The funeral for Police Constable Tom Clough, 38, who was killed in a road traffic collision on the A66, was held on Thursday. He died in the early hours of August 22, alongside his colleague PC Matthew Blades, when a Volkswagen Passat collided with their marked police car.
PC Blades' funeral was held on Wednesday in Hartlepool, with hundreds of officers and community members in attendance. Lauren Somerville, chair of the Cleveland Police Federation, stated that the public's support had provided significant strength to PC Clough's partner and family.
Officers had been in pursuit of the Passat shortly before the fatal collision. The Independent Office for Police Conduct reported that the officers were looking for the Passat after its cloned registration plates had been flagged by an automated number plate recognition camera, though they were not directly involved in the pursuit at the time of the crash.
Five young men in the Passat also died in the incident: Michael Robert Cahill, 23; Jakub Matusiak, 23; Theo Rae, 17; Makai Saddington, 18; and Cole Robert Worthy, 17.