The drug turf feud that led to the A66 tragedy is feared to have been sparked by a 'fall out' between two teenage rival gang members. PC Tom Clough, 38, and PC Matthew Blades, 37, died when a Volkswagen Passat, going the wrong way down a dual carriageway, collided with their marked police vehicle. Cole Worthy and Theo Rae, both 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and 23-year-olds Michael Robert Cahill and Jacob Matusiak all died at the scene in the Passat.
Ram-raid on father's home
Cole Worthy's father's home in Acklam, Middlesbrough, was ram-raided by a Volvo XC60 at 3 am last Saturday, just 40 minutes before the A66 crash. There is nothing to suggest he was involved in his son's criminal activity. But Cole Worthy is believed to have set off on a revenge mission to track down the Volvo XC60, believing his gang rival was involved in the attack on his dad's home.
The rival had once been a schoolfriend of Worthy but they had fallen out and become bitter rivals, according to sources in Acklam, Middlesbrough, where Worthy grew up. A graffiti message 'RIP CW' was scrawled on shops there, with an abusive message to police.
'Two worlds collided'
"Two worlds collided on that road," a former Cleveland Police detective told the Mirror. "The officers were two of the most decent men you could ever wish to meet." The gangland feud set off a catastrophic chain of events that led to the A66 tragedy. The deaths of seven-year-old Valentina Foster and her aunt Natalie McDonald, 34, in a house fire in Grangetown, near Middlesbrough, were initially feared to be linked to the gangland feud.
The burnt out property in Birchington Avenue was cordoned off for police and fire investigation teams today. Tiles were removed from the remains of the blackened roof using a cherry picker to make the property below safe for officers. But Cleveland Police said the fire there was no longer believed to be linked to the A66 crash.
Organised crime links
It is understood Cahill, one of the five in the Passat, had links to a notorious organised crime group based in the North East. A member of that group attended the vigil held on the outskirts of Haswell, Co Durham on Thursday night for Cahill, 18 miles from the A66 tragedy scene. Five cars, including what was believed to be a stolen £80,000 Porsche Cayenne, were burned out on a farmer's field before being removed.
One source told the Mirror: "They are a serious organised crime gang who have been operational in the region for many years. They are major players in drug supply and serious criminal activity." Another source added: "They use youths of 16 and 17 as their foot soldiers as they know those teenagers won't be police informants. Their youth gives organised groups that protection."
Community response and policing
The five who died in the Passat were said to be involved in a drug turf war in Grangetown, on the outskirts of Middlesbrough. Anna Turley, MP for Redcar, said the scenes of vehicles being driven dangerously across fields and then set alight at a vigil for one of the men who died in the A66 crash were "completely unacceptable".
Home Office minister Ms Turley said: "It puts lives at risk, places even more pressure on our already stretched emergency services and leaves residents frightened and angry in their own communities. After everything our area has endured over the past week, I will not accept this kind of behaviour becoming normalised." More than 200 extra officers were drafted in to support Cleveland Police.
Labour MP Andy McDonald told the Mirror that the force needed more long term funding. He is in talks with Ministers and has reached out to Prime Minister Andy Burnham. He said: "The change in full time police officers between 2010 and 2025 showed Surrey had the biggest rise in funding while Cleveland was rock bottom. It was a real terms cut. There is multiple deprivation in Teesville in TS6 and TS3 and we have to understand why. The true nature of the problem has to be understood; you cannot condemn an entire community."
Officers from Durham, North, West and South Yorkshire and Northumbria have been called in to tackle the gangland violence. Mr McDonald, MP for Middlesbrough and Cleveland, admitted that people did not 'feel safe' going to the shops. "That is just unacceptable," he told Times Radio. "This is terrorism and we've got to have an appropriate response to deal with the people who are causing such mayhem in our communities and to allow people to lead their peaceful lives. That isn't happening. We need the resources."
Durham Constabulary condemned the behaviour of the torching of the vehicles at the vigil for Cahill. The force said officers decided to let the cars burn because "the field was contained and it was assessed there was no immediate risk to wider public safety". Assistant Chief Constable Jon McAdam, of Durham Constabulary, said: "The behaviour we saw at last night's gathering was completely unacceptable. Our officers and the communities of County Durham and Darlington were understandably horrified by the tragedy which unfolded on the A66 last week which resulted in multiple deaths, including two serving police officers."
Assistant Chief Constable Dave Sutherland, head of local policing in Cleveland, said they were not linking the fatal fire in Grangetown to the fatal collision on the A66. He added: "Our thoughts remain with all those affected by these incidents as we continue our investigation into what happened. Since these two horrific events, the reality of policing in Cleveland and the levels of violence suffered in our communities, has come under the spotlight on a national level. Brave officers face significant challenges day in day out, but I want to reassure the public that we will remain unwavering in our efforts to tackle criminals and protect our communities."
