A Good Morning Britain guest was left fighting back tears as they paid tribute to two police officers killed in the A66 crash. PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough died during the early hours of Saturday when a car going the wrong way hit their vehicle.
The crash, near Middlesbrough, also left the five young men in the other car dead. As tributes have been paid, a fundraiser launched by the Cleveland Police Federation has reached more than £1m.
Emotional tribute on air
Appearing on Good Morning Britain with hosts Ranvir Singh and Adil Ray, Chair of the Cleveland Police Federation, Lauren Somerville, looked emotional as she paid tribute.
She said: “It’s really hard to put into words the moment that I heard the news, and then afterwards, and even how it feels now. It’s so difficult to describe the feeling of the grief and the weight of the grief and the pain.”
She continued: “I have spoken to Tom’s family and Matthew’s family, both of them at this point. Those conversations will remain private and will remain with me for the rest of my life. We’re going to support them in any way we can, in every way we can, for the next days, weeks, months and years.”
Paying tribute to the officers
Paying tribute to the police officers, Somerville continued: “They were both so passionate about policing, about public service.” She went on: “Tom dedicated his life to serving the public and the country and Matthew again dedicated his life to serving people.
“They were just so proud to be police officers, and just an embodiment of policing. Exactly what you imagine when you hear the word police officer, an image of them two would appear in your head.”
This comes after several other tributes paid to PC Blades and PC Clough. PC Blades was described by his family as a “beloved husband” and the “most devoted father”.
“He may have left this world committed to the duty he believed in, but his greatest legacy will always be the love he gave to his family,” his wife said, calling him “forever our super hero”.
PC Clough, who had previously served in the Army, was called a “true friend, fantastic soldier and I have no doubt even better police officer,” by one friend, while his family recalled his “fantastic sense of humour”, adding that he had been their “hero”.
They added that he had “proudly fought for his country to make the world a better place” and had always been “on public duty throughout his short life”.
Those killed in the crash
The five people who were killed in the other car were Michael Robert Cahill, 23, Jakub Matusiak, 23, Makai Saddington, 18, and 17-year-olds Theo Rae and Cole Robert Worthy.
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV1 and ITVX.
