Fund for families of fallen A66 police heroes passes £750,000 as public pay respects: Six remain in custody amid organised crime probe over crash that killed seven

Fund for families of fallen A66 police heroes passes £750,000 as public pay respects: Six remain in custody amid organised crime probe over crash that killed seven - DAILY MAIL COMMENT: It is extremely difficult to understand the appeal of footage that glorifies joyriders and their mindless stunts - See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Donations to the families of the two policemen killed by a 'joyrider' gang hurtling the wrong way down the A66 have topped £750,000. It comes as six people remain in custody as part of a police investigation into the organised crime police believed backdropped Saturday's catastrophic crash, which killed seven. And two very different vigils were staged yesterday to remember the officers and the five youths: one a sober moment of reflection, the other a tasteless charade of revving motorbikes and flares. Cleveland Police set up a GoFundMe appeal to raise money for the grieving families of PC Clough, 38, and PC Blades, 37, who were killed when a VW Passat fresh from a police pursuit smashed head-on into their vehicle. By the early hours of Monday, a staggering £750,000 had been donated by the public, while a separate appeal established by Pocket Sergeant had gathered another £40,000. The force's accompanying tribute reads: 'PC Matt Blades and PC Tom Clough were both dedicated and committed Police Officers who left their families and went to work to serve their community and protect the public. 'Tragedy struck these two brave Cleveland Police colleagues in the early hours of 22nd August 2026 - and they paid the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.' In the wake of the crash, several videos posted to social media surfaced that appeared to show members of the gang in previous police chases, and it emerged that a second vehicle, a Volvo XC60, had been witnessed ramming houses in Middlesbrough on the same night. PC 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 Tom Clough also died in the crash, which occurred around 10 seconds after a police pursuit of the Volkswagen had been called off. Police said they believe the activities of the two cars were linked, and that both were using cloned number plates to avoid detection. It was separately revealed that four of the youngsters killed in the Passat had extensive criminal records - 37 convictions among them - including for drug offences, assault and robbery. Cleveland Police have concluded that Saturday's disaster may have been a symptom of a wave of organised crime plaguing Teesside. In a bid to crack down, the force arrested a dozen people - nine men and three women, aged between 19 and 61 - on suspicion of a range of offences including being part of an organised crime group, gun possession and criminal damage. As of Monday afternoon, five had been remanded in police custody, one had been recalled to prison, five had been released on bail, and the fate of one was unclear. Assistant Chief Constable Wayne Fox, leading the investigation, said: 'We have a duty to respond to, and thoroughly investigate, the serious criminal activity that resulted in this fatal incident, and to bring all those responsible to justice. 'Our robust response will continue in the weeks and months to come, as we continue to tackle those that seek to cause harm to our communities and tackle serious and organised crime.' Balaclava-clad youths, flares in hand, gathered on Monday in a field in South Bank, Middlesbrough to perform a tribute to five suspected 'joyriders'. 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 In the 'vigil' to commemorate Jakub Matusiak, 23, fireworks were set off and balloons released into the sky – just yards from where the officers were killed. Footage showed dozens of flares being held aloft, filling the field with dense orange fog, as bikes revved their engines and blared their horns. Similar vigils are due to take place this week for the other members. One grandmother walking by last night's event said: 'This is nothing but a mockery of the lives of those policemen. 'I've watched them down there drinking and smoking weed and razzing about on their motorbikes. There's nothing here to celebrate.' The scenes celebrating the young men were in stark contrast to the silent prayer vigil for police constables Tom Clough, a former soldier, and father-of-two Matt Blades, a former school teacher, held at nearby St John The Evangelist Church. Labour MP for Redcar, Anna Turley, paid her respects: '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. It's a tragic incident.' Back at the joyriders' vigil, one female attendee in her 20s was indignant at the tone of the coverage of the deaths of the youths. 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. '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. '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.' Family and friends of Matusiak, 23, decided to gather on the South Bank Back Field for a balloon release today 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 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 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. 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. Plenty of the residents of the surrounding streets chose not to attend. PC Blades was a married father-of-two and dedicated football coach in his spare time. He had recently joined Seaton Carew FC as a coach and was looking forward to coaching his son in its under-sevens Seahawks squad, the club said. The officer also coached his eldest son and other youngsters in FC Hartlepool's under-10s Reds team, which described him as 'a role model, a mentor, a friend and someone the children looked up to and admired'. 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.' Meanwhile, former soldier PC Clough, 38, was described by his family as 'our hero' who was 'always on public duty'. They said he 'jumped into action whenever needed and was willing to help anyone for any reason'. The family statement added that he 'proudly fought for his country to make the world a better place'. It continued: 'We, as a family, and Tom's partner would like to express our sincere gratitude for the overwhelming support and condolences from friends, colleagues and the wider community.' The constables were killed instantly at 3.30am on Saturday when the Passat, fleeing from another police car, bombed onto the A66 on the wrong side. Police pursued the VW for seven minutes before aborting when it entered the dual carriageway, and ten seconds later it hit a patrol car driven by PC Blades and PC Clough, who had not been involved in the pursuit. All seven involved in the crash were pronounced dead at the scene. Those in the VW were Matusiak, Michael Cahill, 23, Theo Rae, 17, Cole Worthy, 17 and Makai Saddington, 18. Yesterday, a video emerged of Cahill filming himself driving at high speeds through a residential area. Police said they did not believe Saturday's incident was filmed for TikTok. On Sunday, the Daily Mail revealed Saddington's TikTok featured a string of videos appearing to show him in high-speed police chases. One clip, filmed in May and set to rap music, showed the 18-year-old being driven in an Audi speeding through a housing estate while a police car with flashing blue lights followed behind. Another video on an account linked to him showed a green Nissan being driven around before it is set alight, while images posted elsewhere show him and a friend posing in cars wearing black balaclavas. A video from Matusiak's TikTok profile appeared to show him driving recklessly with the caption: 'Unfortunately I'm not a nonchalant boyfriend.' Filmed by the driver, it showed a car barrelling through a neighbourhood before swerving onto a green in the middle of an estate. The vehicle appeared to career down a footpath as the driver casually spun the wheel with one hand. The Middlesbrough crash came less than a week after an incident in County Kildare, Ireland, when five teenagers died in a head-on crash while driving the wrong way down the M9. A family in the other car – three women and a seven-year-old boy – were left seriously injured after the crash. They are thought to have been driving to an airport to begin a holiday. At least three of the teenagers had boasted online about driving the wrong way down motorways to evade police. Speaking during a visit to Kyiv on Monday, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the Government had urged TikTok and other platforms to remove videos which glorify dangerous driving. Mr Burnham said those who share such videos are 'doing something that's truly reprehensible'. A Downing Street spokesman said: 'The glorification of dangerous driving for clips and entertainment is utterly disgraceful and that is why we have raised the issue of this appalling content with social media companies since the tragedy.'