REDCAR, TEESSIDE — Hundreds of police officers, soldiers and members of the public gathered Thursday to say goodbye to PC Tom Clough, the Cleveland Police officer killed in the devastating A66 crash that claimed seven lives.

Clough, 38, was remembered at a moving funeral ceremony at Kirkleatham Walled Gardens in Redcar on September 10, where colleagues from across the country lined the route as his coffin passed.

The ceremony came just one day after the funeral of his fellow officer, PC Matthew Blades, 37, who was also killed in the same collision.

For Cleveland Police, the two funerals have brought an unbearable loss into sharp focus.

🕯️ A FINAL SALUTE TO A LIFE OF SERVICE
The scale of the tribute reflected the life Clough had devoted to public service.

Before joining Cleveland Police, he had served in the British Army, including a deployment to Afghanistan.

He later worked for the Civil Nuclear Constabulary and the British Transport Police before joining Cleveland Police.

For friends and colleagues, the funeral was therefore not simply the farewell of a police officer.

It was a farewell to someone who had spent years moving from one form of public service to another.

🇬🇧 POLICE FLAGS FROM ACROSS THE UK LINED THE ROUTE
Hundreds of officers gathered along Plantation Road and the road leading toward the gardens.

Standard bearers representing police forces from across the United Kingdom lowered their flags as Clough’s hearse passed.

The sight reflected how widely the loss had been felt inside British policing.

For Cleveland Police, Clough’s death came suddenly and in the middle of a routine night shift that turned into one of the region’s worst tragedies in years.

🎖️ HIS MILITARY PAST WAS A MAJOR PART OF THE TRIBUTE
Clough served in the British Army from 2006 to 2012 and was a lance corporal with the Royal Logistic Corps.

His time in the military included service in Afghanistan.

That background became an important part of the tributes paid to him after his death.

Those who knew him described a man accustomed to responsibility and pressure — someone whose commitment to helping others continued even after he left the Army.

He eventually brought that experience into policing.

🚔 HE DIED WHILE SERVING THE PUBLIC
Clough and Blades were inside a marked Cleveland Police Armed Response Vehicle during the early hours of August 22.

At about 3:39 a.m., a Volkswagen Passat traveling the wrong way along the A66 collided head-on with their vehicle.

Both officers died at the scene.

The five people inside the Passat also died.

Cleveland Police subsequently referred the circumstances to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which is investigating the police actions and pursuit that preceded the collision.

💔 THE CRASH LEFT SEVEN FAMILIES GRIEVING
The death toll made the A66 tragedy unlike an ordinary traffic collision.

Two police officers were killed.

Five young men in the Passat were also killed.

Their deaths have led to a series of funerals across the Teesside area, with each service drawing large crowds and heightened police attention.

The communities affected by the crash have therefore spent weeks moving between mourning, investigation and an increasingly complicated public debate over what happened that night.

👮‍♂️ CLough WAS REMEMBERED AS MORE THAN A POLICE OFFICER
Tributes from those who knew him have focused on his personality as much as his career.

Friends and colleagues described him as selfless, dedicated and quick-witted, with a reputation for bringing humor into difficult situations.

He was also remembered for his love of his dog, Frank.

Those personal details mattered during the funeral because they showed the man behind the uniform.

To colleagues, he was not simply PC Tom Clough.

He was a friend, a former soldier and someone whose absence will now be felt far beyond his police station.

🕊️ MATTHEW BLADES WAS LAID TO REST ONE DAY EARLIER
Clough’s funeral followed that of PC Matthew Blades.

Hundreds of police officers lined the streets of Hartlepool on September 9 for Blades’ funeral at St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church.

Blades was a father of two and an armed-response officer.

His wife described him as her husband, best friend and a devoted father to their young boys. Cleveland Police published her tribute after his death.

The close timing of the two funerals meant that Cleveland Police had to mourn two colleagues in the space of two days.

🚨 THE FUNERALS COME AS THE INVESTIGATION CONTINUES
The ceremonies have offered an emotional pause, but the investigation into the crash is far from finished.

The IOPC continues examining the police pursuit and the events immediately before the collision.

At the same time, Cleveland Police is investigating alleged criminal activity surrounding the vehicles and events connected to the night of the crash.

Authorities have made a number of arrests as they investigate what they believe may involve wider serious and organised crime.

Those arrests do not mean every person detained is suspected of causing the fatal collision.

Investigators are still working to establish the precise chain of events.

🔎 WHY THE A66 CRASH REMAINS SO COMPLICATED
The tragedy cannot be explained simply by looking at the final moment of impact.

Investigators must reconstruct what happened before the Passat entered the wrong carriageway, why a police pursuit had begun, what happened when the vehicle crossed onto the opposite side of the road and why the collision occurred only seconds after the pursuit was ended.

That is why the IOPC investigation is so important.

It is examining not just the crash itself but the decisions and circumstances leading up to it.

💔 FOR CLough’S FAMILY, THE OFFICIAL ANSWERS WILL NEVER BE ENOUGH
No investigation can change the fact that Tom Clough will not return home.

The same is true for Matthew Blades and the five young men who died in the Passat.

But for the families left behind, knowing exactly what happened may still matter.

It can explain the circumstances of the loss.

It can answer questions that otherwise remain unanswered.

And it can provide an official record of the final moments of those who died.

🇬🇧 TWO OFFICERS, TWO FUNERALS, ONE TRAGEDY
The images from the past two days have become some of the most powerful reminders of the scale of the A66 tragedy.

Hundreds of police officers in uniform.

Military veterans standing alongside them.

Flags lowered.

Bagpipes leading the procession.

A coffin carried by colleagues.

And families saying goodbye to men who had spent their lives helping others.

Tom Clough and Matthew Blades died only moments apart.

Their funerals have now taken place only one day apart.

🚨 THE ROAD TO JUSTICE WILL TAKE LONGER THAN THE ROAD TO THE FUNERAL
The emotional ceremonies are over.

The investigation is not.

The IOPC still has work to do.

Police investigators are still examining the wider criminal circumstances.

The coroner’s proceedings are continuing.

And families of all seven victims are still waiting for the full story of how the crash unfolded.

For Cleveland Police, however, September 9 and 10 will remain remembered for another reason.

They were the days the force said goodbye to two of its own.

🕯️ TOM CLOUGH’S LAST JOURNEY
There was something fitting about the final tribute to Clough.

A man who had spent years serving in the Army and then in three different policing organizations was surrounded at the end by the people who understood that life of service.

His final journey passed through streets lined with those who wanted him to know, one last time, that his work mattered.

He left behind colleagues who will never forget the night the A66 changed everything.

PC Tom Clough was 38 years old. He served his country, served the public and died while on duty. On September 10, hundreds gathered to honor him — not simply as a police officer, but as a friend, comrade and fellow human being.

The A66 investigation will continue.

But for one day, the focus was simply on saying goodbye.

Sources:

The Sun — Cops and soldiers gather for A66 crash officer funeral