Man, 39, arrested over ‘assault’ after funeral of Middlesbrough A66 crash victim, 17, was ‘disrupted’

A MAN has been arrested on suspicion of assault at a funeral held for one of the young men who died in the A66 crash. A 39-year-old has been arrested after reports of a disturbance at the service for Cole Worthy. Heavy police presence at Teesside Crematorium, St Bede’s Chapel in Middlesbrough today Close friends Theo Rae (left) and Cole Worthy both died in the crash Credit: Facebook/Theo Rae He died in a head-on collision with police on the A66, which also killed two armed officers. The Teesside Crematorium service for 17-year-old Cole was disrupted today and police responded to reports of a disturbance inside. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Superintendent John Wrintmore from Cleveland Police said: “At around 12.30pm on Wednesday September 9, police swiftly attended to Teesside Crematorium following reports of a disturbance during a service taking place inside. “A 39-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of assault and has been taken to police custody. A 39-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault at Cole Worthy’s funeral Credit: NNP The funeral of PC Blades was on the same day Credit: Getty “The service has since resumed. Officers will be in the area to provide reassurance.” The family announcement for Mr Worthy’s memorial read: “In loving memory of Cole, our beautiful boy taken from us on 22nd August 2022. “An adored son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin. A loving boyfriend to Ruby and a cherished friend to many. Fly high Cole, forever 17.” The funeral was on the same day as that of PC Matthew Blades, 37, which took place in Hartlepool. Most read in The Sun He was an armed response officer in a marked police car which was hit head-on by a VW Passat in the early hours of August 22. His colleague PC Tom Clough, 38, also died at the scene, and will be honoured in a separate service. Hundreds of cops lined the streets in an emotional farewell to “superhero” PC Blades. Heartbroken colleagues wiped tears from their eyes as his coffin – draped in the Union flag – was carried into a packed church. Schools closed early for the previous funerals of some of the other young men who died, sparking a political row, but they remained open during the ceremony for Mr Worthy. The five young men in the Passat were Michael Robert Cahill, 23, Theo Rae, 17, Cole Robert Worthy, 17, Jakub Matusiak, 23, and Makai Saddington, 18. On Monday, teens were seen hanging from car windows as they gathered for the funeral of Theo Rae, a close friend of Mr Worthy. Cleveland Police previously said the men in the Passat may have had links to organised crime. An extra 200 specialist officers, including armed cops, were deployed to Middlesbrough from six other northern forces as the police tried to keep a lid on the escalating violence.