AN ex-police officer involved in a high-speed chase which ended in death today called for new measures to tackle the dangerous TikTok drivers plaguing Britain.

Matthew Trott said should stop pursuing criminals in cars and bring in instead to save lives.

Police vehicles and a white and blue tent at the scene of a fatal car crash.Two police officers and five young men died in a wrong way horror crash on the A66 Credit: PA Police Constable Tom Clough smiling and holding a small chick in his cupped hands.Hero PC Tom Clough tragically died in the horror collision Credit: PA

The 54-year-old spent 22 years with Leicestershire Police and in 2009 was involved in a chase that ended in the death of Kevin Isaac, 43, of who ploughed into a skip lorry after driving on the wrong side of the road.

Father-of-two Matthew, who was cleared of any wrongdoing, said: “I effectively pursued somebody to their death.

“It’s time we stopped putting the public and officers’ lives at risk. I’ve been in too many pursuits to remember but they all ended up with a crashed car or the suspect being chased. It’s highly dangerous.

“We have the technology to use drones that fly in such a way they can’t be detected. They are already being used in policing in the to great success and, while it might be costly for the country, it’s an investment worth making to save lives.”

Smiling man in white shirt, PC Matthew Blades.PC Matthew Blades’ wife has paid a touching tribute to her husband with an image released to police Credit: Cleveland Police Ring doorbell footage of a car speeding down a residential street at 3:36 AM.Ring Doorbell footage obtained exclusively by The Sun showed police pursuing a suspect just minutes before the crash Credit: Supplied

Matthew, who left the force five years ago, also gave a chilling insight into what could have happened in the fatal A66 crash that left .

Officers Matthew Blades, 37, a former teacher, and Tom Clough, 38, an ex-soldier who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, died when they were hit by a Passat driving on the wrong side of the road following a police pursuit at the weekend.

Matthew says it’s likely the officers had no idea the Passat was even on the road until their final moments – because gangs of so-called joyriders turn off their lights in a tactic used by criminals to evade capture.

He said: “These young dangerous drivers know that if they go the wrong way up a motorway or road and switch off their lights they won’t be followed.

NINTCHDBPICT001103452930Matthew Trott said change is needed and current guidelines are ‘wooly’ Credit: Collect via Grace Macaskill NINTCHDBPICT001102936671Mourners paid floral tributes at the scene of the crash Credit: NNP

“Those on stolen bikes will remove their helmets because they know that will end pursuit as well. They engage in all sorts of tactics like reversing into police cars to set off the air bags.

“The big problem is capturing the driver in these cases. I’ve chased cars and when they are finally pulled over, there are four or five young lads in the back seat and nobody in the drivers so you can’t prove who was behind the wheel.

“Drones could capture footage that also solves that issue and can be backed up by harvesting the car for .”

Most recent statistics from the Police Federation show that 244 officers were injured when their cars were deliberately rammed in 2024 – up by 44 in 2000, reflecting the threat to cops.

A view from the driver's seat of a car showing the speedometer at 110, with text overlay: "stay inside everyone gonna see this cat fella can fight a bonnet".The government ordered social media platforms to remove content showing dangerous driving Credit: TikTok NINTCHDBPICT001103164876Another driver asks ‘You want me to kill someone?’ when he’s told he can’t just film himself driving in a straight line Credit: TikTok

Despite being cleared of any blame in the death of Mr Isaac, Matthew says he felt the “normal human emotion of guilt”.

He said that officers up and down the country face tough decisions on whether to chase cars full of joyriders or criminals because guidelines are “woolly” and differ in every force.

Matthew, who has written a book on policing called Hard Stop, said: “It’s only normal to feel guilty and anyone involved in a fatal chase will say the same.

“You then face the coroner’s inquest where you have to go through everything that happened and an internal which, if found wanting, you could lose your livelihood or even jail if you did something wrong.

Dashboard view of cars driving on a highway.Videos showing off the dangerous driving were still being uploaded to the site after the A66 crash Credit: TikTok NINTCHDBPICT001103452930Ex-police officer Matthew Trott said police should stop pursuing criminals in cars Credit: Collect via Grace Macaskill

“It’s beyond stressful. Why make officers go through this? We have technology and we need to change this – we just need the Government to make it happen.”

and police chase videos as the government ordered them and other social media platforms to remove the “absolutely idiotic” content.

AI generated summaries of footage of police chases and dangerous driving reportedly described the scenes as “thrilling”.

This is despite the videos breaching the social media platforms rules on banned content.

Since the horror A66 crash, footage has emerged showing Jacob Matusiak, who died in the collision, driving dangerously in the months leading up to the tragedy.

A shocking clip, that has now been deleted, in a horror motorway crash in Ireland.

The teens had been driving a BMW on the wrong side of the M9 in Moone, Co Kildare, when their car crashed into a family heading to the airport.

It is seemingly filmed out of the back window of the vehicle and appears to show them engaged in a high-speed chase with a police car.

TikTok has said its policies strictly prohibit content that could cause significant physical harm, including dangerous driving, and that it actively removes any videos and accounts that break its rules.

The Prime Minister has branded the sharing of dangerous driving videos was “truly reprehensible.”