Police ended chase seconds before car 'with cloned plates' crashed on A66 and killed 7

The police watchdog has said Cleveland Police officers ended their pursuit of a car 10 seconds before it collided with another police car, killing seven people.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said on Sunday afternoon that it has now verified some of the circumstances in the lead up to the collision, which took place on the A66 in South Bank, near Middlesbrough , shortly after 3.30am on Saturday.

Cleveland Police said a Volkswagen Passat was driving the wrong way on the A66 when it crashed into a police car. Two police officers - Matthew Blades, 37, and Tom Clough, 38 - were killed in the crash. The five occupants of the Passat - Michael Robert Cahill, 23, Theo Rae, 17, Cole Robert Worthy, 16, Jacob Matusiak, 23, Makai Saddington, 18 - were also killed.

The IOPC declared an independent investigation on Saturday morning following a mandatory referral from the force.

The IOPC said Cleveland Police received intelligence about numerous incidents that were linked to a Volkswagen Passat. The Volkswagen was "later sighted and an armed response vehicle began a pursuit of the vehicle", the IOPC said.

"Analysis of the police vehicle in car footage shows the pursuit lasted just under seven minutes before the Passat travelled onto the A66 in South Bank, against the flow of traffic, at which point the pursuit was aborted by officers and they continued to travel on the correct side of the carriageway," the IOPC said.

"A short time after the pursuit ended, approximately 10 seconds later, the Passat collided with another police vehicle which was not involved in the pursuit but in the area to assist in a search for the Passat believed to be using cloned plates that had activated an ANPR camera."

IOPC Director of Engagement Derrick Campbell said: "Our thoughts continue to be with the family and friends and all those affected by yesterday’s collision., We recognise the devastating impact the incident has had on those in the force, and the wider policing community, and offer our condolences.

'We have obtained initial accounts of officers involved in the pursuit, the incident log and in car footage of the incident. Work is ongoing to obtain additional material.

'IOPC investigators will continue to review and analyse all the evidence that is available to us. We will not be providing any further comment at this time.'