Middlesbrough honours officers killed in A66 collision
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Middlesbrough Football Club marked the deaths of two Cleveland Police constables with a minute's applause before their home match against West Bromwich Albion, as the force continued dealing with the aftermath of a violent week across Teesside. Pc Matthew Blades, 37, and Pc Tom Clough, 38, died last Saturday when their police vehicle collided head-on with a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way on the A66 near South Bank; five other people, including three teenagers, also lost their lives in the crash, which occurred moments after a police pursuit of the car had been called off.
Photographs of the two officers were shown on screens at the Riverside Stadium before kick-off, with players from both sides joining supporters in applause; Middlesbrough went on to win the match 3-1. The King is understood to have sent condolences to the officers' families. Separately, Cleveland Police said around 24 people had been arrested in a crackdown on suspected organised crime, and confirmed that a fatal house fire in Grangetown, which killed a woman and her seven-year-old niece, was not being linked to the A66 crash. The force's Police and Crime Commissioner, Matt Storey, described the week as the most tragic in the area's history, as hundreds of extra officers were deployed to support local policing.
- Middlesbrough fans applauded two officers killed in an A66 crash
- Pc Blades and Pc Clough died alongside five others last Saturday
- Cleveland Police also made ~24 arrests amid a wider crime crackdown
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The A66 is a major road linking Teesside with parts of northern England, and it passes close to Middlesbrough and nearby communities including South Bank and Grangetown. Cleveland Police is the local force for Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees.
Police officers can be called to incidents involving traffic, crime and public safety, often working alongside other emergency services. When officers die while on duty, local organisations such as football clubs may mark the loss publicly, reflecting their place in the wider community.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Middlesbrough football fans pay tribute to police officers killed in A66 crash with minute’s applause before match”.