Locals in Middlesbrough claim Cole Worthy abused people and was seen high on drugs, adding: “Him and his gang are all over social media, bragging about what they have done.”
One of the youths who died in the a66 horror was part of a gang that abused locals and bragged about it on social media, it is claimed.
Police are investigating whether 17-year-old Cole Worthy and the four other young men in the Passat that crashed into a police car were pursuing a Volvo to carry out a revenge attack following damage to his dad’s house in Acklam, Middlesbrough.
Locals in the area said the house had a long and troubled history, noting that Cole and his friends were regularly seen in the street. It had been damaged many times in recent years, with windows put out and police called “on a regular basis”.
They claim Cole abused locals and was seen high on drugs. On at least one occasion, neighbouring properties were targeted by mistake by thugs he had fallen out with. One resident told the Mirror: “It was well known that Cole had fallen out with a gang rival.”
Cole was a pupil at the local secondary school, and “everyone knew he was in a gang,” according to another local. They told the Mirror: “Him and his gang are all over social media, bragging about what they have done.
“That sign that they use, with their fingers sticking out, that is the sign of a gun. It is supposed to be a reference to them being armed – and a warning of what they will do if you stand in their way.”
The Teesside town has been rocked by the fall-out of the head-on horror, which claimed the lives of PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, in the early hours of last Saturday.
The five in the Passat – Michael Cahill, 23, Theo Rae, 17, Jakub Matusiak, 23, Makai Saddington, 18, and Cole Worthy – also died. And locals are now living in fear of a gangland turf war after a home was rammed and a man was stabbed on Thursday.
Gangland pals of the five are also feared to be linked to the fire-bombing of a house in the Grangetown area that killed innocent seven-year-old Valentina Foster and her aunt Natalie McDonald, 34. Another woman, 48, was pulled from the burning building.
A local added: “It is sickening to think of that now when you consider the death of that seven-year-old girl. Anyone involved in that or who brought that about should hang their heads in shame.”
Another said: “His dad’s house has been rammed three, four, five times. The police were there regularly. The problems were raised with local authorities including the police.
“But it was very difficult to do anything about it because of Cole’s age and the fact that the property wasn’t a council house. And people are afraid to speak out in case they are targeted for retribution. Given what has happened, you can hardly blame them.”
Cleveland Police, one of the smallest forces in the country, has been stretched to breaking point. They will now be joined by officers from Durham, Northumbria, North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and Humberside.