Police abandoned their pursuit of a car just seconds before it crashed into a police vehicle on the A66 near Middlesbrough, killing seven people, investigators have said.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said Cleveland Police had been pursuing a Volkswagen Passat following reports of “numerous incidents” linked to the vehicle.

The car was travelling on the wrong side of the dual carriageway when it collided with a Cleveland Police vehicle on Saturday.

All five people inside the Passat were killed in the devastating crash.

They have been named as Michael Robert Cahill, 23, Jacob Matusiak, 23, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and Cole Robert Worthy, 17.

The two police officers inside the other vehicle were also killed.

PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, had been on the correct side of the road and were assisting with the search for the Passat when the collision occurred.

The IOPC has launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash, including the police pursuit and the decision to abandon it shortly before the fatal collision.

The watchdog said the pursuit had been initiated after police received reports of multiple incidents involving the vehicle.Investigators are now working to establish exactly what happened in the moments leading up to the collision and why the Volkswagen ended up travelling in the wrong direction on the A66.

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