the total to 24. Seven of the original 17 held were detained on suspicion of participating in an organised crime group, including a 16-year-old and an 18-year-old, while others face allegations involving firearms, threats to kill, and drug dealing.
In east Middlesbrough, community buildings have been daubed with tributes to the deceased youths alongside the slogan "F*** TMF", thought to stand for The Middlesbrough Feds.
Former Mayor of Middlesbrough Andy Preston warned that tensions are high and getting worse, stating that residents are terrified and too scared to call Crimestoppers anonymously or meet near their homes for fear of being labelled a grass. He blamed a small but destructive criminal underclass that politicians have been too weak to confront.
Middlesbrough, which has a population of around 156,000, records the highest crime rate in England outside London, while Teesside carries the highest murder risk. The Cleveland force faces a £2.4 million funding shortfall, equivalent to around 40 full-time officers, while Middlesbrough holds the greatest proportion of highly deprived neighbourhoods in the country.
Spate of targeted gang attacks
The region has suffered repeated violent incidents. In June, two men were jailed after a shotgun was fired through a house window at close range knowing children were potentially inside, following a targeted attack where three men on a quad bike discharged a sawn-off shotgun at another property.
Homes on Macbean Street and Pilkington Street in North Ormesby were rammed on August 12, and a tractor was driven into a house on Priory Road in May. A neighbouring mother recalled waking up to flickering lights and looking out her window to see the tractor in the garden.
Earlier this month in nearby Stockton, a white Range Rover rammed a house five times after an occupant recently released from prison refused to work for drug dealers, forcing the family to move to a safe house. A local resident noted that everything in the area is tied to drug dealing as police maintain heightened patrols across Teesside.
