Image source, SuppliedByEvie LakeNorth East and Cumbria
- Published9 September 2026, 06:08 BST
Updated 10 minutes ago
The funeral of one of the two police officers killed in a wrong-way crash is to take place later.
PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, died when a Volkswagen Passat collided with their marked armed response car on the A66 at South Bank, near Middlesbrough, on 22 August. Five young men were also killed.
Road closures will be in place in Hartlepool for PC Blades’ funeral from 07:30 BST to allow for a full police ceremonial funeral.
Speaking on behalf of his family, Cleveland Police Federation chair Lauren Somerville said “life feels unbearably quiet” without the father-of-two’s “silly jokes” and laughter.
Somerville said flowers had been delivered to the force’s stations and people from Australia, France and America had been in touch.
“The support has been overwhelming, and it’s been comforting,” she said.
Somerville added even small acknowledgements of respect from the public, such as a nod or a thank you when they see police out and about, had brought officers “so much strength”.
Officers had been pursuing the Passat for almost seven minutes after it was connected to earlier alleged criminal activity, but the pursuit was abandoned 10 seconds before the crash when it turned onto the dual carriageway, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said.
PC Blades and PC Clough were in a vehicle looking for the Passat after its cloned registration plates triggered an automated number plate recognition camera, although they were not involved in the pursuit, according to the IOPC.
Cole Worthy and Theo Rae, both 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and 23-year-olds Michael Cahill and Jakub Matusiak also died in the crash.
Image source, Instagram/Carmel College
Hutton Avenue in Hartlepool will be closed from the junction with Mulgrave Road, alongside St Paul’s Road and South Road from the junction with Mitchell Street.
Vehicles still parked on these roads after 07:30 BST will be removed.
Somerville said: “All of the officers across the country will have felt this and Cleveland is such a small force, so it’s personal to have lost Matthew and Tom.
“I think the common feeling has been a sense of duty and a sense of pride, doing everything we can to make it perfect.”
‘Brought light and laughter’
The force federation chair said Cleveland officers would be standing side-by-side in uniform at the funeral “filled with pride and dignity”.
“I’ve spoken to Matthew’s family and he was described as a best friend, a husband, a father, a brother and a son,” Somerville said.
“He was funny and his laughter and silly jokes made them smile even when they least expected it, he brought light and laughter into every room he came into.
“And life feels unbearably quiet without him now.”
PC Blades taught English at Carmel College in Darlington before joining the police force.
The school remembered him as an “intelligent, kind and approachable teacher” who “gave generously of himself to the young people in his care”.
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