Tributes have poured in for two “brave” police officers who died in a crash on the A66 in Teesside that killed five others on Saturday morning.

Pc Matthew Blades, 37, and Pc Tom Clough, 38, were killed when a Volkswagen Passat that was travelling the wrong way down the dual carriageway near Middlesbrough collided with their marked armed response vehicle that was going in the right direction.

The families of the five people who were travelling in the Volkswagen are being supported by officers, Cleveland Police said on Saturday, although they have not yet been named.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct has opened an investigation into the circumstances leading to the crash at 3.39am in South Bank after a mandatory referral from Cleveland Police.

Officers from the force spotted a suspicious vehicle and a pursuit began before the car travelled onto the A66 and collided with a police car, the watchdog said.

It is understood the police vehicle Pc Blades and Pc Clough were travelling in was not part of the pursuit.

In a statement to reporters on Saturday afternoon, Cleveland Police Chief Constable Victoria Fuller said: “These were brave officers protecting our communities and serving our residents who didn’t return home to their families at the end of their shift.”

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he was “devastated” to hear about the crash, while Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said her thoughts were with all those affected.

Anna Turley, MP for the Redcar constituency where the accident happened, said on Sunday morning the “whole community is reeling here today”.

She told Sky News: “I want to particularly put on record my tribute to our incredibly brave police officers, PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough, because we know our police officers every day, every night put themselves into action to protect our communities, to keep them safe.

“And I want to acknowledge their bravery, but I also want to recognise that we’ve lost seven lives tragically and the whole community is obviously in shock and devastation.”

Cleveland Police is a “close-knit” force and a “police family”, she added.

Ms Turley told Sky: “I know all of them are so professional they’ll be back on with their duties again today.”

Tees Valley mayor Baron Ben Houchen said in a statement on Facebook: “A horrible and tragic incident in Southbank this morning and my thoughts are with those affected, their families and the emergency services who attended the scene.

“Our police officers are heroes who put everything on the line to protect us, and I know all of Teesside will want to pay tribute to the officers and other emergency service workers involved for the bravery they have shown in responding to this incident.”

Cleveland Police Federation chairwoman Lauren Somerville said: “Words cannot describe the pain the Cleveland Police family are feeling today.

“Our colleagues who should have been going home to their loved ones at the end of their shifts are not. And that is just unfathomable.”

The tragedy prompted other police forces to send their condolences with Assistant Chief Constable Melanie Jones, of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, saying: “The loss of two dedicated officers in the line of duty is felt profoundly across the entire policing family and I have personally reached out to Chief Constable Victoria Fuller today, to extend our sincere sympathies.

“Our thoughts are firmly with the families and loved ones of those who have lost their lives, as well as colleagues in Cleveland Police, at this incredibly difficult time.”

Sussex Police Chief Constable Jo Shiner said “the impact of this tragedy will be felt by many across the country”, while the Metropolitan Police said the loss of Pc Blades and Pc Clough would be “acutely felt across the policing family, particularly by those who had the privilege of serving alongside both officers”.

Neil Hutchinson told the Mail on Sunday: “There were police cars tearing down the street at 3.30am with lights flashing and their sirens going, it woke me up.”

Ring doorbell footage published by several websites, which appears to have been taken on Lime Road, Middlesbrough, minutes before the crash, shows a car being driven at speed down a residential road and being followed by police cars.

Ellie Westerman told The Sun: “The noise woke me and I shot out of bed. You could feel the vibration in the house as the car went past and the police vehicles followed with their lights and sirens going. It was frightening that cars were being driven at that speed through a residential area.”

The A66 is closed in both directions between Normanby Road and Church Lane in Eston, an area bordered by large industrial units to the north and close to the major Teesworks site.

A Section 60 order – which gives officers additional stop and search powers – is in place near the site of the crash until 7.15pm on Sunday.

It covers an area around Cargo Fleet Lane east, up to Normanby Road, along Longlands Road and the Trunk Road south to Ormesby Road.