New Middlesbrough house-ramming by gang on A66 teen’s mum ‘revealed as catalyst for grim chain of events that killed 9’

GANGLAND rivals rammed the home belonging to the mum of one of the A66 crash victims just minutes before the fatal collision, we can reveal. The woman’s silver Audi – which was parked on the driveway – was shunted into the front of the three-storey property in the early hours of last Saturday. The home of Theo Rae’s mum was ram raided in the early hours of Saturday Credit: Glen Minikin In total, three properties linked to the gang were targeted by rivals in a Volvo XC60 in the early hours last Saturday Credit: Glen Minikin Extraordinary pictures show the crumpled convertible parked outside the boarded-up home, with a blue tarpaulin covering the damage to the building. Her son Theo Rae, 17, was stalking the streets of Middlesbrough in the VW Passat looking for the rival gang responsible for the attack on the day he was killed in the horror crash. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! His nan’s home is also believed to have been rammed, along with a property owned by the dad of another one of the A66 victims, Cole Worthy, 17. In total, three properties linked to the gang were targeted by rivals in a Volvo XC60 in the early hours of last Saturday. But it was the attack on Rae’s family that incensed them most, sources said. Rae and Worthy were joined in the VW Passat by Michael Cahill, 23, Jakub Matusiak, 23, and Makai Saddington, 18, as they sought revenge. Cars set on fire at balloon release memorial for Michael Cahill who died in A66 crash They were spotted by marked police cars who immediately gave chase. The pursuit through the streets of Middlesbrough lasted for seven minutes before the gang entered the A66 on the wrong side of the road in a bid to shake them off. Most read in The Sun Chasing police officers abandoned their pursuit. But 10 seconds later the gang’s Passat collided head-on with an armed response unit being driven by PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38. All seven died instantly in the crash. The fallout saw a gangland feud which had been bubbling up for months burst out into the open. One source said: “Cole’s dad’s home was rammed first, but it was empty at the time. No one gave a s**t about it. “But they were furious that Theo’s house was rammed and his nan’s. “There was a large police presence at the property but by then Theo and the others were already in the Passat looking for the gang responsible. “This is the reason it all exploded.” A balloon release in memory of A66 crash victims Makai Saddington, Theo Rae and Cole Worthy is held near the Middlebeck Social Club The source said homes in Middlesbrough have been rammed for months as part of a tit-for-tat campaign involving rivals amid a gangland feud over “drugs and money“. Two hundred specialist cops have been called in to restore order but residents fear the presence of more uniforms will only inflame gangs in the South Bank, Eston, Pallister Park and Grangetown areas. Last night, cars were torched at a twisted vigil for one of the young men killed in the A66 wrong-way crash. Five motors were burned to a crisp in remembrance of Michael Cahill, 23, after he and six others died in the A66 smash on Saturday morning. One of their dads’ homes were rammed at 3am that morning Credit: PA The fire tore through the home in the early hours of the morning Credit: PA Cahill’s friends paid tribute to him by skidding the cars around a farmer’s field and churning up the ground before setting the motors alight. It is not clear who the cars belonged to. Cahill’s mum had urged for people to bring “bikes, jeeps, cars and quads” and give her son “the send off he deserves” as she encouraged people to the memorial. Days earlier a crowd of 200 had gathered to commemorate another of the joyriders, Jakub Matusiak, 23, by lighting flares and tearing around on off-road bikes in his honour. The vigils were in stark contrast to the quiet church service for PC Matthew Blades, 37, a former teacher, and PC Tom Clough, 38, a former soldier who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Cleveland Police has so far made 17 arrests following the A66 crash as they crackdown on the disorder. The offences range from suspicion of participating in an organised crime group to possession of firearms or drugs. A second house was rammed by a car the day after the fatal blaze Credit: PA Valentina Foster and her aunt Natalie McDonald Credit: Facebook. On Wednesday, a house fire killed a little girl and her aunt just a few streets away – also feared to be linked to organised crime in the area. Seven-year-old Valentina Foster and her aunt Natalie McDonald, 34, died in the blaze at 5.23am Armed cops guarded the fire-hit property as the 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. Valentina had tragically begged relatives to let her spend the night to help celebrate Natalie’s daughter’s 15th birthday. Family friends say the girl, who escaped the blaze by jumping from a bedroom window with a friend, has now tragically lost both her parents. Yesterday, a stabbing unfolded down the road with armed cops rushing to the scene.