The two sons of a police officer killed in the A66 crash led out the Manchester United team as mascots for today’s Premier League match against Ipswich Town.
PCs Matthew Blades, 37, and Tom Clough, 38, died alongside five young occupants of a VW Passat that was travelling on the wrong side of a dual carriageway in the early hours of Saturday, August 22.
PC Blades was described as a ‘proud Red’ by United, having been a regular at Old Trafford.
In a tribute in their programme, the club said: ‘Matthew was a proud Red, a devoted family man and a police officer who dedicated his life to helping others.’
His widow Sarah attended today’s game alongside their children, who led out the team as mascots in honour of their father.
The eldest child was walked out by Bruno Fernandes, captain of Manchester United, while the youngest was led by goalkeeper Senne Lammens.
It followed a minute’s applause in memory of PC Blades and PC Clough yesterday before Middlesbrough’s Championship encounter with West Brom at Riverside Stadium.
Mourners also gathered to pay their respects at Seaton Carew FC’s game against FC Hartlepool – with PC Blades a former junior football coach at both teams.
The two sons of a police officer killed in the A66 crash led out the Manchester United team as mascots for today’s Premier League match against Ipswich Town
Bruno Fernandes, captain of Manchester United, led out PC Blades’s eldest child
The youngest child (right) was walked out by goalkeeper Senne Lammens
PCs Matthew Blades with his two children and a Manchester mascot
PC Blades, 37, was killed when his police vehicle was struck by a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way down the A66 near Middlesbrough
PC Tom Clough, 38, also died in the crash, which occurred around 10 seconds after a police pursuit of the Volkswagen was called off
The club paid a long and moving tribute to PC Blades in their programme, in which they said: ‘It is with great sadness that Manchester United learned of the death of PC Matthew Blades and his colleague PC Tom Clough in an accident near Middlesbrough last weekend.
‘For Matt, some of his happiest times were spent watching United with his boys. His wife Sarah and two children will be at today’s game, with his sons leading out the Reds as mascots.’
They added that a friend and colleague of PC Blades sent them a tribute, which read: ‘For Matthew, United was a lifelong love, a passion he shared with his family. Since Matt’s tragic death there has been an extraordinary outpouring of grief and support.
‘That love has been seen in countless tributes and acts of kindness. Today, we remember a fellow Red. A husband. A father. A son. A brother. A friend. A police officer. A man who gave his life in the service of others. Forever our superhero.’
Middlesbrough and County Durham have been gripped by a wave of violence since the crash, which has left some residents too intimidated to leave their homes.
Theo Rae, 17, Cole Worthy, 17, Michael Cahill, 23, Jakub Matusiak, 23, and Makai Saddington, 18, were driving in the Passat and all lost their lives in the smash.
Four of the five youths had previous criminal convictions, and were believed to be associated with another car which was seen ramming properties on the morning of the crash.
Police are investigating whether the spate of violence, including the fatal A66 crash, is linked to organised crime.
Middlesbrough, which has the highest crime rate in England bar central London, was rocked again when a seven-year-old girl, Valentina Foster, and her aunt, Natalie McDonald, 34, died in a house fire. Two men were arrested on suspicion of murder.
Although police did not link the blaze to the A66 crash, they did not rule out a connection to wider organised crime.
Barely 24 hours later, armed police were responding to another serious incident in Middlesbrough, with claims of a machete attack that left a man with stab wounds.
Makai Saddington, one of the five killed in the Volkswagen, posted videos on TikTok of him being chased by police and was awaiting trial for racially abusing and assaulting officers
Jakub Matusiak, another occupant of the car which hit the officers, also posted videos of himself driving recklessly
Close friends Theo Rae (left) and Cole Robert Worthy both died in the crash on Saturday
Michael Robert Cahill was one of the five in the VW Passat
Seven more men were later held as part of a broader operation to disrupt organised crime, taking the total number of arrests to 24.
Police in Middlesbrough had five pleas for help ignored by the Government before an outbreak of gang violence which led to the fatal A66 crash.
Matt Storey, Cleveland’s police and crime commissioner, had written at least seven letters to the Government since July 2024 warning that officers were ‘woefully underfunded’ and struggling to protect the public.
Only two received a response, his office said, while more requests for additional support were ignored.
The most recent warning, sent to Andy Burnham last month, said shrinking recruitment was driving ‘concern about whether help will be there when it is needed most’.
Cleveland police was forced to call in 200 officers from nearby regions last week after the crash.
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