Officer killed in wrong-way A66 crash was 'superhero' and 'most devoted father'

Two police officers, Pc Matthew Blades and Pc Tom Clough, were killed in a crash involving a wrong-way car on the A66 dual carriageway in Teesside. The officers were killed when the Volkswagen Passat, which had been pursued by police, struck their marked armed response vehicle. According to Cleveland Police, the officers were not involved in the original pursuit and were only called to assist with the search for the Passat.

The Passat, believed to be using cloned plates, was spotted by an ANPR camera, triggering a pursuit that lasted nearly seven minutes before the car entered the A66 against traffic. The pursuit was aborted, and the Passat crashed into Blades and Clough's vehicle around ten seconds after the chase ended. Both officers were pronounced dead at the scene, along with five others in the Passat.

The families of the officers have been flooded with tributes, with both Pc Blades' wife and Pc Clough's family describing their loved ones as "superheroes" and "the most devoted fathers" and "heroes" who were always on public duty. A crowd-funding campaign for the officers' families has raised over £92,000 and £12,500 respectively, to be split equally between them.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has referred the incident to its investigation division.