Several schools in Middlesbrough's Acklam area are closing early again today for the funeral of Theo Rae, 17, one of seven people killed in the A66 crash, just days after neighbouring South Bank schools did the same for another victim's funeral. The repeated closures have sparked a political row, with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch calling the decision "obscene" and accusing the Labour government of letting gang violence dictate school schedules, while the council and police maintain that individual schools made the calls themselves over traffic concerns rather than being ordered to shut.

Outwood Academy Acklam will close at 12.15pm, Newham Bridge Primary at 1pm, and Acklam Whin Primary and Green Lane School at 1.15pm, mirroring the early finish for Jakub Matusiak's funeral three days earlier, which police said passed with minimal disruption. The A66 crash on 22 August killed two police officers, PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough, along with all five occupants of a Volkswagen Passat that struck their car head-on, and has triggered a major investigation into suspected organised crime, with dozens arrested and reports that four of the young men had at least 37 convictions between them.