Middlesbrough distrusts police after A66 crash kills seven

September 4, 2026 at 09:50 PM2 min

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Two police officers and five young men died in a car crash on the A66 near Middlesbrough. More than 20 people have been arrested in a wider operation into serious and organised crime. Distrust of police runs deep in Grangetown and South Bank, where residents blame officers for the deaths.

Key Facts

PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, were killed in the A66 crash.
All five occupants of the Passat died: Michael Cahill, 23, Jakub Matusiak, 23, Makai Saddington, 18, Theo Rae, 17, and Cole Worthy, 17.
More than 20 people have been arrested in Middlesbrough and the surrounding area as part of a wider operation into serious and organised crime.
Four of the five young men killed had amassed 30 convictions between them for offences including car theft, drug possession, assaulting police officers and driving offences.
Police say the car used in the attack on a house in Acklam was a Volvo XC60.

The Crash

PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, were killed in the A66 crash. All five people in the Passat died: Michael Cahill, 23, Jakub Matusiak, 23, Makai Saddington, 18, Theo Rae, 17, and Cole Worthy, 17. Four of the five young men killed had amassed 30 convictions between them for offences including car theft, drug possession, assaulting police officers and driving offences. Cahill had no convictions.

Police Operation

More than 20 people have been arrested in Middlesbrough and the surrounding area as part of a wider operation into what police have called serious and organised crime. Sources say there are two feuding gangs at the centre of a spike in violence. The circumstances of the A66 deaths remain under independent investigation.

Community Distrust

In Grangetown and South Bank, young people repeatedly told the BBC they do not trust the police. Quad bike riders in a local park said the area was not out of control and blamed police for the A66 deaths. The chain of events that ended on the A66 is believed to have begun eight miles away in Acklam, where a car was rammed into the bay window of a house. Police say the car used in the attack was a Volvo XC60. The BBC understands that Cole Worthy and the four others then set off in the Passat to find the Volvo.