(Image: NORTH NEWS)
A community group has urged people not to graffiti buildings with tributes to the young men who died in the A66 crash.
The public plea came as fundraisers for the two police officers who were killed in the head-on collision near Middlesbrough on Saturday morning gets closer to £1 million.
Cleveland Police have arrested 17 people following the crash between a VW Passat, which was heading in the wrong direction on the dual-carriageway, and a marked armed response vehicle.
Pc Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, were the officers killed.
Pc Matthew Blades, 37, and Pc Tom Clough, 38, were the officers killed.
(Image: CLEVELAND POLICE)
Those in the Passat were Cole Worthy, 17, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and 23-year-olds Michael Robert Cahill and Jacob Matusiak. They were pronounced dead at the scene at South Bank.
The Passat had been pursued by police following an earlier incident in which a house in the Acklam area of Middlesbrough, linked to Worthy, was rammed by a vehicle.
The pursuit was aborted when the Passat went the wrong way down the A66.
Tributes at the scene
(Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
Tees Valley Active posted on Facebook after graffiti was put on the East Middlesbrough Events Centre.
Messages on walls included: “RIP The Boys”, “Never be Forgotten RIP The Lads” and the initials of those in the Passat with “Rest easy boys”.
The Facebook post said: “We understand that people want to express their emotions and pay their respects, but damaging buildings that are being used to support local residents ultimately impacts the same community we are all trying to look after.
“There are other ways we can come together to remember, pay tribute and show our support without damaging facilities that local people rely upon.”
The message also asked about a company which could clean off the graffiti.
Police officers look at flowers at the Cleveland Police HQ in Middlesbrough,
(Image: Owen Humphreys)
A GoFundMe page organised by the Cleveland Police Federation has reached more than £970,000 by Wednesday morning.
Inquests are due to open on Thursday morning for the two officers while hearings for the young men in the Passat were scheduled for the afternoon at Teesside Coroners Court.
Police have previously said that the five young men in the Passat may have had links to “serious and organised criminal activity”.
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.
Cleveland Police has previously said that on the morning of the collision, it received several reports of two vehicles being driven dangerously.
The first vehicle, believed to be a Volvo XC60, was witnessed ramming properties in the Middlesbrough area.
The second vehicle, a Volkswagen Passat, is believed to have been associated with the activities of the Volvo.
Tributes at the scene
(Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
Police said both vehicles were operating with cloned number plates but were picked up by automated number plate recognition technology.
The Volvo XC60 involved in the initial reports has been traced and recovered in Middlesbrough.
PC Blades and PC Clough were not involved in the original pursuit, but had been called to the area to assist with the search for the Passat.
Family members described former Civil Nuclear Constabulary officer Pc Clough as “our hero” who was “always on public duty”.
In a statement issued by Cleveland Police, Pc Blades’ wife called him “my beloved husband, my best friend, and the most devoted father to our two young boys”.
Police said there was no evidence that filming of the activities on Friday night and Saturday morning was “for the purposes of TikTok”.
Saddington was reported to have previously shared clips of dangerous driving.
Police officers look at flowers at the Cleveland Police HQ in Middlesbrough,
(Image: Owen Humphreys)
Speaking to Channel 5 News from a supermarket in London, the Prime Minister was asked if there is anything the Government can do to crack down on the “growing problem online of the police being goaded and provoked”.
Read more
Investigations into fatal A66 crash continue as total arrests reach 17
Tributes continue to pour in for 'hero' police officers who were killed in A66 crash
Inquests into deaths of 'hero' police officers and man in A66 crash to open this week
Andy Burnham said: “There’s always something we can do and the glorification of dangerous driving is an appalling trend, and it needs to be challenged, and that means everybody playing their part to stop it, including the tech companies.”
Pressed on whether he would be asking tech companies to take down such content, he added: “I’m waiting for a full investigation into what happened at the weekend, but people can be sure that we’ll take action off all of the issues that are coming out.”