A former Middlesbrough mayor has spoken of fears the town it “on its knees’ and “escalation will be carnage” following the A66 crash and a fatal house blaze, as police “cannot rule out any links to wider organised crime”
Fears of “carnage” in Middlesbrough have been voiced after the town was in mourning following a horror crash on the A66 that killed seven and a fatal house blaze that saw the death of a seven-year-old girl.
Cleveland Police launched a murder investigation following the blaze at a house on Birchington Avenue in Grangetown yesterday morning (August 26), which is around a mile from the crash site. Two people were killed in the fire with four others rushed to hospital.
Valentina Foster, seven, and her aunt Natalie McDonald, 34, died following the blaze, according to reports. The force said it would not rule out a link between the blaze at an end-of-terrace property and the crash, which killed five men and two police officers, at South Bank on Saturday morning (August 22).
Police have previously said the five young men in the Passat may have had links to “serious and organised criminal activity” and four of them have previous convictions.
Now the former mayor of Middlesbrough Andy Preston has expressed fears of “escalation” in the area and said the consequences could be “carnage”.
Speaking to the Telegraph, Preston said: “From this awful point, things could escalate or peter out. Escalation will be carnage and further wound the communities that are already on their knees.”
His concern comes as the inquests will open this morning (August 27) for the two police officers and five young men who died in a head-on collision on the A66.
The Teesside Coroner, sitting at Teesside Magistrates’ Court, will open inquests into the deaths of Pc Matthew Blades, 37, and Pc Tom Clough, 38, in the morning.
The officers were travelling in a marked police car which was hit head-on by a VW Passat which was evading police.
In the afternoon, inquests will open into the deaths of Cole Worthy, 17, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and 23-year-olds Michael Robert Cahill and Jacob Matusiak – who were in the Passat and who were pronounced dead at the scene at South Bank.
Meanwhile, two men, aged 23 and 31, remain in police custody after they were arrested on suspicion of murder following the blaze in Birchington Avenue.
In a statement, the force said officers were called to the property at 5:23am on Wednesday and confirmed two people had died, “including one child”.
It said they have yet to be formally identified. The force said that a 48-year-old woman remains in a critical condition in the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) in Newcastle.
Three other people suffered injuries which are believed to be non life-threatening.
Superintendent Emily Harrison said on Wednesday evening: “As we continue to investigate this morning’s tragic incident, we continue to support the families of those who have sadly died as a result.
“Our thoughts remain with those families and with everyone involved. Two men, aged 23 and 31, remain in police custody at this time and they are being questioned.
“We continue to work to establish the circumstances of exactly what has happened, but we are keeping an open mind and cannot rule out any links to wider organised crime at this time.
“We will have a high visibility presence in the Grangetown area and encourage anyone who has concerns, or who may have information, to approach our officers or alternatively call us on 101.”
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