New Middlesbrough house-ramming by gang on A66 teen’s mum ‘revealed as catalyst for grim chain of events that killed 7’

GANGLAND rivals rammed the home belonging to the mum of one of the A66 crash victims just minutes before the fatal collision, we can reveal.

The woman’s silver Audi – which was parked on the driveway – was shunted into the front of the three-storey property in the early hours of last Saturday.

Extraordinary pictures show the crumpled convertible parked outside the boarded-up home, with a blue tarpaulin covering the damage to the building.

Her son Theo Rae, 17, was stalking the streets of Middlesbrough in the VW Passat looking for the rival gang responsible for the attack on the day he was killed in the horror crash.

His nan’s home is also believed to have been rammed, along with a property owned by the dad of another one of the A66 victims, Cole Worthy, 17.

In total, three properties linked to the gang were targeted by rivals in a Volvo XC60 in the early hours of last Saturday.

But it was the attack on Rae’s family that incensed them most, sources said.

Rae and Worthy were joined in the VW Passat by Michael Cahill, 23, Jakub Matusiak, 23, and Makai Saddington, 18, as they sought revenge.

They were spotted by marked police cars who immediately gave chase.

The pursuit through the streets of Middlesbrough lasted for seven minutes before the gang entered the A66 on the wrong side of the road in a bid to shake them off.

Chasing police officers abandoned their pursuit.

But 10 seconds later the gang’s Passat collided head-on with an armed response unit being driven by PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38.

All seven died instantly in the crash.

The fallout saw a gangland feud which had been bubbling up for months burst out into the open.

One source said: “Cole’s dad’s home was rammed first, but it was empty at the time. No one gave a s**t about it.

“But they were furious that Theo’s house was rammed and his nan’s.

“There was a large police presence at the property but by then Theo and the others were already in the Passat looking for the gang responsible.

“This is the reason it all exploded.”

The source said homes in Middlesbrough have been rammed for months as part of a tit-for-tat campaign involving rivals amid a gangland feud over “drugs and money”.

Two hundred specialist cops have been called in to restore order but residents fear the presence of more uniforms will only inflame gangs in the South Bank, Eston, Pallister Park and Grangetown areas.

Last night, cars were torched at a twisted vigil for one of the young men killed in the A66 wrong-way crash.

Five motors were burned to a crisp in remembrance of Michael Cahill, 23, after he and six others died in the A66 smash on Saturday morning.

His pals paid tribute to him by skidding the cars around a farmer’s field and churning up the ground before setting the motors alight. It is not clear who the cars belonged to.

Cahill’s mum had urged for people to bring “bikes, jeeps, cars and quads” and give her son “the send off he deserves” as she encouraged people to the memorial.

Days earlier a crowd of 200 had gathered to commemorate another of the joyriders, Jakub Matusiak, 23, by lighting flares and tearing around on off-road bikes in his honour.

The vigils were in stark contrast to the quiet church service for PC Matthew Blades, 37, a former teacher, and PC Tom Clough, 38, a former soldier who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Cops have so far made 17 arrests following the A66 crash as they crack down on the disorder.

The offences range from suspicion of participating in an organised crime group to possession of firearms or drugs.

On Wednesday, a house fire killed a little girl and her aunt just a few streets away – feared to be linked to organised crime in the area.

Speaking on the blaze, police previously said they “were keeping an open mind and cannot rule out links to organised crime”.

But issuing an update today, Cleveland Police said detectives are not linking the house fire to the crash on the A66 last weekend.

Assistant Chief Constable Dave Sutherland said: “Since the tragic incident last Saturday morning in which seven people 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.”

Seven-year-old Valentina Foster and her aunt Natalie McDonald, 34, died in the blaze at 5.23am

Armed cops guarded the fire-hit property as the underworld war burst into the open.

Two men, aged 23 and 31, were arrested on suspicion of murder over the fire and remain in custody.

Valentina had tragically begged relatives to let her spend the night to help celebrate Natalie’s daughter’s 15th birthday.

Family friends say the girl, who escaped the blaze by jumping from a bedroom window with a friend, has now tragically lost both her parents.

Yesterday, a stabbing unfolded down the road with armed cops rushing to the scene.