Hundreds line the streets for funeral of PC killed in wrong way crash on A66

Matthew Blades smiling into the camera. His head and shoulders are visible and he has light brown short hair which is longer on the top. He has short, dark stubble around his mouth and is smiling with his death. He is wearing a white shirt which is open at the top. He is sitting in a garden in front of the High Level Bridge in Newcastle which is a tall, brown structure with arches along the side of it. There are lots of green plants and grass but on the left there is a brown shipping container. There are black fairy lights strung up above the garden and the sky above is blue. — Image caption,

PC Matthew Blades was killed on 22 August while on duty for Cleveland Police

ByLouise Hobson, Alison Freeman, in Hartlepool and Evie Lake, North East and Cumbria

Hundreds have turned out for the funeral of one of the police officers killed in a wrong-way crash.

PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, died when a Volkswagen Passat collided with their marked armed response car on the A66 at South Bank, near Middlesbrough, on 22 August. Five young men were also killed.

A full ceremonial police funeral took place for PC Blades in Hartlepool earlier, with hundreds of officers from Cleveland and forces across the country lining the street in a guard of honour.

Speaking on behalf of his family, Cleveland Police Federation chair Lauren Somerville said “life feels unbearably quiet” without the father-of-two’s “silly jokes” and laughter.

Members of other emergency services were present alongside community leaders and politicians.

The black hearse, led by a single Cleveland Police motorcycle, was surrounded by officers and bagpipe players.

On top was a simple floral display spelling out ‘dad’.

Officers lowered their flags at the side of the street for the procession to pass while uniformed officers carried PC Blades’ coffin, wrapped in a union flag, into the church as Amazing Grace was played by the pipers.

Members of the public also lined the streets to pay their respects.

PC Blades takes a selfie with a medal for completing a run in Middlesbrough. The medal shows the gothic Town Hall building with the outline of two runners in front of the building. He has neat stubble and is smiling, with a grey running cap on his head. He has black earphone buds in his ears. — Image caption,

PC Matthew Blades had previously been an English teacher

Somerville said flowers had been delivered to the force’s stations and people from Australia, France and America had been in touch.

“The support has been overwhelming and it’s been comforting,” she said.

Somerville added even small acknowledgements of respect from the public, such as a nod or a thank you when they see police out and about, had brought officers “so much strength”.

Hutton Avenue in Hartlepool was closed from the junction with Mulgrave Road, alongside St Paul’s Road and South Road from the junction with Mitchell Street during the procession.

Somerville said: “All of the officers across the country will have felt this and Cleveland is such a small force, so it’s personal to have lost Matthew and Tom.

“I think the common feeling has been a sense of duty and a sense of pride, doing everything we can to make it perfect.”

In the lead up to the crash, officers had been pursuing the Passat for almost seven minutes after it was connected to earlier alleged criminal activity, but the pursuit was abandoned 10 seconds before the collision when it turned onto the dual carriageway, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said.

PC Blades and PC Clough were in a vehicle looking for the Passat after its cloned registration plates triggered an automated number plate recognition camera, although they were not involved in the pursuit, according to the IOPC.

Cole Worthy and Theo Rae, both 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and 23-year-olds Michael Cahill and Jakub Matusiak also died in the crash.

The force federation chair said Cleveland officers stood side-by-side in uniform at the funeral “filled with pride and dignity”.

“I’ve spoken to Matthew’s family and he was described as a best friend, a husband, a father, a brother and a son,” Somerville said.

“He was funny and his laughter and silly jokes made them smile even when they least expected it, he brought light and laughter into every room he came into.

“And life feels unbearably quiet without him now.”

PC Blades taught English at Carmel College in Darlington before joining the police force.

The school remembered him as an “intelligent, kind and approachable teacher” who “gave generously of himself to the young people in his care”.

Follow BBC Tees on X,, external Facebook, external, Nextdoor and Instagram, external and listen to Radio Tees on BBC Sounds.