The funeral for Police Constable Matthew Blades, who died in a wrong-way crash on the A66, is scheduled to take place in Hartlepool. Road closures are in effect from 7:30 AM BST to accommodate a full police ceremonial funeral for the 37-year-old officer.
PC Blades and his colleague, PC Tom Clough, 38, were killed on August 22 when a Volkswagen Passat collided with their marked armed response vehicle near Middlesbrough. The crash also resulted in the deaths of five young men: Cole Worthy and Theo Rae, both 17; Makai Saddington, 18; and 23-year-olds Michael Cahill and Jakub Matusiak.
According to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), officers had been pursuing the Passat for nearly seven minutes in connection with earlier alleged criminal activity. The pursuit was reportedly abandoned 10 seconds before the collision when the vehicle turned onto the dual carriageway.
PC Blades and PC Clough were not directly involved in the pursuit but were in a vehicle searching for the Passat after its cloned registration plates triggered an automated number plate recognition camera, the IOPC stated.
Lauren Somerville, chair of the Cleveland Police Federation, speaking on behalf of PC Blades' family, described the impact of his death, noting that "life feels unbearably quiet" without his "silly jokes" and laughter. His family also shared that PC Blades brought light and laughter into every room.