Manhunt for father of teenager killed in A66 Middlesbrough crash after he fails to appear in court for assaulting celebrant at son's funeral

An arrest warrant has been issued for the father of a teenager killed in the A66 Middlesbrough crash who attacked a celebrant at his son's funeral. Gye Worthy, 40, assaulted Paul Maull, 46, during the memorial service for his 17-year-old son Cole, who died alongside four other young men with suspected links to organised crime when their car smashed head-on into a police vehicle, killing two officers, in August. Worthy, of Middlesbrough, was said to have flown into a rage at Teesside Crematorium after allegedly not being name-checked soon enough in the celebrant's eulogy to Cole. Worthy grabbed Mr Maull by his clothing, dragged him and threatened him with violence in front of horrified mourners before resisting police officers called to the scene on September 9. He later pleaded guilty to assault, resisting arrest, as well as a separate offence of theft of four bottles of wine from a shop, and was due to appear for sentencing at Teesside Magistrates' Court today. A warrant had already been issued for his arrest on Monday when he failed to appear in court over separate allegations of shoplifting and possessing drugs. Adam Scott, prosecuting, said: 'Gye Worthy was bailed to attend this court this morning for sentencing by the previous court, and he has not attended. 'Therefore the application from the Crown is a warrant not backed for bail.' Gye Worthy with his son, Cole, who died in the A66 crash Cole, 17, died alongside four of his friends in the crash which also claimed the lives of two police officersDistrict Judge Julia Baggs issued the warrant - under which the terms mean a person must be kept in police custody until they can be brought directly before the court. She said his solicitors had not received 'any correspondence from him' and that Worthy had 'not had any contact with the court to indicate why he has not attended'.Ms Baggs added: 'Therefore under those circumstance I accede to the application from the Crown for a warrant not backed for bail.' Cole Worthy and his four associates had taken to the roads intent on revenge on August 22 after his father's £200,000 semi-detached home in the Acklam area of Middlesbrough was among three properties ram-raided in a suspected gangland feud. PC Tom Clough, 38, was killed alongside his Cleveland Police colleague PC Matthew Blades, 37, when their response vehicle was hit by a VW Passat travelling the wrong way on the A66 in the early hours of the morning. Worthy, Jakub Matusiak, 23; Theo Rae, 17; Makai Saddington, 18, and Michael Cahill, 23, were all pronounced dead at the scene. Worthy, who runs a specialist offshore lifting company, attacked Mr Maull during his son's ceremony at the crematorium's St Bede's Chapel in full view of other mourners. The celebrant had reportedly paid tribute to other members of Cole's family, including his stepfather, before Worthy erupted in anger. Cole's mother, Natalie McConnell, who separated from Worthy several years ago, was said to have been left 'devastated and shocked' by the extraordinary scenes. A source said: 'It was a shocking moment - it left the whole funeral in a state of shock. 'The problem seemed to be that the celebrant had not spoken Gye's name in his address soon enough for him. 'Other family members had been mentioned but he hadn't and he was furious and attacked the poor man leading the service. 'The worst thing about it is that he made a day that should have been about his son into a day that was all about him. It was appalling.' PC Tom Clough and PC Matty Blades, of Cleveland Police, were both killed in the A66 horror crash in August Following the deaths of the five young men, some tributes included masked men setting off flares or burning carsAt a hearing on Monday, where Worthy faced charges of possessing the controlled drugs zopiclone and pregabalin, and stealing food and alcohol from a Co-Op store, magistrates were also told that Worthy had failed to turn up for the preparation of a pre-sentence report into the funeral attack. His solicitor told the court that she had 'no update or explanation as to why he is not here' before an arrest warrant was ordered. The violence which engulfed Teesside over the summer began in the early hours of August 22 when Worthy's home was rammed and left structurally unsafe. Minutes later, a Volvo XC60 ploughed into a silver Audi parked on the driveway of Theo Rae’s family home, shunting the convertible into the front of the three-storey property.Rae and Worthy then teamed up with the others and were out searching for those responsible. Police spotted their Volkswagen Passat and gave chase through the streets of Middlesbrough. The pursuit lasted for almost seven minutes before, at 3.39am, the Passat entered the A66 on the wrong side of the carriageway in an apparent attempt to shake off officers. Police immediately abandoned the pursuit and remained on the correct side of the road. But just ten seconds later, the Passat smashed head-on into a marked armed response vehicle carrying PC Blades and PC Clough. The incident was blamed on a gangland turf war over the supply of drugs on Teesside. PC Clough had served in the British Army between 2006 and 2012, rising to Lance Corporal in the Royal Logistic Corps, with his final posting at 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Search Regiment.He later joined British Transport Police and ultimately Cleveland Police, where he worked as an armed response officer. Following his death, his family described him as 'our hero' who was 'always on public duty throughout his short life'. His colleague PC Blades, a married father of two young boys, had previously worked as an English teacher at Carmel College in Darlington before embarking on his policing career. The 37-year-old was a volunteer youth coach with FC Hartlepool and Seaton Carew FC, where his sons played. His heartbroken wife described him as 'my beloved husband, my best friend, and the most devoted father to our two young boys'.