King Charles has personally written to the families of two police officers killed in the A66 crash, as fears grow that police reinforcements could spark fresh chaos in Middlesbrough. Armed officers from across northern England are being sent to help restore order after a surge in apparent tit-for-tat attacks between rival criminals.
Fears over reinforcements and 'untouchable' gangs
Some fear the influx of officers could spark clashes with balaclava-clad thugs, thieves and drug dealers. Council chiefs admit they may need more help, as many fear gangs on the estates are seen as "untouchable".
One former mayor, Andy Preston, blamed "soft" justice, claiming the "police or the council or the court system" don't "care" about crimes and anti-social behaviour. Locals living in Middlesbrough said they are "sick of the crime and the lawless way these kids carry on", with motorbikes regularly seen "flying about carrying kids in balaclavas".
Local residents speak out
One said: "It's totally lawless. The police have ignored the problems in the area for years and now they want to come in heavy-handed. It won't go down well."
Another local said: "It's gang warfare. This has been going on for years and now it has escalated."
Detectives on Friday afternoon confirmed a fatal house fire – in which a seven-year-old girl and her aunt died – was not linked to the fatal crash on the A66, which claimed the lives of two police officers and five young men with links to organised crime.
King Charles sends letters to widows
King Charles sent letters to the widows of PC Tom Clough and PC Matthew Blades after they were killed in the head-on collision. A royal source told the Mirror: "His Majesty the King was shocked by the devastating events and wrote personally to the families of the police officers involved to express his deepest sympathies for their loss."
Assistant Chief Constable Dave Sutherland said: "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."
He added: "At this time, we are not linking this incident to the fatal collision on the A66. Since these two horrific events, the reality of policing in Cleveland and the levels of violence suffered in our communities, has come under the spotlight on a national level. Brave officers face significant challenges day in day out, but I want to reassure the public that we will remain unwavering in our efforts to tackle criminals and protect our communities."
Minister reassures public
Home Office minister Anna Turley, who is also the MP for Redcar, said: "We've got over 200 extra officers from across the country. There's a huge amount of resource coming in. They're doing everything they can to keep us safe and they know the incidents."
She added: "There's a huge amount of intelligence and data that's behind all these investigations and actions. They're very well prepared in terms of public order, so I feel reassured that they will be on top of any incidents that we may face in the coming days and weeks."
Ms Turley said: "Unfortunately, we know we've had a high level of crime and in this area for a long time now, these are incidents, sadly, that we see all the time. It shouldn't be this way, and it's up to us to make sure that there isn't a business as usual which sees that high level of crime and disorder going forward. But Cleveland Police have been at pains to say we shouldn't think that these are all connected, and we shouldn't be jumping to conclusions."
The minister said she had written to Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council and the Police and Crime Commissioner asking for a zero-tolerance approach to dangerous and anti-social behaviour, and "for every appropriate power available to be used to protect our communities".
Condemnation of disorder
Assistant Chief Constable Jon McAdam, from Durham Police, said: "We utterly condemn anyone who would use that tragedy as an excuse for disorder and expect the overwhelming majority of the public would join us in doing so. The behaviour we saw at last night's gathering was completely unacceptable."
He added: "Our officers and the communities of County Durham and Darlington were understandably horrified by the tragedy which unfolded on the A66 last week which resulted in multiple deaths, including two serving police officers."
A group of teenagers wearing tracksuits set vehicles alight and lit blue smoke flares at a balloon release for Michael Cahill, 23, on Thursday. Mourners also set off fireworks and released balloons into the sky that spelt out Michael. Cahill's mother had written a post on social media earlier in the day calling for "bikes, jeeps, cars, quads" to gather near Haswell to "give him the send-off he deserves".
The incident is the latest in a series in the Middlesbrough and County Durham area – starting with the head-on crash that killed two police officers and five young men on Saturday, followed by a house fire which claimed the lives of a seven-year-old girl and her aunt on Wednesday. Properties have also been rammed in tit-for-tat attacks and rumours of a stabbing.
The extra officers have come from a number of forces, including the National Crime Agency, and are assisting as police continue to investigate the blaze in Grangetown, near Middlesbrough.
Local MP Andy McDonald told Times Radio: "This is terrorism and we've got to have an appropriate response to deal with the people who are causing such mayhem in our communities and to allow people to lead their peaceful lives."
Mr Preston said of the soft-justice crisis: "I think what we're seeing now is the product of years of being soft. Years of being desensitised. When you have idiots – disorganised groups that are called organised crime – shooting other people's [and] rivals' front doors, when you see them burning out cars, when they seem untouchable, everybody becomes actually desensitised to it."
He added: "They have seemed to be – to many people - untouchable. They frequently seem to be unarrestable or certainly unconvictable and rarely seem to be in prison. So there's a sense that the criminals have been in control of some streets. There's a sense that the criminals are untouchable and there's a sense that the system – whether that's the police or the council or the court system – just doesn't care."
