Detectives have confirmed they are not linking a house fire which killed a seven-year-old girl and her aunt to a crash on the A66 last weekend which left seven people dead, including two police officers.
Extra officers drafted in
Hundreds of extra police officers have been drafted in to support Cleveland Police following a string of violent incidents in the Middlesbrough and County Durham area – starting with the head-on crash that left two police officers and five young men dead.
On Friday, the head of local policing at Cleveland Police confirmed the force is not linking the crash to the fire.
Statement from Assistant Chief Constable
Assistant Chief Constable Dave Sutherland said: “Since the tragic incident last Saturday morning in which seven people, including two of our serving police officers, Pc Matthew Blades and Pc Tom Clough, sadly lost their lives, officers and staff have remained working around the clock to continue to serve the public of Cleveland.
“In the same week, we have also seen a tragic house fire on Wednesday in which two people lost their lives, which is also understandably impacting the force and our local communities. At this time, we are not linking this incident to the fatal collision on the A66.
“Our thoughts remain with all those affected by these incidents as we continue our investigations into what happened.”
