A house in South Bank, Middlesbrough, was rammed in the early hours of today, just two miles from where seven-year-old Valentina Foster and her aunt Natalie McDonald died in a house fire. The garden wall and a metal fence at the property on Steele Crescent were strewn across the grass just after 1am. Only bricks and mortar were damaged, yet fears remain that the week's bloody violence will claim more lives.
Hours later, a man was assaulted with a bladed weapon in the Eston area, just two miles away from a fatal crash on the A66 which killed seven people including two police officers on duty.
Police investigate organised crime links
Residents of Steele Crescent said the car repeatedly rammed the property's front garden wall. Cleveland Police admit that the deaths of Valentina and her aunt could be related to "organised crime gangs".
Police officers PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, were killed in the early hours of Saturday. An inquest today heard that the officers died from head and neck injuries after a Passat, travelling the wrong way down a dual carriageway, hit their marked vehicle. PC Blades' wife faced the heartbreaking task of identifying her husband, while PC Clough's partner identified him, the inquest heard.
Acklam's troubled history
Cole Worthy, 17; Theo Rae, 17; Makai Saddington, 18; and 23-year-olds Michael Robert Cahill and Jacob Matusiak were in the Passat and were pronounced dead at the scene in South Bank.
Cole Worthy's father's home was ram-raided at 3am on Saturday, just 40 minutes before the devastating A66 crash. It is alleged that a Volvo XC60 was used, and that vehicle is now central to the police investigation into the tragedy. The house belonging to Cole's father is on a street in the suburb of Acklam, full of hard-working families shocked at the impact of the alleged drug turf war which has landed right on their doorstep.
Police are investigating whether Cole Worthy and the young men in the Passat pursued the Volvo to carry out a revenge attack following damage to his dad's house. Residents of Acklam recounted the house's long and troubled history, noting that Cole and his friends were regularly seen in the street. It had been damaged many times in recent years, with windows put out and police called "on a regular basis".
Locals describe fear and frustration
Cole abused locals and was seen high on drugs; on at least one occasion, neighbouring properties were targeted by mistake. One Acklam resident, a Mirror reader who has lived there for decades, said: "It was well known that Cole had fallen out with a gang rival." They added: "We know his name and so does everyone else around here. This goes back years. The people who live near his dad have been tortured by this for a long time."
Another local added: "One house went up for sale but they were struggling to sell it because of all this. Imagine trying to sell it now? The houses usually sell for around £220,000 here. Not much chance of that now."
Cole was a pupil at the local secondary school, and "everyone knew he was in a gang," according to another local. "Him and his gang are all over social media, bragging about what they have done," one resident told the Mirror. "That sign that they use, with their fingers sticking out. That is the sign of a gun. It is supposed to be a reference to them being armed - and a warning of what they will do if you stand in their way."
Another added: "His dad's house has been rammed three, four, five times. The police were there regularly. The problems were raised with local authorities including the police. But it was very difficult to do anything about it because of Cole's age and the fact that the property wasn't a council house. And people are afraid to speak out in case they are targeted for retribution."
Middlesbrough's alarming murder rate
The concern comes as a 39-year-old man continues to receive treatment after he was assaulted with a bladed weapon in Eston, some two miles away from a fatal crash on the A66. Cleveland Police said they were called to an address on Sedgemoor Road at around midday on Thursday. No arrests have been made and inquiries are ongoing, the force added. Police have not ruled out a link between the two incidents.
Tributes have been paid to Natalie, 34, and her seven-year-old niece, Valentina, following their deaths in the blaze in Grangetown, near Middlesbrough, in the early hours of Wednesday. Ms McDonald's devastated brother Josh Kirton today told reporters: "My sister was not involved with anything to do with gangs, or the (crash on the) A66. That's what makes this so senseless. People think they can do whatever they like. There's some terrible people in the world and now my sister and Valentina have gone."
Over the past year, people living in the Teesside area faced the highest risk of being murdered. There were 23,419 crimes in Middlesbrough over the past 12 months, translating to a crime rate of 150 crimes per 1,000 people. Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner Matt Storey said the figures reflect his view that the Government must take urgent action to address "years of chronic underfunding" in policing across the area, a stance backed by local Labour MP Andy Macdonald. In 2025/26, Cleveland Police reported a homicide rate of 21.7 homicides per million people, the highest among police force areas in that reporting year.
Kinga Misztal, 52, moved to England from her native Poland 20 years ago and works in her own building firm with her husband Tomasz, 53. Their children are grown up now but their street is just around the corner from the scene of the fatal fire which claimed the lives of Valentina and Natalie. Kinga told the Mirror: "What is happening is just terrible. So many people have died. I was not scared after the accident but this is fire so bad and so close, it is dangerous now."
Andy Preston, who served as mayor of Middlesbrough from 2019 to 2023, fears things could escalate following the fire. He said: "From this awful point, things could escalate or peter out. Escalation will be carnage and further wound the communities that are already on their knees." Mr Preston described Middlesbrough as England's crime capital where criminals can do 'what they want' and dominate the streets. He warned that ordinary people are now facing death threats, seeing guns shot at front doors and cars rammed into houses.
Councillor Robert Clark, who represents the Teesville ward on Redcar and Cleveland Council, said it was "another incredibly difficult" time for their community. He wrote in a Facebook post: "I honestly don’t know how much more heartache our little town can take. After everything that has happened over the last few weeks, waking up to the awful scenes in Grangetown is just devastating."
He responded after the deaths of PC Blades and PC Clough. PC Blades' devastated wife said: "No words will ever feel like the right words to honour our Matt — my beloved husband, my best friend, and the most devoted father to our two young boys. He was an adored son and brother, a perfect son-in-law, and the most fun uncle. He was loved beyond words by all his family and friends, and his loss has left a space that can never be filled. He gave his life in the line of duty, protecting and serving others with courage, dedication and selflessness."
And PC Clough's family said: "He was our hero with a fantastic sense of humour. Jumped into action whenever needed, and willing to help anyone for any reason. Proudly fought for his country to make the world a better place. Always on public duty throughout his short life. 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."
