HUNDREDS of police officers will gather today to pay tribute to their colleague PC Matthew Blades after he was killed in the A66 crash.
Officers from Cleveland Police and forces across the UK will line the streets to say an emotional farewell at his funeral.
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PC Blades, 37, was one of two officers who died when a VW Passat going the wrong way down the dual carriageway to escape police crashed into their marked patrol car.
His colleague PC Tom Clough, 38, was also killed and will be honoured at a separate funeral tomorrow.
Cleveland Police Federation Chair Lauren Somerville paid tribute to married dad-of-two PC Blades – known as Matty to friends – ahead of the service in Hartlepool, Co Durham.
She said: “There’ll be officers standing side by side, shoulder to shoulder, filled with pride, filled with dignity, filled with honour to give Matthew what he deserves.
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“Matthew’s family described him as a best friend, a husband, a father, a brother and a son, and they said that there aren’t any words powerful enough to describe how they feel.
“He was the heart of the family and will be loved and remembered beyond words today, tomorrow and always.
“He would have been so proud and thankful for all the support that’s been given to the family.
“They miss everything about him more than words can say. His laughter and his silly jokes made them smile even when they least expected it. He brought light and laughter into every room and now life feels unbearably quiet without him.”
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Lauren said that the Cleveland force had been buoyed by the outpouring of support from the public, including an incredible GoFundMe appeal for the officers’ families which reached £1.2m.
She said: “The response from the public has brought so much comfort. As police we deal with the tragic parts of people’s lives, really dark parts of society, and it’s sometimes difficult to see the support from the public.
“To see it now when we need it most is really comforting.”
The two officers were killed on August 22 alongside the five in the Passat – Michael Cahill, Jakub Matusiak, both 23, Makai Saddington, 18, and 17-year-olds Cole Worthy and Theo Rae.
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The gang had purposefully driven into oncoming traffic in a bid to shake off police during a high-speed chase.
Cops abandoned the seven-minute pursuit as soon as they entered the dual carriageway.
But ten seconds later at 3.39am the Passat smashed into the armed response unit.
The gang had been looking for rivals after a long-running feud exploded when a Volvo XC60 rammed a home belonging to Cole Worthy’s dad, Gye, 38.
Moments later, the car barged an Audi into the front of a home belonging to Theo Rae’s family.
Cops flooded the area to prevent further disorder but by then the five were in the Passat hunting the Volvo.
It tried to evade pursuing police by heading onto the A66 and moments later the crash occurred triggering an explosion in the gangland feud which rocked Middlesbrough.
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An extra 200 specialist officers, including armed cops, were deployed to the town from six other northern forces as Cleveland Police tried to keep a lid on the escalating violence.
Police made 24 arrests in the days after to disrupt organised crime.