Twelve people aged between 19 and 61 have been arrested in connection with a deadly car crash on the A66 which killed seven people on Saturday.

The arrests – of nine men and three women – have been made by officers investigating the events leading up to the crash on the A66 which left Pc Matthew Blades and Pc Tom Clough dead, Cleveland Police said.

The offences range from possession of a firearm to participating in the activities of an organised crime group, according to cops.

Cole Robert Worthy and Theo Rae, both 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and 23-year-olds Michael Robert Cahill and Jacob Matusiak were pronounced dead at the scene.

Their vehicle, a VW Passat, was driving the wrong way down the A66 and hit a Cleveland Police vehicle on the A66 near Middlesbrough on Saturday.

PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, who were driving on the correct side of the road and were helping to find the car, were also killed.

The arrests come after Cleveland Police launched a wide-ranging investigation into the criminality which led up to the fatal crash.

The force received several reports of two vehicles being driven dangerously on the morning of Saturday 22 August.

The first vehicle, which is believed to be a Volvo XC60, was witnessed to be ramming properties in the Middlesbrough area.

The second vehicle, a Volkswagen Passat, is believed to have been associated with the activities of the Volvo XC60.

Four of the occupants of the Passat had previous police convictions.

Both vehicles were operating with cloned number plates to avoid detection but were picked up by the Force’s automated number plate recognition technology.