Yorkshire Live
·23 Aug 2026
Police officer killed in A66 'wrong-way' crash pictured as family pays tribute to 'our hero'
Police constables Tom Clough, 38, and Matthew Blades, 37, were killed when a Volkswagen Passat travelling against traffic on the A66 crashed into their marked armed response vehicle in Teesside. Five men aged 17 to 23 in the Passat also died. Cleveland Police said the vehicle had been pursued after being linked to several incidents and detected using cloned number plates, but the pursuit was abandoned shortly before the collision. The Independent Office for Police Conduct is investigating and has obtained officers’ accounts, the incident log and in-car footage. Clough’s family paid tribute to him as their hero and a dedicated public servant.