PC Matthew Blades has been pictured following the devastating A66 collision that claimed the lives of two Cleveland Police officers and five young men travelling in a car that had been driven the wrong way along the road.
PC Blades, 38, and his colleague PC Tom Clough, 37, died after a Volkswagen Passat travelling in the wrong direction on the A66 collided head-on with their marked police vehicle during the early hours of Saturday morning. The five occupants of the Passat were also pronounced dead at the scene. As tributes continue across Teesside, PC Blades has been remembered as a devoted father, football coach and much-loved member of his local community.
Football club pays tribute to father-of-two
Social media photographs show PC Blades enjoying trips to watch Manchester United and taking part in a half marathon.
Away from policing, the husband and father-of-two had recently taken on a coaching role at Seaton Carew FC. He was due to begin coaching the club’s under-seven Seahawks team, which his son was set to play for.
In a tribute, Seaton Carew FC said: “He was looking forward to being part of the team and, most importantly, to coaching his own son, who is going to be playing for the Seahawks this season. Matty and his oldest son are much-loved members of our club and our U10 Lions football family.”
The club later lowered its flag to half-mast in his memory.
Cleveland Police also lowered flags at its Middlesbrough headquarters as the force mourned PC Blades and PC Clough.
Five young men also killed
The five people travelling in the Volkswagen Passat have been named locally as Michael Robert Cahill, 23, Theo Rae, 17, Cole Robert Worthy, 16, Jacob Matusiak, 23, and Makai Saddington, 18.
According to the Daily Mail, Saddington had previously shared TikTok videos which appeared to show involvement in high-speed police pursuits in the months before the fatal collision.
It is understood that the five young men had close links to the Traveller community.
Collision followed earlier police pursuit
The Volkswagen had earlier been involved in a police pursuit after officers became suspicious of the vehicle.
Ring doorbell footage reportedly captured the Passat travelling at speed through Middlesbrough at around 3.36am on Saturday. Officers involved in the pursuit stopped following the vehicle after it entered the A66.
At approximately 3.39am, just minutes later, the Volkswagen was travelling on the wrong side of the carriageway when it collided with a separate marked armed-response vehicle.
PC Blades and PC Clough are understood not to have been involved in the earlier pursuit.
All seven people involved in the collision were declared dead at the scene.
Cleveland Police chief pays emotional tribute
Chief Constable Victoria Fuller said she and Deputy Chief Constable David Felton had visited the families of both officers following what she described as an “unimaginable loss”.
Paying tribute to her colleagues, she said: “These were brave officers, protecting our communities and serving our residents, who didn’t return home to their families at the end of their shift.”
She added that the tragedy had affected not only Cleveland Police but communities and partner organisations across the area.
“This is an incredibly sad day for Cleveland,” she said. “The loss has been felt across our communities, by our police family, and by our partner agencies.”
Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner Matt Storey described the force as a “really tight-knit family” and said the deaths would have a significant impact on officers and staff.
Lauren Somerville, chairman of the Cleveland Police Federation, said: “Words cannot describe the pain the Cleveland Police family is feeling today.”
