Cleveland Police Deploy 200 Extra Officers After 9 Deaths, Arresting 17 Over A66 Crash
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 28
Cleveland Police Deploy 200 Extra Officers After 9 Deaths, Arresting 17 Over A66 Crash
3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 28
Summary
Cleveland Police have brought in 200 extra officers as local staff work 20-hour shifts after a wrong-way A66 crash and a Grangetown house fire killed nine people in five days.
Seventeen people aged 18 to 61 were arrested across Teesside over the lead-up to Saturday's crash, on offences including firearm possession and involvement in an organised crime group.
Seven people died in the A66 collision near Middlesbrough — including PCs Matthew Blades and Tom Clough — after a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way hit their vehicle; inquests opened Thursday.
Wednesday's house fire in Grangetown killed Natalie McDonald, 34, and her seven-year-old niece Valentina Foster, deepening fears in Redcar and Cleveland as officials said residents no longer feel safe at home.
A fundraiser for the two officers has topped £1 million, while videos on Thursday appeared to show cars burning at a County Durham vigil for one of the five men killed in the crash.