Armed cops swarm home in Middlesbrough after knife attack as town gripped by violent gang warfare following A66 crash

ARMED cops have been spotted on a Middlesbrough street today after a stabbing unfolded down the road from a fatal house fire. It comes after a house was rammed by a car just a few streets from where a girl and her aunt died in a fire amid fears of a tit-for-tat gang war. Armed cops at the scene of a stabbing in Middlesbrough this afternoon Credit: Tees Burnham Media A balloon release in memory of the A66 crash victims yesterday Emergency services at the house where two people died yesterday Credit: PA A man, 39, has been stabbed at a house at the Bankfields estate in Eston, with armed cops swarming the road and football pitch nearby. Cleveland Police said: “A 39-year-old man is receiving treatment following an assault involving a bladed weapon in an address on Sedgemoor Road in Eston around midday today. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! “No arrests have been made at this time, however, enquiries are ongoing into the incident.” The force hasn’t confirmed if this is linked to organised crime. It comes after the front garden wall of an address in Middlesbrough was repeatedly rammed by a car in the early hours of this morning. This came in the wake of another car ramming, the fatal A66 crash that left seven people dead on Saturday, and a house fire which killed a little girl and her aunt yesterday morning – all feared linked to a “gang war”. Councillor Alec Brown has called for an urgent community safety briefing amid pleas for calm. He said: “Our communities are full of good law abiding people that deserve to feel safe in their own homes.” Most read in The Sun Local Labour MPs said in a joint statement that their communities deserved to “feel safe” and called for more support for Cleveland Police. A wall was demolished in a suspected car ramming this morning Former Middlesbrough mayor Andy Preston said the string of incidents in the area was “heartbreaking to see – not just the loss of life but the further scarring of once proud communities”. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said “all of the support will be provided to get to the heart of what has happened” after the “utterly devastating” fatal house fire in Middlesbrough. Seven-year-old Valentina Foster and her aunt Natalie McDonald, 34, died in the blaze at 5.23am yesterday. Armed cops guarded the fire-hit property as an 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. Cleveland Police said earlier: “Shortly after half past midnight today we received a number of calls reporting a vehicle had crashed into a wall at an address on Steele Crescent in South Bank. Valentina was killed in a house fire while staying with her aunt yesterday Valentina Foster, seven, and her aunt Natalie McDonald, 34, died in the house fire Credit: Facebook The property was empty at the time and we have not currently received any reports of any injuries. “Our investigation is in its early stages and it has not yet been confirmed whether this incident is linked to wider organised crime. “We will continue to have a pro-active police presence in the area and work to identify those responsible.” oday, neighbours woke up to the sight of bricks and a metal fence strewn across the grass of a house a few roads away. A local said the ramming unfolded in South Bank just before 1am, adding that a “car kept going backwards and forwards into the wall over and over”. It’s not yet known if this ramming is linked to the first, which unfolded in the early hours of Saturday morning. A stolen car ploughed through the window of a red-brick property, and minutes later five “joyriders” were racing through the streets of Middlesbrough. They were allegedly pursuing the Volvo involved in the attack on the home, which is understood to belong to one of their dads. A house fire is understood to be linked to the horror A66 crash which claimed seven lives, including two policemen Cops believe the ‘joyriders’ were out looking for revenge after the home belonging to Worthy’s dad, pictured, was rammed twice by a Volvo Credit: PA Cops chased the car through Middlesbrough for just under seven minutes before the A66 tragedy unfolded. Ring doorbell footage captured it being driven at speed at around 3.36am, with locals recalling the noise of the two cars. As the Volkswagen Passat joined the A66 – on the wrong side of the road – cops called off the chase. But just 10 seconds later, at 3.39am, the car ploughed into another marked armed-response vehicle carrying two officers. The cop car was travelling on the correct side of the carriageway and had not been part of the high-speed chase, but was in the area to assist. Seven people tragically died in the smash at 3.39am – including PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38. The five young “joyriders” in the other car also died, with cops naming them as Michael Cahill, 23, Theo Rae, 17, Cole Worthy, 17, Jacob Matusiak, 23, and Makai Saddington, 18. Both the vehicle used to ram the Worthy’s home and the car involved in the A66 crash had cloned number plates. Emergency services at the scene on the A66 in South Bank Credit: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire Floral tributes have been laid at Cleveland Police HQ for the two dead officers Credit: PA Cops arrested 17 people in connection with the fatal smash – 14 men and three women, aged between 16 and 61. Several were arrested on suspicion of being involved in organised crime. One day after the slew of arrests, a house fire broke out on a street around a mile away from the A66 crash. Emergency services scrambled to the home at 5.23am, with firefighters tackling flames billowing from upstairs windows. Seven-year-old Valentina and her aunt Natalie, 34, tragically died. Natalie’s 15-year-old daughter and a friend had managed to escape through an upstairs window after kicking it out. Cops said a 48-year-old woman was pulled from the fire and taken to hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne in a critical condition. Three others were hurt, including one who jumped from an upstairs window. Distraught friends and family paid tribute to the little girl and her auntie, with one relative saying: “Why you? You’re just a baby.” Masked youths sparked outrage after setting off flares in memory of Jakub Matusiak – one of the joyriders killed in the horror A66 crash. Natalie’s mum Lisa Kirton told the BBC that Valentina, known as Tina, had been staying with the family over the school holidays. The gathering took place on South Bank field near Middlesbrough on Monday and only a few hundred yards away from the site of the crash which claimed seven lives. Emergency services at the scene of the Grangetown house fire Credit: PA A floral tribute left near the scene of the blaze Credit: PA Several of Valentina’s relatives also posted tributes to Matusiak. One lad, who we are not naming, shared a photo with Matusiak, 23, and wrote: “Till we meet again Tuz.” He also posted details of Matusiak’s September 4 funeral. Four of the “joyriders” had previously appeared in court charged with a series of offences, Cleveland Police said. The uncle of one of the A66 crash gang was jailed for driving on the wrong side of the same road during a 100mph police chase. Aaron Saddington, 23, was locked up for 20 months in June after trying to shake off cops by speeding at oncoming traffic on the dual carriageway. He was caged after pleading guilty to dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and without insurance, according to court documents obtained by The Sun. The terrifying incident was almost identical to the head-on crash that left his nephew, Makai Saddington, 18, and six others dead on Saturday. Redcar and Cleveland Local Policing Commander, Superintendent Emily Harrison, said: “As we continue to investigate this morning’s tragic incident, we continue to support the families of those who have sadly died as a result. “We continue to work to establish the circumstances of exactly what has happened, but we are keeping an open mind and cannot rule out any links to wider organised crime at this time.”