- Inquests have opened into the deaths of police officers PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, who were killed in a crash on the A66 near Middlesbrough .
- Provisional medical evidence confirmed both officers died from severe head and neck injuries sustained in the head-on collision.
- The court heard that a Volkswagen Passat travelling against the flow of traffic struck the officers' marked police car.
- The Passat had been subject to a police pursuit, but the pursuit was aborted after it entered the carriageway in the wrong direction prior to the crash.
- All seven people across both vehicles died at the scene, with separate inquest openings scheduled for the five occupants of the Passat aged between 17 and 23.
IN FULL
