BREAKING: He had planned to coach his son. Police officer Matthew Blades had joined a local football club and was preparing for the new season—a simple plan that suddenly became impossible following a crash on the A66. Tributes from his family have revealed his final message—a detail that had not previously appeared in news reports. Read the full tribute in the comments. 👇
**BREAKING: He Had Planned to Coach His Son – The Life and Legacy of PC Matthew Blades, Cut Short on the A66**
In the early hours of Saturday, 22 August 2026, a simple family plan died on the A66 near Middlesbrough. Police Constable Matthew Blades, 37, a devoted father of two, husband, former English teacher and local football coach, had recently signed on with Seaton Carew FC. He was preparing for the new season with the club’s brand-new under-sevens Seahawks team. Most of all, he was looking forward to coaching his own young son, who would be lining up in the same squad. That ordinary, hopeful ambition – the kind shared by countless parents across the country – became impossible in an instant when a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way down the dual carriageway collided head-on with the marked Cleveland Police armed response vehicle in which Blades and his colleague PC Tom Clough, 38, were travelling.
All seven people involved died at the scene. The five occupants of the Passat were named as Michael Robert Cahill, 23; Jacob (or Jakub) Matusiak, 23; Makai Saddington, 18; Theo Rae, 17; and Cole Robert Worthy, 17. Blades and Clough were not part of the original pursuit of the Passat. According to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), they had been deployed to the area to assist in searching for the vehicle, which was believed to be using cloned registration plates and linked to “numerous incidents.” Officers had pursued the Passat for just under seven minutes. When it entered the A66 at South Bank against the flow of traffic, the chase was aborted. Approximately ten seconds later, at 03:39 BST, the Passat struck the officers’ vehicle, which was travelling correctly.
The crash has left Teesside and the wider policing family reeling. It has also revealed, through family tributes that had not previously featured in initial reports, the deeply personal dimensions of the loss. Blades’ wife described him as her beloved husband, best friend and “the most devoted father” to their two young boys. Her statement, released through Cleveland Police, has become a central part of the public remembrance: “No words will ever feel like the right words to honour our Matt… He was an adored son and brother, a perfect son-in-law, and the most fun uncle. He was loved beyond words by all his family and friends, and his loss has left a space that can never be filled. He gave his life in the line of duty, protecting and serving others with courage, dedication and selflessness. The pain of losing him is beyond words, and our lives will never be the same. Neither will the love he gave us ever fade. Our children will grow up knowing what an incredible father he was and will always be… He may have left this world committed to the duty he believed in, but his greatest legacy will always be the love he gave to his family. Forever loved. Forever missed. Forever our superhero. Our Matt and Dad.”
That closing line – “Forever our superhero” – has resonated widely. It captures both the private grief of a young family and the public recognition of an officer who died while on duty protecting the community.
**A Teacher Who Chose Policing**
Before joining Cleveland Police, Matthew Blades taught English at Carmel College in Darlington. Staff there remembered him as intelligent, kind and approachable – a valued colleague who “gave generously of himself to the young people in his care.” In a statement, the college said many in the community would recall “Matty” with affection for the contribution he made during his time there. He left teaching for a new vocation of service in policing, a decision that ultimately cost him his life but reflected a consistent desire to help others.
Colleagues and those who knew him off duty paint a picture of a man who balanced the demands of frontline policing with deep involvement in his children’s lives and the local sporting community. He coached the under-tens reds at FC Hartlepool, where his eldest son played. The club described him as far more than a coach: a role model, mentor and friend whom the children looked up to. “Matty gave his time, energy, and heart to the team. He encouraged the boys, believed in them, supported them, and helped them grow – not only as footballers but as young people. His kindness, patience, and infectious personality made him loved by all who had the privilege of knowing him.” The under-tens had lost a coach; the club had lost a truly special person. Flags at the club flew at half-mast.
At Seaton Carew FC, where he had only recently joined as a coach for the new under-sevens Seahawks, the sense of anticipation cut short was particularly acute. “He was looking forward to being part of the team and, most importantly, to coaching his own son, who is going to be playing for the Seahawks this season,” the club said. “Matty and his oldest son are much-loved members of our club and our U10 Lions football family.” The image of a father preparing to stand on the touchline with his own child is one that many parents can immediately understand. That plan, so ordinary and so full of promise, was erased in the darkness on the A66.
**The Night of the Crash and the Investigation**
The sequence of events has been outlined by Cleveland Police and the IOPC. Intelligence linked a Passat to multiple incidents. Cloned plates triggered an automatic number-plate recognition (ANPR) camera. A pursuit began. Security footage from a residential street appears to show a high-speed chase minutes earlier. When the Passat turned the wrong way onto the dual carriageway, pursuing officers correctly aborted. Blades and Clough’s vehicle was in the area to help locate the suspect car. The collision was catastrophic.
Twelve people – nine men and three women aged between 19 and 61 – were later arrested across Teesside on suspicion of offences including possession of a firearm and participation in an organised crime group. Cleveland Police described the investigation as focusing on “serious criminal activity that resulted in this fatal incident.” The IOPC continues its independent examination of the circumstances, having obtained initial officer accounts, the incident log and in-car footage. Work to gather further material is ongoing.
Public reaction has mixed profound sorrow with questions about dangerous driving culture, particularly content on social media that appears to glorify high-speed pursuits and wrong-way driving. Government ministers have called such glorification “truly reprehensible” and urged platforms to remove material celebrating dangerous behaviour on the roads. TikTok accounts linked to some of those involved had previously posted videos of risky driving, though these have since been deleted.
**Tributes from Across the Community**
PC Tom Clough’s family described him as their hero – a man with a fantastic sense of humour who jumped into action whenever needed and was always willing to help anyone. A former soldier who had “proudly fought for his country,” he remained “on public duty throughout his short life.” Colleagues laid floral tributes at the scene, removing their hats and observing moments of silence. Residents of the area expressed solidarity, noting that “no family deserves that.”
A fundraising appeal launched by the Cleveland Police Federation for the two officers’ families rapidly surpassed six figures and continued to climb, with funds to be split equally and used as the families wish. The federation emphasised that the officers had paid the ultimate sacrifice and that their loved ones would need support through an unfathomable loss.
Chief Constable Victoria Fuller called it “an incredibly sad day for Cleveland.” The officers, she said, were brave men protecting communities who did not return home to their families at the end of their shift. Political figures including the Prime Minister and local MPs offered condolences, underlining the debt owed to those who serve.
**A Father’s Unfinished Season**
What makes the loss of Matthew Blades especially poignant is the ordinariness of the life he was living alongside his policing role. He was a husband who was his wife’s best friend. He was a father whose greatest pride was his two young sons. He was a coach who found joy in helping children develop, particularly when one of those children was his own. He had already shared the under-tens experience with his eldest; the under-sevens season with his younger son was the next chapter. That chapter will never be written.
In the days since the crash, the tributes have filled in the human details that initial police statements could not. The final public message from his family – the description of him as “our superhero,” the insistence that his greatest legacy is the love he gave – has given the community a way to remember him that goes beyond rank and role. It is the memory of a man who planned to stand on a local football pitch on Saturday mornings, whistle in hand, watching his son play.
The A66 has since reopened after necessary repairs, but the emotional road for the families of all seven people killed will be far longer. For the Blades family, the pain remains beyond words. For the football clubs that knew him as Matty, the under-tens and under-sevens will take the field without their coach. For Cleveland Police, two colleagues are gone. And for the wider public, the story is a stark reminder of the risks faced by those who respond when others choose danger.
Matthew Blades had planned to coach his son. That plan, like so many others interrupted by sudden tragedy, now exists only in memory – a reminder of the ordinary futures that policing officers leave behind when they do not come home. His family has asked that he be remembered as the devoted father and superhero he was to them. In the tributes that have poured in from classrooms, changing rooms and police stations, that request is being honoured.
