Felicity Collinson

Investigations continue into a fatal house fire on Birchington Avenue in Grangetown that killed seven-year-old Valentina Foster and her 34-year-old aunt Natalie McDonald. Two men aged 23 and 31 remain in custody on suspicion of murder, while a woman remains critically but stably ill and other injured residents have been treated. Forensic and fire investigators are examining the unstable property. Cleveland Police has said it is not currently linking the fire to a nearby fatal A66 collision, while local politicians are calling for increased resources and warning against speculation about organised-crime connections.

Five further arrests, including a 16-year-old boy, have been made in connection with the fatal A66 collision that killed seven people, including Cleveland Police officers Tom Clough and Matthew Blades. The new arrests bring the total to 17 and involve alleged organised-crime, assisting-an-offender and threats-to-kill offences. Two men have been charged in separate proceedings, while police continue investigating reports of dangerous driving involving a Volvo XC60 and Volkswagen Passat with cloned plates.

Former boss Richard Clark paid tribute to Cleveland Police officer PC Tom Clough, who died with colleague PC Matthew Blades and five members of the public in a wrong-way crash on the A66 near Middlesbrough. Clark described Clough as professionally excellent, dedicated and highly skilled, while also praising his humour, warmth and ability to lift colleagues’ spirits during difficult shifts. The Civil Nuclear Constabulary, where Clough served from 2013 to 2018 as an authorised firearms officer at Sellafield, also expressed condolences to the victims’ families and the wider policing community.