Locals have slammed balloon tributes for five men who died in a wrong-way crash on the A66 as "disgraceful" after two police officers also lost their lives.
Pc Matthew Blades, 37, and Pc Tom Clough, 38, were killed when a Volkswagen Passat, which had been previously pursued by police, was driven the wrong way along the dual-carriageway near Middlesbrough and hit their marked armed response vehicle.
Five men pronounced dead at the scene
The five people in the Passat, Cole Worthy, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and 23-year-olds Michael Robert Cahill and Jacob Matusiak, were pronounced dead at the scene at South Bank, in the early hours on Saturday (August 22). The incident has sparked tributes to the five men, including balloons and flares being set off by people wearing masks earlier this week.
The tributes to the five has sparked some locals to slam them as "disgraceful" after the car they were in had earlier refused to stop for police. Some locals have stated that the tributes should only be made to the police officers who died in the crash.
Speaking to Press Association, the locals said: "It's disgraceful, the tributes should just be for the bobbies who died."
Previous criminal convictions and property ramming
Four of the five young men in the car had previous criminal convictions and were believed to be associated with another car which was seen ramming properties earlier that morning.
On Tuesday (August 25), it emerged that a property in a quiet street in Acklam, Middlesbrough, had been rammed, causing extensive damage prior to the police pursuit.
Neighbours said Cole Robert Worthy, 17, sometimes stayed at the address where the front bay window had collapsed, windows were broken and the front door smashed. There had been extensive police activity in the street since, said neighbours, who asked not to be named.
Family member questions police pursuit
It comes just a day after a family member of one of five people killed said that if the police pursuit of the group had been "called off earlier lives might have been saved."
The cousin of Jacob Matusiak told Sky News that the family "want answers" regarding the incident and have asked police for the "full picture".
They said: "We are just devastated for everyone involved. If he was at fault, he was at fault, but they need to give us the full picture.
"He was no saint and has been involved in stuff before - we know that - but we cannot believe this has happened.
"We all want answers - we were told the chase should have been called off earlier. If it had been called off earlier lives might have been saved."
Tributes for the five young men have also been shared on social media, with many of their friends saying they "can't believe it" and were "heartbroken" and "lost for words".
