00:00a fundraising appeal for the families of two cleveland officers killed in the a66 crash has raised nearly one million
00:08pounds over thirty thousand contributions have led to this remarkable total with donations continuing to pour in
00:17the appeal follows deaths of pc matthew blades and pc tom cluff while on duty near south bank the pair
00:25died on saturday after a volkswagen passat entered the a66 traveling against the flow of traffic and collided with their
00:33marked police vehicle five individuals in the passat also passed away as a result of the collision the independent office
00:40for police conduct is investigating the circumstances the watchdog says the passat had been linked to several
00:47incidents and that an armed response vehicle had pursued it the pursuit lasted just under seven minutes before the car
00:55entered the a66 in the wrong direction officers then ended the pursuit pc blades was 37 and leaves a wife
01:03and two sons pc cluff was 38 and leaves a partner the appeal was organized by the cleveland police federation
01:11which says donations will be divided equally between the two families as they wish
01:15police are investigating alleged criminal activity before the collision at the time of broadcast cleveland police has confirmed that 17
01:24people have been arrested in connection with the wider investigation
