Police still await £2m promised after A66 crash, commissioner says
The police and crime commissioner for Cleveland says the force has not yet received the £2m the government promised after an August crash in north-east England that killed seven people. The Home Office says it is working with the force on the payment.
Cleveland Police in north-east England has still not received £2m the government promised after an August car crash that killed seven people, including two police officers. The claim comes from the local police and crime commissioner (PCC), Matt Storey, an elected official who oversees policing in the area.
Storey said the force was still waiting for the extra funding that Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood pledged in August. The money was promised in light of the challenges the force has faced since the deaths.
The Home Office said it was working closely with the force on paying the £2m and on making sure it had the support it needed.
What happened in the crash
The crash happened at about 03:39 BST on 22 August on the A66 dual carriageway at South Bank, near Middlesbrough, after a police pursuit. A Volkswagen Passat carrying five young men, which was travelling the wrong way along the road, hit an oncoming marked Cleveland Police vehicle.
PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, died at the scene. All five occupants of the Passat were also killed: Michael Robert Cahill, 23, Jakub Matusiak, 23, Makai Saddington, 18, and 17-year-olds Theo Rae and Cole Robert Worthy.
Events before the crash
On the morning of the crash, police said they had received several reports of two vehicles being driven dangerously around the town, and that a Volvo XC60 had been seen ramming properties. Further arrests linked to organised crime were made afterwards, including over the following weekend after another vehicle ramming.
