News | Mail Online
· collected 2026-08-25 · by Kevin Donald, Rory Tingle, Katherine Lawton, Patrick Harrington
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A throng of balaclava-clad youths set off flares and fireworks on Monday afternoon to remember the five A66 'joyriders' who died when they smashed into a police car.
The chaos came in stark contrast to a silent prayer vigil hosted in a nearby church to honour PC Tom Clough and PC Matthew Blades, who were also tragically killed in the crash.
Friends and family of Jakub Matusiak, 23, decided to gather at a field in South Bank, Middlesborough, just yards from the scene of Saturday's catastrophic collision, caused by the gang hurtling the wrong way down the dual carriageway.
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Friends → see → carriageway
What began as a balloon release descended into a confusion of smoke and noise when attendees lit up the sky with flares and rockets.
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attendees → begin → flares
A gang of around 20 masked youths on motorbikes and quad bikes roared around the field in honour of Matusiak, who himself had convictions for motoring offences.
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who → roar → offences
Footage showed dozens of flares being held aloft, filling the field with dense orange fog, as bikes revved their engines and blared their horns.
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bikes → show → horns
Meanwhile, just down the road, locals mourning the lives of the two constables quietly filed into St John The Evangelist Church.
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locals → mourn → Church
Among them was Redcar’s Labour MP Anna Turley, who said: 'I thought it was really important to come together.
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it → say → them
I was really pleased that the church has opened themselves up for the community to come together, because it's such a devastating incident.
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it → open → themselves
Scores of people held orange flares aloft in a field in South Bank, Middlesborough, to mark the deaths of the five joyriders
A group of masked bikers tore around the field and joined in with the pyrotechnics
The memorial began as a balloon release but descended into noise and confusion
The vigil to remember the two constables who lost their lives was a much more sober affair
'
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who → hold → lives
The whole community here is reeling, and we've lost lives, particularly those lives of brave police officers who are out in action to keep us safe.
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who → reel → us
She said: 'Jakub was a lovely, caring lad and he's somebody's son and somebody's brother, he's not some scumbag who should just be written off and forgotten.
'
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who → say → ?
It was an accident that those police officers died, they weren't trying to kill anyone and they lost their own lives but they've just been written off as if they don't matter.
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they → die → lives
The number of people who have come out for Jakub today should show you that they do matter, they were loved and they will be missed.'
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they → come → you
The gathering took place on South Bank back field, only a few hundred yards from where the collision took place on the A66, ending seven lives.
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collision → take → lives
Cleveland Police attended but kept a low-key presence, a patrol car from the Matrix team - which the two constables worked in - was parked 500 yards away alongside a police van.
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constables → attend → van
Plenty of the residents of the surrounding streets chose not to attend.
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Plenty → surround → streets
Family and friends of Matusiak, 23, decided to gather on the South Bank Back Field for a balloon release today
PC
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Family → decide → release
Matthew Blades, a father of two, was killed when his police vehicle was struck head-on by a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way down the A66 near Middlesbrough
PC
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vehicle → kill → Middlesbrough
Tom Clough also died in the crash, which occurred around 10 seconds after a police pursuit of the Volkswagen had been called off.
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pursuit → die → Volkswagen
Looking at the police officers standing beside their vehicles, a 58-year-old grandmother said: 'What must they be thinking right now?
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they → look → What
I've watched them walking down there drinking and smoking weed and razzing about on their motorbikes.
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them → watch → motorbikes
Another balloon release was scheduled at the same time in Middlesbrough for Cole Worthy, 17, another of those killed.
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release → schedule → those
Matusiak, Worthy and their friends Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and Michael Robert Cahill, 23, died in a catastrophic head-on collision in Teesside early on Saturday morning.
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Matusiak → die → morning
The youngsters were driving the wrong way down the A66 when they struck PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, who were travelling in a response vehicle.
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who → drive → vehicle
Another police car had been pursuing them before calling off the chase.
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car → pursue → chase
Just ten seconds later, the VW struck PCs Blades and Clough, who had not been involved in the pursuit.
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who → strike → pursuit
In the months leading up to the crash, Saddington had posted a string of TikTok clips that appeared to show him taking part in police chases.
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him → lead → chases
He had also been awaiting trial for racially abusing and assaulting police officers.
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He → await → officers
At the same time, another balloon release will be held in Middlesbrough for Cole Worthy, 17, another of those killed
Makai Saddington, one of the five killed in the Volkswagen, posted videos on TikTok of him being chased by police and was awaiting trial for racially abusing and assaulting officers
Twelve people have now been arrested by police probing the crash.
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people → hold → crash
Four of the youngsters killed in the VW had extensive criminal records, including convictions for drug offences, assault and robbery.
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Four → kill → offences
Friends and family have paid tribute to Matusiak, with his sister describing him on social media as 'my best friend, always and forever'.
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sister → pay → friend
A family friend, Jodie Stephenson, also paid tribute, writing: 'I'll miss the ADHD and the headaches you caused us, the late-night phone calls to pick you up quickly and walking into Jimmy's to find you flat out on the bed.
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you → pay → bed
'You always came here when the s*** had hit the fan and that was quite often.'
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that → come → fan
In May this year, Matusiak posted a video on social media which appeared to show him driving a Volvo recklessly through a Middlesbrough housing estate.
uncertain
him → post → estate
At one point in the video, he was seen leaving the road and driving across a grassy area.
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he → see → area
Meanwhile, the families of the two officers have paid moving tributes to the heroes, and a GoFundMe appeal launched by Cleveland Police Federation to support them had raised more than £500,000 by this morning.
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appeal → pay → morning
Close friends Theo Rae (left) and Cole Robert Worthy both died in the crash on Saturday
Michael Robert Cahill was one of the five in the VW
The federation said its officers had 'paid the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty' and left behind 'heartbroken loved ones'.
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officers → die → ones
It added that the funds raised would be split equally between the families.
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funds → add → families
PC Blades' wife described him as 'our superhero' and said: 'He gave his life in the line of duty, protecting and serving others with courage, dedication and selflessness.'
Former soldier PC Clough, 38, was described by his family as 'our hero' who was 'always driven by a sense of public service'.
Cleveland Police said today that nine men and three women, aged between 19 and 61, have now been arrested on suspicion of offences ranging from possession of a firearm to participating in the activities of an organised crime group.
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men → describe → group
Cleveland Police received several reports of the Volkswagen Passat being driven dangerously on Saturday.
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Passat → receive → Saturday
Separate reports involved a second car, a Volvo XC60, which was seen ramming properties in the Middlesbrough area.
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which → involve → area
…and 8 more, not listed.
