The two sons of PC Matthew Blades, a police officer killed in a crash on Teesside, led Manchester United’s team onto the pitch as mascots for Sunday’s Premier League match against Ipswich at Old Trafford.
PC Blades, described by United as a “proud Red”, regularly attended matches at the stadium. The club paid tribute to him in the match programme, while his widow watched the game with their children.
PC Blades and his colleague, PC Tom Clough, died in a head-on collision on the A66 near Middlesbrough early on 22 August. Their police car collided with a vehicle travelling in the wrong direction. Five occupants of the other vehicle also died.
Manchester United said it learned of the deaths of the two officers “with great sadness”.
“Matthew was a proud Red, a devoted family man and a police officer who dedicated his life to helping others,” said the club in a tribute published in the programme.
Tributes paid across Teesside and football
At Elland Road, officials at Leeds United’s Premier League fixture against Brentford on Sunday wore black armbands. Referee Tony Harrington was a friend of PC Blades.
A minute’s applause was held before Middlesbrough’s Championship match against West Brom at Riverside Stadium on Saturday. Images of PC Blades and PC Clough were shown on the stadium screen.
Tributes were also paid at Seaton Carew FC’s match against FC Hartlepool. PC Blades had coached junior players at both clubs.
Arrests in A66 crash investigation
Earlier this week, 17 people were arrested as part of the investigation into the crash, taking the total number of arrests to 24.
The occupants of the other vehicle, a Passat, also died. They were Michael Robert Cahill, 23; Jacob Matusiak, 23; Makai Saddington, 18; Theo Rae, 17; and Cole Robert Worthy, 17.
