Middlesbrough - live: Police rule out link between house fire 'murders' and A66 crash

Police today confirmed detectives are not linking a fatal house fire which killed a seven-year-old girl and her aunt to last weekend’s deadly A66 crash.

Seven people, including two police officers , died in the collision between a marked police vehicle and a Volkswagen Passat near Middlesbrough last Saturday.

Since then, officers have been called to multiple incidents across Teesside. On Wednesday, Valentina Foster, seven, and her aunt Natalie McDonald, 34, were tragically killed in a house fire in Grangetown, Teesside. Two men have since been arrested on suspicion of murder.

Police initially refused to rule out a potential link between the house fire and organised crime. Today, the force said they are not linking the fire to the A66 crash.

On Thursday morning, a house in South Bank, Middlesbrough, was rammed by a "jeep-type car". The vehicle repeatedly drove into the front wall of the home until it was "smashed down", a neighbour said.

It came as footage shared online showed a number of cars on fire in a field in Haswell, County Durham, as balloons were released at a memorial event for Michael Robert Cahill, 23, one of the five men in the Passat. It appears the cars - including an £80K Porsche - were set ablaze as part of the event.

Assistant Chief Constable Dave Sutherland, who is the head of local policing at Cleveland Police, said: "Since the tragic incident last Saturday morning in which seven people, including two of our serving police officers, Pc Matthew Blades and Pc Tom Clough, sadly lost their lives, officers and staff have remained working around the clock to continue to serve the public of Cleveland.

"In the same week, we have also seen a tragic house fire on Wednesday in which two people lost their lives, which is also understandably impacting the force and our local communities.

"At this time, we are not linking this incident to the fatal collision on the A66. Our thoughts remain with all those affected by these incidents as we continue our investigations into what happened.

"Since these two horrific events, the reality of policing in Cleveland and the levels of violence suffered in our communities, has come under the spotlight on a national level.

"Brave officers face significant challenges day in day out, but I want to reassure the public that we will remain unwavering in our efforts to tackle criminals and protect our communities.

"Despite these challenges, calls for service to the force are being answered effectively, we are deploying to incidents, and investigating crime as we do every day.

"It’s important to acknowledge the support and additional resource we are receiving from a number of other forces in the northern region and beyond, and also from the National Crime Agency.

"This support not only means we can maintain our service to the public, but also continue to conduct patrols in the areas most affected and be a visible presence should anyone wish to speak to officers with any concerns.