Police and army mourn officer killed in crash

Police and army mourn officer killed in crash

Image source, PA Media

Image caption, Hundreds of police officers, emergency service workers and army veterans attended PC Tom Clough's funeral

ByClaudia Robinsonin Redcar and Evie LakeNorth East and Cumbria

Updated 4 hours ago

Police officers and army veterans gathered for the funeral of the second officer killed in a head-on crash.

PC Tom Clough, 38, died on the A66 in South Bank, near Middlesbrough, in the early hours of 22 August with his colleague PC Matthew Blades when a Volkswagen Passat hit their marked police car. Five young men in the Passat also died.

Members of the public also gathered for the funeral at Kirkleatham Walled Gardens, in Redcar, along with family, friends and former colleagues from British Transport Police and the Civil Nuclear Constabulary in Sellafield, Cumbria.

Cleveland Police Federation chair Lauren Somerville said PC Clough's partner said public support "brought them so much strength".

The ceremonial procession made its way along Plantation Road towards the Walled Gardens, accompanied by the music of a lone piper.

The road was lined on both sides with standard bearers who had lowered their flags before the cortege went past.

At its head was a mounted police unit of four horses.

Immediately behind them came the hearse carrying PC Clough's coffin, draped with the Union Flag and topped with his custodian helmet.

The hearse was flanked by officers in ceremonial dress escorting the coffin to the service.

Image source, Supplied

Image caption, PC Tom Clough died while on duty on the A66 near Middlesbrough on 22 August

Image source, PA Media

Image caption, A mounted police unit led the cortege

PC Clough had served in the British Army from 2006 to 2012 and was a lance corporal with the Royal Logistics Corps.

His last unit was 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Search Regiment.

Image source, PA Media

Image caption, Uniformed officers lined Plantation Road as PC Clough's coffin drove past

Officers had been pursuing the Passat seconds before it collided with PC Blades and PC Clough's car on the dual carriageway.

The pair had been looking for the Passat after its cloned registration plates triggered an automated number plate recognition camera, although they were not involved in the pursuit, according to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

The Passat's occupants - Michael Robert Cahill, 23, Jakub Matusiak, 23, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and Cole Robert Worthy, 17 - also died.

Image source, PA Media

Image caption, PC Clough's family said they were grateful for the public support

After he left the Army, PC Clough joined the Civil Nuclear Constabulary and worked at Sellafield, in Cumbria, then served with British Transport Police and finally joined Cleveland Police, where he was an armed response officer.

Somerville said she had "the privilege" of speaking to his partner.

"The family are grateful for all of the support from the public, it's brought them so much strength," she said.

"She wants people to know that Tom wasn't just a police officer, he was a partner and a brother and a son and most importantly a father to a sausage dog called Frank, who was the love of his life."

More than £1.2m was raised to help the families of PC Blades and PC Clough, a fundraiser which was set up by Cleveland Police Federation.

"Tom used to say that he didn't think anybody would come to his funeral and he was wrong," Somerville said.

"He was so wrong.

"He was described as giving his everything to everybody."

Additional reporting by PA Media.

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