Funeral held for third A66 crash passenger just days after row erupted over decision to shut schools early in Middlesbrough

Mourners have gathered for the third A66 crash funeral after a row erupted over the decision to close a number of schools for the first two funerals.Dozens gathered to pay their respects to Makai Saddington, one of five young men who lost their lives in a horror wrong-way smash in Middlesbrough last month that also killed two police officers.He is the third VW Passat occupant killed in the crash to be laid to rest, following a service at Teesside Crematorium.The 18-year-old, alongside Cole Robert Worthy, 17, Theo Rae, 17, Michael Robert Cahill, 23, and Jakub Matusiak, 23, were pronounced dead at the scene in the early hours of August 22.PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, who were travelling in a marked armed response vehicle, also lost their lives in the line of duty.A funeral was held yesterday for Mr Rae, with four schools in the area closing at staggered times from 12.15pm fearing 'traffic disruption', similar to closures for the funeral of Mr Matusiak on Friday. Mourners today began to arrive in cars for Mr Saddington's funeral from 11.20am, followed by a white carriage containing a white coffin, drawn by two horses wearing blue feathers. On top of the carriage were blue and white coloured floral displays reading 'my boy'.Following the fatal crash, it came to light that Mr Saddington was awaiting trial on charges of racially abusing and assaulting officers.He had made his first appearance before Teesside magistrates on July 17, when his case was adjourned to a later date. Mourners today began to arrive in cars from 11.20am, followed by a white carriage containing a white coffin, drawn by two horses wearing blue feather On top of the carriage were blue and white coloured floral displays reading 'my boy' Dozens gathered to pay their respects to Makai Saddington, 18, (pictured) one of five young men who lost their lives in a horror wrong-way smash in Middlesbrough last month It is understood that no schools have taken the decision to close early today following a political row erupting after a number of schools chose to shut for Mr Matusiak and Mr Rae's funeral.Yesterday, Tory Leader Kemi Badenoch condemned the 'obscene' decision to close schools early, writing in a post on X: 'It is the duty of government to keep schools open, yet the Labour Education Secretary is allowing gang violence to dictate the lives of law-abiding citizens.'Lucy Powell should be ashamed that she has refused to intervene. This sets a terrible precedent and sends a message to criminals and thugs across the country that this Labour government is too weak to keep its people safe from them.'It is also a kick in the teeth to the police officers being asked to defend parents, teachers and children from the very thugs involved in the violence that killed two of their own.'It was bad enough that schools closed early last week but it is completely unfathomable that the Labour government has not stopped it happening again this week. If they don't act now, this will only get worse.'Mourners began to arrive in cars from 1.50pm for Mr Rae's funeral, with five black funeral cars carrying Mr Rae's loved ones following a horse-drawn carriage, while attendees were seen hanging out of cars as the procession pulled into the crematorium.A silver BMW even had a custom, illegal registration plate reading 'RIP' on the front and 'THEO' on the rear for the occasion.At the back of a procession was a van with yet more floral arrangements, reading 'nephew'.Mr Rae's funeral follows Mr Matusiak's, which was held on Friday at St John the Evangelist Church in South Bank, Middlesbrough.Hundreds of mourners lined the streets wearing black and orange – the young man's favourite colour – as his coffin, inscribed with the word 'son', arrived in a white horse-drawn hearse. Close friends Theo Rae (left) and Cole Robert Worthy were both killed in the crash PC Tom Clough, left, and PC Matthew Blades were killed in the car crash on the A66In addition, white and orange flowers on the hearse were arranged to form the word, 'Dad'.The coffin, made from light oak, was carried into the church by six pall bearers, some wearing baseball caps.The funeral cortege consisted of some flashy cars including an Aston Martin, Lamborghini and a Rolls-Royce.Mourners started arriving from 2.30pm for the 3pm service.Balaclava-clad men, and a few on bikes, were seen on nearby streets after the congregation had entered the church, but they didn't appear to be in the area to pay their respects.Mr Worthy's funeral is due to take place tomorrow, while the funerals of the officers are also set to take place this week.Several schools in Middlesbrough shut their doors early again ahead of Mr Rae's funeral, with pupils at four schools in the Acklam area sent home hours before the normal end of the school day.Outwood Academy Acklam closed at 12.15pm, Newham Bridge Primary School finished at 1pm and Acklam Whin Primary School and Green Lane School both closed at 1.15pm after pupils had had their lunch – only a week after schools went back after the summer holidays.According to Middlesbrough Council, the decisions were taken by the individual schools amid concerns that the funeral could cause localised traffic disruption and delays later in the afternoon.The closures came just three days after schools in neighbouring South Bank also sent children home early for the funeral of Mr Matusiak.There was little to no disorder during that service, with Cleveland Police saying it 'passed without issue' and with 'very minimal traffic disruption'. A memorial for Matusiak last month in South Bank, Middlesbrough, saw flares burned and balloons released Mourners attend the funeral of Jakub Matusiak. Many were dressed in orange while some were masked But the decision to shut schools has already triggered a political row, with the Tories accusing authorities of allowing criminality to interfere with education.Conservative MP Laura Trott previously said schools 'should stay open for children to learn', after schools closed ahead of Mr Matusiak's funeral.Education Secretary Lucy Powell hit back at Kemi Badenoch's criticism, saying the Tory leader had made 'another ill-judged attempt at political point-scoring'.She added: 'We've been in close contact with headteachers, schools and local authorities in Redcar and Cleveland, and Middlesbrough to support them to keep schools open and with sensitive child protection issues.'These are difficult decisions for headteachers to make, but I have been assured no further closures will be needed.'Downing Street also insisted that disruption to pupils' learning 'should be kept to an absolute minimum' but stressed there were 'exceptional local circumstances'.The Prime Minister's official spokesman told reporters: 'Our position is clear; the right place for children is in the classroom.'We want to see all schools open and, at the same time, we have been clear that any disruption to pupils' learning should be kept to an absolute minimum.'We're continuing to support schools to this end and that support includes enabling them to stay open during disruption and we expect them to do so.'He added: 'In this case there are exceptional local circumstances. Headteachers took decisions in consultation with the local authorities.'But we have been clear that any disruption to pupils' learning should be kept to an absolute minimum.'