Police arrest 50 people in Middlesbrough gang crackdown after A66 crash killed two officers and five men

Cleveland Police have seized three shotguns, two handguns, machetes, £60,000 of drugs and £30,000 in cash after arresting 50 people linked to criminal networks in the wake of the A66 tragedy. Ten of those arrested are alleged to be connected to a red Volvo XC60 that rammed the home of Cole Worthy's father on 22 August — the flashpoint that sent five young men racing the wrong way up the dual carriageway and into an armed response vehicle, killing PCs Tom Clough and Matthew Blades.

Rival gang members in the Volvo had targeted the homes of Cole Worthy's father and Theo Rae's mother and grandmother minutes before the fatal chase began.

Fifteen of the 50 arrested have been charged, including for firearms possession and supplying cocaine and crack cocaine, with three children also receiving safeguarding interventions.

In a separate case, a fourth arrest has been made over the A1(M) death of Elena Chiriac, 22, with a 52-year-old Newcastle woman bailed on suspicion of encouraging an assault.