More than 200 additional police officers are being deployed to the Cleveland area as investigations continue into a series of serious incidents which have left nine people dead. Meanwhile, a man has been attacked with a bladed weapon in Eston, inquests have opened into the A66 deaths and police continue to investigate a fatal house fire in Grangetown.
The scale of the police response on Teesside is increasing as officers deal with several major investigations taking place within a relatively small area.
Alec Brown, leader of Redcar and Cleveland Council, said more than 200 additional officers are either already in the Cleveland Police area or travelling there from forces elsewhere in the country.
The reinforcements reportedly include detectives and armed-response officers.
Brown said local police were working extremely long hours and that he was writing to the Prime Minister to request further resources.
The deployment follows a remarkable sequence of events across Middlesbrough, South Bank, Grangetown and Eston.
Seven people died in the A66 collision on Saturday 22 August, including Cleveland Police officers PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough.
Four days later, Natalie McDonald, 34, and her seven-year-old niece Valentina Foster died following a house fire in Grangetown. Police have launched a murder investigation and arrested two men.
Another property was hit by a vehicle in South Bank during the early hours of Thursday.
And on Thursday afternoon, armed police attended another serious incident in Eston after a 39-year-old man was attacked with a bladed weapon.
However, there remains an important distinction.
Police have not said that all of these incidents are connected.
More Than 200 Extra Officers Sent To Cleveland
The deployment of officers from other parts of the country is one of the clearest indications yet of the scale of the policing operation now taking place.
Brown said the additional personnel range from detectives to armed-response officers.
He also said that although the seriousness of recent incidents had understandably alarmed residents, the overall number of calls being made to police had actually fallen during the week.
The concern is therefore not necessarily the quantity of incidents, but the extraordinary seriousness of several of those which have occurred.
Cleveland Police is already investigating alleged serious and organised criminal activity connected to events immediately preceding Saturday’s fatal A66 collision.
Seventeen people have been arrested during that investigation.
ITV News now reports that two have been charged while the others have been released on bail.
Those arrests and charges do not establish guilt and the allegations will ultimately need to be tested through the courts.
Man Attacked With Bladed Weapon In Eston
Police were called to another serious incident on Thursday afternoon.
Cleveland Police said a 39-year-old man was receiving treatment following an assault involving a bladed weapon at an address on Sedgemoor Road in Eston at around midday.
No arrests had been made when police issued their update at 3.41pm and enquiries were continuing.
Reports from the scene described a significant police response, including armed officers.
Eston is only around two miles from the scene of Saturday’s fatal A66 collision.
But geographical proximity is not evidence of a connection.
Cleveland Police has not said that Thursday’s assault is connected to the A66 investigation, the Grangetown fire or the other incidents currently being investigated across the area.
For that reason, Fish 4 News is treating it as another serious incident occurring during an already exceptional week on Teesside, rather than describing it as another confirmed part of the organised-crime investigation.
Inquests Open Into A66 Deaths
There was also a significant development on Thursday in the investigation into Saturday’s crash.
Inquests were opened into the deaths of PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, at Teesside Coroner’s Court.
The court heard that PC Blades’ provisional cause of death was head and neck injuries while PC Clough’s was neck injuries.
Coroner Paul Appleton was told that a Volkswagen Passat had entered the A66 against the flow of traffic following a police pursuit.
The pursuit had been abandoned by officers before the collision.
A short time later the Passat collided with the police vehicle carrying PCs Blades and Clough.
The two officers had not been involved in the original pursuit.
All seven people in the two vehicles died at the scene.
The five people travelling in the Passat were Cole Worthy, 17, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, Michael Robert Cahill, 23, and Jakub Matusiak, 23.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct is carrying out a separate investigation into the circumstances surrounding the police pursuit.
Family Rejects Claims Natalie McDonald Was Involved In Gangs
There has also been an important intervention from the family of Natalie McDonald.
Natalie, 34, died alongside her seven-year-old niece Valentina Foster following the fire at a property on Birchington Avenue, Grangetown, on Wednesday morning.
Her brother Josh Kirton has rejected suggestions that his sister was involved in gang activity or connected to Saturday’s A66 crash.
He described the deaths as senseless and said Natalie had nothing to do with gangs.
Two men, aged 23 and 31, were arrested on suspicion of murder following the fire.
Police have previously said they are keeping an open mind about the circumstances and cannot rule out links to wider organised crime.
That does not mean such a link has been established.
Natalie’s family’s statement is therefore another reason to be cautious about some of the increasingly confident claims circulating online about what is happening on Teesside.
What Has Actually Been Connected?
There are confirmed links between some parts of the wider story.
Before Saturday’s fatal crash, police received reports of vehicles being driven dangerously and properties being deliberately rammed.
A Volkswagen Passat carrying the five men who later died was believed by police to have been associated with a Volvo XC60 involved in those incidents.
Police subsequently described their investigation as having significant links to serious and organised criminal activity.
That investigation has resulted in 17 arrests.
But other incidents remain separate investigations unless and until police establish otherwise.
That includes the Grangetown fire, Thursday morning’s incident in Steele Crescent and Thursday’s bladed-weapon attack in Eston.
A Week That Has Left Teesside On Edge
The events of the past few days have understandably caused considerable concern among people living in Middlesbrough and neighbouring communities.
Nine people have died.
Two police officers were among seven people killed in one collision.
A woman and a seven-year-old girl have died in a suspected murder.
Properties have been rammed by vehicles.
Seventeen people have been arrested during an organised-crime investigation.
And hundreds of additional police officers are now being brought into the Cleveland area.
But the distinction between what is known and what is suspected remains important.
Some events are connected.
Others are being investigated for possible connections.
Others may eventually prove completely unrelated.
Fish 4 News has previously examined the events leading to the A66 crash, the house rammings, organised-crime arrests, Grangetown fire and South Bank incident in detail in our earlier report, “What Is Happening In Middlesbrough? A66 Deaths, House Rammings, 17 Arrests And A Double Murder Investigation.”
For now, Cleveland Police is facing several major investigations at the same time and the arrival of more than 200 additional officers shows that the response is expanding considerably.
Fish 4 News will continue to follow developments and report confirmed information as it becomes available.