The funeral for PC Tom Clough, 38, was held with full police honors in Redcar, North Yorkshire. This follows the funeral for his colleague, PC Matthew Blades, which took place in Hartlepool yesterday. Both officers died last month when their armed response vehicle was involved in a head-on collision with a Volkswagen Passat near Middlesbrough.
The Passat was carrying a group of youths who were attempting to evade law enforcement at the time of the crash. The collision occurred at 3:39 a.m. on Saturday, August 22, when the Passat drove the wrong way up the A66 and struck the officers' vehicle. PC Clough and PC Blades sustained severe head and neck injuries and died at the scene.
PC Clough had a distinguished career, serving with Cleveland Police, seeing active duty with the British Army in Iraq and Afghanistan, and also serving with the Civil Nuclear Police and British Transport Police. His family stated that he devoted his life to public service to "make the world a better place." Colleagues remembered him for his professionalism, dedication, and a fun-loving personality that could lift spirits. Lauren Somerville, Chair of Cleveland Police Federation, highlighted the overwhelming public support for PC Clough's family during this difficult time.
PC Blades, a father of two, was honored at a funeral attended by approximately 1,000 police officers from across the country and hundreds of members of the public. Some officers wore identity patches bearing the names and badge numbers of both fallen officers.
The five occupants of the Passat—Jakub Matusiak, 23, Makai Saddington, 18, Michael Cahill, 23, Cole Worthy, 17, and Theo Rae, 17—also died in the collision. Police reported that the individuals had links to organized crime and were fleeing from a pursuit at the time of the incident. The Passat had been pursuing a Volvo XC60 that had rammed the homes of relatives of Worthy and Rae, an act believed to be connected to a gangland dispute over drug supply on Teesside. An online appeal for the officers' families raised over £1.2 million.