Hundreds of people gathered at a tense vigil after seven people, including two police officers, died in a crash on the A66.

PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, were killed when a Volkswagen Passat, which had been pursued by police, was driven the wrong way along a dual carriageway near Middlesbrough early on Saturday and hit their marked armed response vehicle.

The five people travelling in the Volkswagen – Cole Robert Worthy, 17, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and 23-year-olds Michael Robert Cahill and Jacob Matusiak – were pronounced dead at the scene at South Bank.

Cleveland Police said 12 other people have been arrested over alleged criminality leading up to the collision in Teesside.

These included four people arrested on suspicion of participating in an organised crime group and four on suspicion of possessing a firearm.

Four of the suspects are also accused of possessing Class A and B drugs with intent to supply.

Four of the five young men in the car had previous criminal convictions, and were believed to be associated with another car which was seen ramming properties earlier that morning.

A silent prayer vigil was held at St John the Evangelist Church in South Bank on Monday.

reports that around 200 people gathered at a field nearby to release balloons and pay tribute.

Young people wearing masks arrived on scooters, off-road bikes and quad bikes before driving around the field, it added.

One person at the vigil told the newspaper that Mr Matusiak was “somebody’s son” and said the officers’ deaths were an “accident”.

A woman said: “Jakub was a lovely, caring lad and he’s somebody’s son and somebody’s brother. He’s not some scumbag who should just be written off and forgotten.”

However, another person told that the gathering was “nothing but a mockery of the lives of those two policemen” and claimed they saw drinking, drug use and reckless driving.

Separately, police said nine men and three women, aged between 19 and 61, have been arrested after an investigation over the weekend into alleged criminal activity before the crash.

The force said on the morning of the collision, it received several reports of two vehicles being driven dangerously.

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

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

Police said both vehicles were operating with cloned number plates but were picked up by automated number plate recognition technology.

The Volvo XC60 involved in the initial reports has been traced and recovered in Middlesbrough.

Police said there was no evidence that filming of the activities on Friday night and Saturday morning was “for the purposes of TikTok”.

Flowers left beside the A66 close to the crash site paid tribute to the officers who died.

More than £750,000 has been raised for the families of the pair, and a fundraiser created by the Cleveland Police Federation said the money raised would be split equally between the families and the federation would continue to provide support.

Cleveland Police launched the chase after receiving intelligence relating to “numerous incidents” linked to a Passat, which activated an ANPR camera and is believed to have been using cloned plates, according to the investigating watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct.