Cleveland Police chief calls for £26 million boost after fatal A66 collision

Cleveland Police Chief Constable Victoria Fuller lauded the sacrifice of PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough, who died in a head-on collision on the A66 while pursuing a wrong-way vehicle. She told one outlet that their routine duties could not have prevented the tragedy and used the moment to press the government for a substantial funding increase. Although the Home Office recently provided a £2 million cash injection, Fuller said the force requires roughly £26 million to tackle the region’s organised-crime problem, which is the highest crime rate area in England and Wales according to ONS data.

The incident involved suspected joyriders—Jakub Matusiak, Michael Cahill, Makai Saddington, Cole Worthy and Theo Rae—who also died and may have links to organised crime. The Independent Office for Police Conduct is leading the investigation, and the chief highlighted a need to recruit an additional 270 officers to meet the challenges. She emphasized that policing alone cannot solve the deep-rooted, multi-generational issues facing Middlesbrough and surrounding towns.