The mother of one of the youths killed in a crash on the A66 that claimed the lives of two police officers wants to give him ‘the send-off he deserves’ with ‘bikes, jeeps, cars and quads’ swarming onto a public field in his honour.

Michael Cahill, 23, died at 3.39am on Saturday August 22, alongside four of his friends when their VW Passat drove onto the wrong side of the major road and careered into a marked police vehicle carrying PCs Tom Clough and Matthew Blades.

There were fears his mother’s words would lead to ‘chaos’ in their home town as her post was shared widely among his friends and the local traveller community.

In the aftermath of the crash, Kelly Cahill, from Peterlee, County Durham, posted a tribute, saying: ‘Fly high my boy forever 23 go and be at peace with ya dad keep me a place up there till we meet again.’

And in a subsequent post she urges his friends to turn up in vehicles on a council-owned stretch of wasteland opposite the Whitehouse hotel and wedding venue on Thursday.

Mrs Cahill posted: ‘Change of plan. Michael’s balloon release, Thursday Peterlee, White House, opposite on field. Come on lads, bikes, jeeps, cars, quads – give him the send off he deserves.’

The plan caused immediate alarm in the town with locals saying the land was unsafe for a large gathering of off-road vehicles.

The Whitehouse hotel declined to comment, but said they had not been contacted about the gathering.

The mother of 23-year-old Michael Cahill (pictured) has urged friends and family to bring off-road vehicles to a public field to ‘give him the send off he deserves’

A vigil held on Monday saw scores of people holding orange flares aloft in a field in South Bank, Middlesbrough, to mark the deaths of the five joyriders

The memorial on Monday began as a balloon release but descended into noise and confusion

Cahill, 23, died at 3.39am on Saturday August 22, alongside four of his friends when their VW Passat drove onto the wrong side of the A66 and careered into a marked police vehicle carrying PCs Tom Clough and Matthew Blades. Pictured: The scene of the fatal crash

One local said: ‘To get onto the field they will need to open a padlocked gate and remove a barrier.

‘I hope that isn’t the plan because it really isn’t safe to have a big gathering of off-road bike and quads racing around on that land.

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‘It borders main road and you have to worry for people going about their business on a normal midweek day if dozens of people suddenly descend on the field that way.

‘I understand the family’s need to commemorate him, but is this really the best way to do it?

‘I hope the police step in to stop it, after what happened to their colleagues in Middlesbrough I really can’t see them allowing this to happen.’

Meanwhile video has emerged of Cahill joyriding at high speed with a friend in a residential estate.

It was posted by Mason Doherty in tribute to his friend Cahill and shows the pair in a Seat car – with Doherty driving – taking off and racing along a narrow street with rap music blaring.

The tributes to the other four youths killed in the VW Passat have also proven unpopular.

Balloon releases planned for Middlesbrough for Jakub Matusiak, 23, Makai Saddington, 18, Cole Worthy, 17 and Theo Rae, 17, have been slammed by an environmental group.

Stop Balloon Releases North East say the deflated balloons can be a danger to animals and litter the landscape when they land.

A spokesman said: ‘We are up to four balloon releases in Middlesbrough … Please everyone bombard Middlesbrough Council with this. We can complain all we like but it’s just ONE complaint. If everyone does it they will have to take notice.’

The response to the proposed tributes lies in stark contrast to the public grief over the loss of the two police officers.

Friends and family of Matusiak, 23, decided to gather at a field in South Bank, Middlesbrough, on Monday, just yards from the scene of Saturday’s catastrophic collision

PC Matthew Blades, a father of two, was killed when his police vehicle was struck head-on by a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way down the A66 near Middlesbrough 

PC Tom Clough also died in the crash, which occurred around 10 seconds after a police pursuit of the Volkswagen had been called off

Close friends Theo Rae (left) and Cole Robert Worthy both died in the crash on Saturday

Makai Saddington, one of the five killed in the Volkswagen, posted videos on TikTok of him being chased by police and was awaiting trial for racially abusing and assaulting officers

A GoFundMe page set up by Cleveland Police Federation has surpassed its original total of £400,000 in just two days and is now hurtling toward a new target of £700,000.

The money will be split between the families of former soldier PC Clough, and father of two sons, PC Blades, a former teacher and a respected youth football coach.

The appeal says: ‘Tragedy struck these two brave Cleveland Police colleagues in the early hours of 22nd August 2026 – and they paid the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.’

But while the nation mourns the officers, the family of Theo Rae blamed the police for the accident.

In a now deleted post Ryan Young, who describes himself as Rae’s uncle, claimed a stinger device was employed which made the driver of the Passat lose control.

Mr Young claimed: ‘Just to let you know the police killed them.

‘I will fight for justice for you all. The police threw a stinger on the wrong side of the road and made them lose control and this hasn’t been mentioned anywhere.

‘It is disgusting and to say it [the police pursuit] was called off is an insult.’

Cleveland Police previously explained that a seven minute pursuit was called off as soon as the Passat turned the wrong way up the A66 dual carriageway.

Just 10 seconds later it smashed head-on into the police vehicle, which had not been involved in the pursuit but had been called to the area to assist in monitoring the VW.

The first vigil was held on Monday evening, with a throng of balaclava-clad youths seen setting off flares and fireworks to remember the young men.

The chaos came in stark contrast to a silent prayer vigil hosted in a nearby church to honour PC Tom Clough and PC Matthew Blades, who were also tragically killed in the crash.

Friends and family of Matusiak, 23, decided to gather at a field in South Bank, Middlesbrough, just yards from the scene of Saturday’s catastrophic collision.

What began as a balloon release descended into a confusion of smoke and noise when attendees lit up the sky with flares and rockets.

A gang of around 20 masked youths on motorbikes and quad bikes roared around the field in honour of Matusiak, who himself had convictions for motoring offences.

Footage showed dozens of flares being held aloft, filling the field with dense orange fog, as bikes revved their engines and blared their horns.

In a social media post his sister described Matusiak as ‘her best friend always and forever.’

A family friend, Jodie Stephenson, also paid tribute, posting on social media: ‘With great love comes great pain and with great loss comes the greatest pain of all.

‘My heart hurts so much – a huge loss to us. You have been a massive part of mine and my children’s lives for as long as I can remember, you were another child to me and I’ll miss you for the rest of my life.

‘Wherever any of my children went, you went with them and I knew they would be safe with you.’

She adds: ‘I’ll miss the ADHD and the headaches you caused us, the late night phone calls to pick you up quickly and walking into Jimmy’s to find you flat out in the bed. You always came here when the shit had hit the fan and that was quite often.’

In May, Matusiak posted a video on social media which appeared to show him driving a Volvo vehicle recklessly around an estate in Middlesbrough.

At one point in the video he is seen leaving the road and driving across a grass area.

A separate tribute was scheduled at Trimdon field in Acklam, MIddlesbrough for Cole Worthy, the youngest of the group to die, to ‘celebrate his life.’

Friends say Worthy’s mother Natalie and her partner Michael are ‘totally devastated’ by his death.

A family member posted: ‘As everyone is aware Cole Worthy sadly passed away yesterday. He was Natalie’s son who she truly loved and adored. 

‘Natalie is in no fit state to answer any one … once Natalie feels up to speaking to anyone she will get in touch but for now please leave her to grieve.’