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Hundreds mourn police officer killed in A66 crash

The funeral procession which is being led by five men in different coloured kilts playing bagpipes. Behind them is a black hearse with a white, red and green floral tribute on top of it which spells out 'Dad'. Uniformed police officers in black suits and white hats walk alongside the vehicle. Police officers in black uniform and black hats line the street on either side with different coloured flags resting on the road in front of them. In the distance is a crowd of people on the left who are out of focus.

Louise HobsonAlison Freemanin Hartlepool and Evie LakeNorth East and Cumbria

9 September 2026, 06:08 BST

Updated 45 minutes ago

Hundreds have turned out for the funeral of one of the police officers killed in a wrong-way crash.

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.

A full ceremonial police funeral took place for PC Blades in Hartlepool earlier, with hundreds of officers from Cleveland and forces across the country lining the street in a guard of honour.

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.

Members of other emergency services were present at St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church, alongside community leaders and politicians.

Cleveland Police chief constable Victoria Fuller greeted mourners at the entrance to the church.

Policing minister Sarah Jones and Home Office minister Anna Turley also attended.

Matthew Blades smiling into the camera. His head and shoulders are visible and he has light brown short hair which is longer on the top. He has short, dark stubble around his mouth and is smiling with his death. He is wearing a white shirt which is open at the top. He is sitting in a garden in front of the High Level Bridge in Newcastle which is a tall, brown structure with arches along the side of it. There are lots of green plants and grass but on the left there is a brown shipping container. There are black fairy lights strung up above the garden and the sky above is blue.

The black hearse, led by a single Cleveland Police motorcycle, was surrounded by officers and bagpipe players.

On top was a simple floral display spelling out ‘dad’.

Officers lowered their flags at the side of the street for the procession to pass while uniformed officers carried PC Blades’ coffin, wrapped in a union flag, into the church as Amazing Grace was played by the pipers.

Members of the public also lined the streets to pay their respects.

Six police officers in black suits and white gloves carry PC Blades' coffin on their shoulders. It is draped in a union flag. Only three of the men's faces are visible and they all have sombre looks. The hearse is to the left with the boot open and other black cars are parked behind it. In the distance there are police on motorbikes in yellow hi-vis with crowds lining the street, also out of focus. There is a man in a black suit jacket, grey trousers and silver tie with his hands clasped together on the right, in front of the coffin. He has brown, shaved hair and is looking down.

A close-up of the arm of one of the police officers who is in all black and wearing an arm patch which reads PC 2443 Blades and PC 3234 with a blue line through the middle. A police officer in front of them is wearing the same patch which is partially cut off by the head of a female police officer with a round hat on and her blonde hair in a bun.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham paid tribute in the Commons earlier, saying: “I also want to send our sympathies to the hundreds of people who will gather today at the funeral of PC Matthew Blades, including many serving police officers, and we send our thanks to them all for their service and their work to keep our community safe.”

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”.

Two male police officers embracing. Both are wearing black uniforms with white capped police hats. Bother men are bald and the man on the left's face is hidden by the man on the right. The man on the right is wearing one of the PC Blades and PC Clough patches. The heads of two women are in front of them with brown hair and are partially cut off.

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.”

Hutton Avenue in Hartlepool was closed from the junction with Mulgrave Road, alongside St Paul’s Road and South Road from the junction with Mitchell Street during the procession.

A female police officer is hugged by a male officer. She has dark brown hair which is tied back and has her eyes closed. She is holding a black hat in one of her hands. The male officer is facing away from the camera and is bald and wearing a white hat with a white and black checked trim. There are other officers around them who are out of focus.

In the lead up to the crash, 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 collision 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.

‘Brought light and laughter’

The force federation chair said Cleveland officers stood 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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