A gang feud in Middlesbrough, feared to have killed nine people in a week, has been described as a 'genuine social emergency' that shows no sign of abating after a stabbing and another house was car-rammed in the town's 'war zone'.
Law experts have called for the Government to provide 'whatever it takes' to make the town safe again following a spate of violence that saw two police officers killed in a head-on crash with joyriders and a seven-year-old girl and her aunt murdered in an arson attack.
Car-ramming and stabbing incidents
Police believe the carnage was sparked by a car attack on a house last Saturday which led to a five-strong posse - four of whom had multiple convictions - piling into a Volkswagen Passat to hunt down culprits who smashed into the property with a Volvo XC60, demolishing the front bay window.
Cops chased the Passat which ploughed head-on into a police armed response vehicle on the A66, killing PCs Tom Clough, 38, and Matthew Blades, 37, and all five occupants of the car which had cloned number plates.
On Wednesday, schoolgirl Valentina Foster and her aunt Natalie McDonald, 34, died in an arson attack on an end-of-terrace property in Grangetown - a mile from the crash scene - which police admit could be linked.
At 12.30am on Thursday a car rammed over a garden wall outside a house in South Bank, less than two miles from the scene of the fire.
Supt Emily Harrison said: "The property was empty at the time and we have not currently received any reports of any injuries."
"Officers are conducting enquiries to establish the circumstances surrounding this incident. Our investigation is in its early stages and it has not yet been confirmed whether this incident is linked to wider organised crime."
A neighbour said: "My daughter saw it. She said a car kept going backwards and forwards into the wall over and over. I've grown up here and it's normal. There's always something going on."
At noon on Thursday, armed police swarmed a house nearby following a suspected knife attack. An air ambulance was called to the scene and landed on a nearby football pitch before airlifting an injured man to hospital.
A neighbour said: "It seems like the whole town has gone crazy."
A Cleveland Police spokesman said: "A 39-year-old man is receiving treatment following an assault involving a bladed weapon. No arrests have been made at this time however enquiries are ongoing into the incident."
Arrests and tributes
Police have arrested 19 people since the death crash - two men aged 23 and 31 on suspicion of murder relating to the fire and others for allegedly being members of organised crime gangs.
Blaze victim Natalie's mum Lisa said she was a 'bubbly' and 'beautiful soul who would have done anything for anybody' and niece Valentina was a 'cute little kid', adding: "I can't believe it. Seven-years-old – it's just a disgrace."
Tributes left outside the house included a photo of the pair among bouquets of flowers and toys with the words: "RIP Natalie and Valentina you will be missed."
A Care Bear had been left along with a teddy and note which read: "Now she dances with butterflies Valentina."
A 48-year-old woman remained in a critical condition in the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle following the blaze. Three other people suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Experts call for government action
Professor Andrew Tettenborn, from Swansea Law School, said the 'ugly scenes' would 'not look out of place in a war zone' and had 'shone a light on a murky world of organised crime and lawlessness in Middlesbrough'.
He said the 'lawlessness' had not emerged 'from nowhere' and had been 'bubbling away for some time' in the former industrial town which has the highest crime rate outside London.
Home Office data shows there are 150 crimes per 1,000 Middlesbrough residents. Over 23,400 offences were recorded in a year.
A local councillor - too scared to be identified - said criminality 'from joyriding to shoplifting to drug-dealing' was 'out of control'.
Professor Tettenborn said: "No society can continue thus. This is a genuine social emergency."
"The government must commit to providing whatever it takes in the way of intelligence gathering and extra police resources to bring those intent on criminality to heel."
"Ordinary citizens in Middlesbrough deserve to be reassured that they have the right to go about their business in peace."
"Open lawlessness, of the type that has broken out in Middlesbrough, is a symptom of a broken society."
"When a city suffers from such endemic criminality the people who suffer are not the professional and administrative classes that ministers and MPs hobnob with."
"It is the working class and those living in precarious comfort just above it, little touched by what prosperity remains in Middle England."
"These people seek only quiet streets and the ability to bring up their children decently."
"They are the ones now facing vandalism, drug-dealing, urban dystopia and threats against their modest homes if they dare complain."
Extra police deployed
Local MPs have called on the government to provide more long-term support for police and firefighters.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said 'all of the support will be provided to get to the heart of what has happened'.
And more than 200 extra cops from across Britain have been sent to Middlesbrough to restore order.
Councillor Alec Brown, of Redcar and Cleveland Council, posted on social media: "Over 200 extra police officers from forces around the country are here and are en route from detectives to armed response."
"The police really are doing an amazing job."
"If it is any reassurance at all jobs called in to the police are actually down this week however the seriousness of the ones that have been called in need serious and swift action."
"People need to feel safe in their homes."
