Cars 'set on fire at vigil for A66 crash dead' as 200 extra police officers sent to Cleveland
Extra police officers have been drafted in to help Cleveland Police keep “innocent residents” safe following a string of violent incidents across Middlesbrough that have left nine people dead.
Cars have reportedly been set on fire in Peterlee in a vigil for a man who lost his life in the tragic A66 crash.
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Videos posted on social media showed a balloon release, thought to be a tribute to Michael Robert Cahill.
Cahill, 23, died in the motorway crash last weekend near Middlesbrough alongside four other civilians and two police officers.
Blue balloons and smoke were seen rising into the air in the footage.
But later clips showed at least two cars on fire in what appears to be the same field.
Read More: Man stabbed at address close to A66 wrong-way crash and fatal house fire
The crash on the A66 has sparked chaos in the surrounding area, with two houses rammed and two people killed in an alleged revenge attack.
A woman and a seven-year-old girl were found dead after the house fire in Grangetown, near Middlesbrough, less than a mile away from Saturday's deadly A66 crash.
Valentina Foster, seven, and Natalie McDonald, 34, died in the blaze, in which two men, aged 23 and 31, have been arrested on suspicion of murder.
The police have not ruled out a link between the incidents and previously said they may be linked to organised crime.
Early on Thursday morning, a car rammed into a wall outside a house in Steele Crescent, South Bank.
Hours later on Thursday afternoon, a man was stabbed at an address in Eston, near Middlesbrough, at around midday.
Cleveland Police said that a 39-year-old was assaulted with a bladed weapon but no arrests have yet been made.
The fears of local residents have led to more than 200 extra police officers being diverted to Cleveland.
Following the spate of incidents, Alec Brown, leader of Redcar and Cleveland Council, announced that more than 200 officers would be deployed from around the country to support the area's forces.
He said on social media: “Thank you so much to the superintendent from Cleveland Police that has just taken their time to give updates to myself, Anna Turley (MP for Redcar), South Bank and Grangetown Ward councillors.
“They are working 20-hour days to ensure the ongoing safety of innocent residents.
“Over 200 extra police officers from forces around the country are here and are en route, from detectives to armed response.
“I will be sending a letter today to our Prime Minister asking for even more resources.
“The police really are doing an amazing job.
“If it is any reassurance at all, jobs called in to the police are actually down this week, however, the seriousness of the ones that have been called in need serious and swift action.
“Everyone is heartbroken over the loss of the aunt and little girl in Grangetown yesterday.
“People need to feel safe in their homes.”
It comes on the same day that inquests opened into the deaths of Pc Matthew Blades, 37, and Pc Tom Clough, 38, who died following the head-on collision on the A66 in the early hours of Saturday.
The provisional cause of death was said to be head and neck injuries for Pc Blades, and neck injuries for Pc Clough.