Story perspectives

Great North Run Raises £1.2 Million for Fallen Officers

By Drooid · Sep 14, 2026, 10:26 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Daragh Burke ran the Great North Run wearing PC Matthew Blades’s Parkinson’s UK vest in memory of the fallen officer.
PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough died when a wrong-way driver hit patrol vehicle on the A66 near Middlesbrough.
An appeal raised more than £1.2 million for the officers’ families, Cleveland Police Federation chair Lauren Somerville said.

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Story summary

Daragh Burke ran the Great North Run wearing PC Matthew Blades’s Parkinson’s UK vest in memory of the fallen officer.
PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough died when a wrong-way driver hit patrol vehicle on the A66 near Middlesbrough.
An appeal raised more than £1.2 million for the officers’ families, Cleveland Police Federation chair Lauren Somerville said.