“OUR CHILDREN WILL GROW UP KNOWING WHAT AN INCREDIBLE FATHER HE WAS” — WIFE OF A66 OFFICER SPEAKS OUT FOR THE FIRST TIME

Three days after a devastating A66 collision claimed the lives of two Cleveland Police officers, the wife of PC Matthew Blades has spoken publicly for the first time — and her heartbreaking tribute has revealed the family man behind the uniform.

Matthew Blades, 37, was not only a police officer.

To his wife, he was her beloved husband and best friend.

To his two young boys, he was the devoted father whose memory they will carry for the rest of their lives.

And to the people who knew him away from work, he was a man who loved his family, his community and football.

“MY BELOVED HUSBAND, MY BEST FRIEND”

In a statement released through Cleveland Police, Blades’ wife described her husband as “the most devoted father” to their two young sons.

She said his loss had left a space that could never be filled — but promised that his children would always know what kind of father he was.

“Our children will grow up knowing what an incredible father he was and will always be,” she said.

She added that she would carry his love, memories and everything they shared with her always.

Her words painted a picture of a family whose world had been changed in a matter of minutes.

HE WAS MORE THAN A POLICE OFFICER

Blades had built a life around helping others.

Cleveland Police described him as an officer who gave his life while serving and protecting the public.

But away from his uniform, football was another major part of his life.

Blades was a passionate Manchester United supporter and regularly attended matches with his boys.

He was also involved in youth football and had recently joined Seaton Carew FC as a coach. The club said he had been looking forward to coaching his own son in its under-seven team.

Another football club, FC Hartlepool, remembered him as a role model and mentor who supported children both on and off the pitch.

For his family, those memories may now become some of the most precious ones left behind.

THE A66 TRAGEDY

Blades and fellow Cleveland Police officer PC Tom Clough, 38, were responding to events on the A66 near Middlesbrough in the early hours of August 22.

A Volkswagen Passat travelling in the wrong direction collided head-on with their marked police vehicle.

Seven people lost their lives in the collision — the two officers and all five occupants of the Passat.

The circumstances surrounding the police response and the events leading up to the collision remain under investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

That investigation will examine the sequence of events, including the earlier pursuit and police decision-making.

“FOREVER OUR SUPERHERO”

For Blades’ wife, however, the tragedy is not simply about an investigation.

It is about a husband who will never walk through the front door again.

A father who will never watch his boys grow up.

A football coach who will never stand on the sidelines with them.

And a family forced to preserve his memory for the children who loved him.

His wife thanked emergency responders, colleagues and the wider police community for standing beside the family during what she described as the most difficult period of their lives.

She ended her tribute with four words that captured everything she wanted her sons to remember:

“Forever loved. Forever missed. Forever our superhero.”

Matthew Blades may have been remembered publicly as a police officer who served on the A66 that morning.

But to the two boys growing up without their father, he will always be something much bigger:

Their dad.