'Get criminals off Middlesbrough streets,' says minister after violence, car crash and fire leaves nine dead

Criminals plaguing Middlesbrough with violence must be taken off the streets, says a minister following a string of incidents which have left nine people dead.

More than 200 extra police officers have been drafted in to help Cleveland Police keep local residents safe.

Investigations were continuing after a woman and a seven-year-old girl died in a house fire in Grangetown , near Middlesbrough, on Wednesday.

Police officers at the scene on Birchington Avenue, Grangetown, near Middlesbrough, where Valentina Foster, aged seven, and Natalie McDonald, 34, died following a fire at an end-of-terrace property (Owen Humphreys/PA) PA Wire The blaze was only a mile away from the scene of the head-on crash on the A66 on Saturday which killed two police officers and five young men.

In the early hours of Thursday morning , a vehicle crashed into a wall outside a house in Steele Crescent, South Bank, minutes away from the other two scenes, amid suspected escalation in gang violence.

A man, aged 39, was stabbed at midday on Thursday in Eston, about two miles away from the A66 crash.

Andy McDonald, Labour MP for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East, described the crime wave as “terrorism”.

Amid the growing violence, a crowd of youths torched at least five cars in a field on Thursday night, around 15 miles from Middlesbrough, and set off fireworks at a balloon release for one of young men, Michael Cahill, who died in the A66 crash.

Cars set on fire in a field near Middlesbrough Instagram “The activities we are seeing are absolutely horrendous,” said Kate Dearden, Minister for the Future of Work, who was on the media round for the Government.

Ms Dearden added: “I want the police to get on with their investigation, as I've said, and provide that support to them.

“The police obviously have stepped up that resource. That's the right thing to do. They're working to get the criminals off the streets.”

Cars torched at vigil after A66 crash as MP describes violence as ‘terrorism’

Alec Brown, leader of Redcar and Cleveland Council, said more than 200 extra police officers have been, or will be, deployed from around the country to support Cleveland Police.

A house in Ruskin Avenue, Middlesbrough, after being rammed by a car (PA) PA Wire The local community has been rocked by the series of incidents which started with the car crash on the A66.