A memorial gathering for one of the five men killed in the A66 wrong-way crash descended into disorder after vehicles were set alight and farmland was churned up by cars, bikes and quads.
Footage shared on social media appeared to show around two dozen masked people gathering near Haswell, County Durham, for a vigil for Michael Robert Cahill, 23.
Balloons were released and blue flares lit before several vehicles were set on fire in a field.
Cars, jeeps, bikes and quads were also reportedly driven across the land, leaving the ground badly damaged.
Emergency services were called to the scene, while images afterwards showed burnt-out vehicles remaining in the field.
One nearby resident said horses in the area had been left frightened by the disturbance.
The gathering had previously been publicised by Cahill’s mother, who called on people to bring “bikes, jeeps, cars and quads” to give her son a send-off.
Seven killed in A66 collision
Cahill was one of five people travelling in a Volkswagen Passat which collided with a marked Cleveland Police vehicle on the A66 near Middlesbrough in the early hours of Saturday.
The Passat had entered the dual carriageway travelling against the flow of traffic.
All five occupants of the Passat were killed, along with PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, who were travelling in the police vehicle.
Police have previously said a pursuit involving the Passat had been discontinued before the collision and that the marked vehicle carrying PC Blades and PC Clough was not involved in that pursuit.
Major police operation across Middlesbrough
The vigil took place against the backdrop of a major Cleveland Police operation responding to a series of serious incidents across the Middlesbrough area.
More than 200 officers, including armed police and specialist detectives, have been deployed as investigators examine suspected links between a number of incidents and organised criminality.
The wider violence has included the fatal house fire in Grangetown in which seven-year-old Valentina Foster and her aunt Natalie McDonald, 34, died.
A 48-year-old woman was also critically injured in the fire.
Police have said they are keeping an open mind about possible connections between recent incidents. Claims of a gang feud or revenge attacks have not yet been established publicly as fact.
Other incidents have resulted in armed police deployments and arrests.
Cleveland Police has said a significant number of arrests have been made as part of its wider operation, involving suspected offences including organised crime, firearms and drugs.
Other memorial gatherings have taken place following the A66 deaths, including one in South Bank for Jakub Matusiak, 23, which attracted a large crowd and groups of motorcycle and scooter riders.
Meanwhile, colleagues of PC Blades and PC Clough have held a minute’s silence in memory of the two officers.
The investigations into the A66 collision and the wider series of serious incidents across Teesside remain ongoing.
