A minister has demanded that criminals plaguing Middlesbrough with violence be taken off the streets after a devastating string of incidents left nine people dead. More than 200 additional police officers have now been drafted in to help Cleveland Police keep residents safe as investigations continue.

The latest tragedy came on Wednesday when a woman and a seven-year-old girl died in a house fire in Grangetown, near Middlesbrough. The blaze struck just a mile from the scene of Saturday’s horrific A66 head-on crash, which killed two police officers and five young men.

Then, in the early hours of Thursday, a vehicle crashed into a wall outside a house in Steele Crescent, South Bank. The incident happened only minutes from the other two scenes amid suspected escalation in gang violence.

A 39-year-old man was also stabbed at midday on Thursday in Eston, around two miles from the A66 crash. Later that night, youths torched at least five cars in a field around 15 miles from Middlesbrough and set off fireworks at a balloon release for Michael Cahill, one of the young men killed in the crash.

“The activities we are seeing are absolutely horrendous,” said Kate Dearden, Minister for the Future of Work, while appearing on the Government’s media round. “I can't even imagine how that feels for local communities.”

Ms Dearden said police had increased their resources and urged officers to continue their investigations. “They’re working to get the criminals off the streets,” she said.

Alec Brown, leader of Redcar and Cleveland Council, said more than 200 additional police officers had been, or would be, deployed from around the country to support Cleveland Police.

The A66 crash claimed the lives of Pc Matthew Blades, 37, and Pc Tom Clough, 38, after their vehicle collided head-on with a Volkswagen Passat on Saturday. Cole Worthy, 17, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and 23-year-olds Michael Cahill and Jakub Matusiak also died.

Police have arrested 17 people following the crash, charging two and bailing the others as part of investigations into alleged organised crime. Officers have also arrested two men on suspicion of murder over the house fire, which killed Natalie McDonald, 34, and seven-year-old Valentina Foster and injured four others.

Natalie’s devastated brother, Josh Kirton, said his sister had nothing to do with gangs or the A66 crash. “That’s what makes this so senseless,” he said, adding that “people think they can do whatever they like”.

Tributes have flooded the house where Natalie and Valentina died. Bouquets and toys have been left alongside a photograph of the pair bearing the words: “RIP Natalie and Valentina you will be missed.”

Andy Burnham said the Government was offering “all of the support that the authorities need” following the “terribly tragic” fire. But police investigating the South Bank crash said they had not yet confirmed whether it was connected to wider organised crime.

With investigations continuing and extra officers flooding into the area, pressure is mounting on police to establish exactly what lies behind the succession of violent incidents — and bring those responsible to justice.

Minister: 'Get criminals off Middlesbrough streets' after nine dead

• Durham Constabulary has condemned a gathering in Haswell where cars were torched and flares set off during a vigil for A66 crash victim Michael Cahill.

  Police issue new warning after cars set on fire at A66 vigil

23 minutes ago, bannork said:

• Durham Constabulary has condemned a gathering in Haswell where cars were torched and flares set off during a vigil for A66 crash victim Michael Cahill.

  Police issue new warning after cars set on fire at A66 vigil

Truly a beautiful tribute to a beautiful lad. I'm welling up.

A further seven men have been arrested as part of Cleveland Police's investigation into organised crime in Middlesbrough after a fatal collision killed seven last weekend.

The force, investigating a series of recent incidents in the Middlesbrough area, said a total of 24 people had now been arrested. In an update on their investigation in the area since that incident, Cleveland Police said that they had arrested four men on suspicion of criminal damage with intent to endanger life, arson and possession with intent to supply class A drugs.

The force said all four - aged 35, 25, 40 and 21 - were in a vehicle when they were stopped by police on Kingsley Road in Grangetown at 10.30pm on Thursday.

It added that the arson relates to a caravan that was set alight on Atlee Road on Wednesday, while the criminal damage with intent to endanger life relates to a vehicle crashing into a property at Steele Crescent.

Three others arrested and £15,000 seized

The force also said a further three - aged 23, 42 and 30 - had been arrested.

The 23-year-old was arrested on suspicion of threats to kill.

Officers added that the 42-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of threats to kill and possession of criminal property, while the 30-year-old was arrested on suspicion of possession of criminal property. All three have been released on conditional bail, police said, adding officers also seized £15,000 in cash.

Two arrested for murder after house fire

Labour MP for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East Andy McDonald described the spate of violence in the Middlesbrough area as "terrorism".

It comes as more than 200 extra officers have been drafted in to help Cleveland Police after multiple violent incidents across Middlesbrough.

Meanwhile, two men have been arrested on suspicion of murder in relation to the house fire that killed Natalie McDonald, 34, and her niece Valentina Foster, and injured four others.

Seven more men arrested by police investigating organised crime after A66 crash

Screenshot_2026-08-28_at_09.59.08.avif

Middlesbrough violence leaves community ‘shellshocked’

“This place might look bad but it’s not, the people are good people.” Those words, spoken by a woman in Grangetown before she turned to her young daughter and asked, “Is this place bad?”, captured the fear and defiance gripping a Middlesbrough community after a week of violence.

The girl shook her head vigorously. But just around the corner stood the burned-out shell of a house deliberately set on fire on Wednesday, killing Natalie McDonald, 34, and her seven-year-old niece Valentina Foster.

Less than a mile away, the A66 became the scene of another devastating tragedy on Saturday. A head-on collision killed seven people, including police officers Matthew Blades and Tom Clough.

Cleveland police initially linked the crash to organised crime and said they could not rule out a connection to the house fire. But on Friday, officers said there was no link between the two incidents.

For neighbours gathered opposite the house in Birchington Avenue, that came as little surprise. They had already insisted there was no connection, while one neighbour bluntly identified drug users as the problem in the area.

John Kirton, McDonald’s brother, was furious at suggestions his sister had any involvement with gangs or the A66 crash. “That’s what makes this so senseless,” he told reporters, saying people believed they could “do whatever they like”.

The grief has unfolded alongside growing fears about organised crime. Residents described Grangetown as a tight-knit community where “everyone looks out for each other”, but also acknowledged serious problems involving gangs of boys and young men, drug dealing and other crimes.

The scale of the fear was underlined by Middlesbrough and Thornaby East MP Andy McDonald. He said people felt trapped inside their homes and afraid even to go to the shops, describing the situation as a form of “terrorism”.

Hartlepool MP Jonathan Brash said communities felt organised crime was “embedded”. There have been nine deaths, alongside other potentially gang-related crimes including a knife attack and the ramming of an empty house.

Then came another disturbing incident. On Thursday evening, video circulated on social media showing cars being set alight at a vigil for one of the men killed in the A66 crash in Haswell, County Durham, around 20 miles north of the crash site.

The community has been left “shellshocked”, fearful of what could happen next and demanding reassurance. Redcar and Cleveland council leader Alec Brown said authorities were working “tirelessly” to make people feel safe.

Around 200 additional police officers have been brought in from other forces, with officers from Northumbria, Durham, Humberside and North, South and West Yorkshire forces joining the National Crime Agency. Some were seen arriving at Cleveland police headquarters on Friday morning.

The hope is clear: a huge show of police strength could calm tensions and reassure residents. But Redcar MP Anna Turley warned against treating every incident as part of the same organised-crime investigation.

“I think it’s really important to get across the fact that these incidents are not all linked,” she said. The national spotlight may make them appear connected, she added, but the area has experienced high levels of crime for a long time.

Terry Chapman, who was born and raised on another Middlesbrough council estate, travelled to the scene of the house blaze because he felt compelled to come. He described what had happened as “really horrendous and scary”, but insisted the criminals were a minority.

“The vast majority of people, including in places like Grangetown, are absolutely fantastic people,” Chapman said. He argued that most residents were decent and law-abiding, but that a small minority had gained a bigger influence after going unchecked for years.

The physical surroundings underline the deprivation. Grangetown and South Bank have rundown terraces of shops, many closed, while the area has no obvious centre and strikingly few pubs.

The former Magnet pub, which once hosted early gigs for Grangetown-born comedian Roy Chubby Brown, has become a Heron Foods branch.

The A66 crash has left another painful mark. Police had pursued a VW Passat carrying five young men for seven minutes before it turned on to the dual carriageway against the flow of traffic.

The pursuit was aborted. Ten seconds later, the Passat crashed into a police car, killing everyone at the scene, including Blades and Clough.

At the junction of Church Lane and the A66, a retired steelworker named Joe looked at the bouquets left for the two officers. He was reluctant to give his surname because of what he called “the lunatics”.

Joe remembered when the steelworks stood directly across the road and provided work for much of the community. He said the old police stations in South Bank and Eston had disappeared and argued that criminal gangs had been allowed to operate with drugs passing between them for years.

Yet beneath the anger and fear, residents insist the area cannot be reduced to its darkest moments. The problems facing Teesside are part of a wider struggle with gangs and organised crime seen in places including Naples, Baltimore and Liverpool.

And there are flashes of something very different. In South Bank, near the A66 junction, the Saabat Gallery was established by Iraqi artist and Teesside University graduate Azad Karim Mohammed.

The gallery is currently showing and selling work by local artists Rita Readman and David Watson. Its coordinator, Nathaniel McGovern, has spent five years there and says the community remains warm, welcoming and willing to help.

“It has been a mad week for everyone round here,” he said. But his message was simple: “you get nice people and bad people everywhere”.

His verdict on South Bank was equally clear: “I’d say this area’s got more nice people than bad.”

'This place might look bad but it's not': Fear and hope in Middlesbrough community after week of violence