MASKED youths set off flares and released balloons in memory of a joyrider killed after the horror A66 crash that killed two cops.

The shocking smash saw a Volkswagen Passat a cop car while driving in the wrong direction on the A66, .

A crowd of people releasing orange and yellow balloons into a blue sky.Masked youths set off flares and released balloons in memory of a joyrider killed after the horror A66 crash Credit: NNP Crowds gather at a balloon release in memory of Jakub Matusiak.Dozens set out to release flares and fireworks on Monday evening Credit: NNP

The five young men in the Passat, who also died, were named as Michael Robert Cahill, 23, Theo Rae, 17, Cole Robert Worthy, 17, Jacob Matusiak, 23, and Makai Saddington, 18.

And tonight, the life of one of the joyriders was celebrated with flares, fireworks and a cavalcade of masked bikers.

What set out as a balloon release to commemorate Jakub Matusiak, 23, became a rowdy mob of around 200 people who lit up the sky with rockets and orange smoke.

A gang of around 20 masked youths on scooters, off-road bikes and quad bikes roared around a field in South Bank, near , in honour of Matusiak, who himself had convictions for motoring offences.

A crowd of people on a grassy field enveloped in bright pink and orange smoke from flares.A gang of around 20 masked youths on scooters, off-road bikes and quad bikes, soared around a field in South Bank Credit: NNP Illustration of a graphic detailing a deadly car crash, including a map of the incident location and timeline, with an inset image of a police car at a crash scene.

At just after 5pm hundreds of orange balloons – chosen because it was his favourite colour – were released into the sky amid cheers from the crowd.

One female attendee in her 20s was indignant at the tone of the coverage of the deaths of the five youths and young men responsible for the deaths of PC Tom Clough and PC Matthew Blades.

She 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.

“It was an accident that those officers died, they weren’t trying to kill anyone and they lost their own lives but they’ve just been written off as if they don’t matter.

“The number of people who have come out for Jakub today should show you that they do matter, they were loved and they will be missed.”

The gathering took place on South Bank back field, only a few hundred yards from where the collision took place on the A66, ending seven lives.

Cleveland Police attended but kept a low key presence, a patrol car from the Matrix team – which the two constables worked in – was parked 500 yards away alongside a police van.

Not all the residents of the surrounding streets chose to attend.

Looking at the police officers standing beside their vehicles, a 58-year-old grandmother said: “What must they be thinking right now? This is nothing but a mockery of the lives of those two policemen.

“I’ve watched them walking down there drinking and smoking weed and razzing about on their . There’s nothing here to celebrate.”

The nearby St John the Evangelist Church opened its doors for people from the community to pay their respects, but was largely untroubled by visitors on their way to the field.

However Redcar’s Labour MP Anna Turley attended to pay her respects.

She said: “I thought it was really important to come together. I was really pleased that the church has opened themselves up for the community to come together, because it’s such a devastating incident.

“The whole community here is reeling, and we’ve lost lives, particularly those lives of brave police officers who are out in action to keep us safe. It’s a tragic incident.

“The whole community, I think, needed a space to come to express that grief, to pay a tribute, particularly to those officers, and have somewhere to think and reflect and try to come to terms with the terrible incident we’ve seen on the A66.

“There’s a reason the police were out that night – to keep us safe and to protect us. I know more information will come out over the coming days, as the IOPC continue their report, but I think it just highlights the gravity of some of the issues we’ve been facing in this area for some time now.

“It’s horrendous that two officers have lost their lives in the line of duty. We just want to take the time to reflect on their lives, pay tribute to them, give our thanks for their service and bravery.”

Earlier in the day Cleveland Police revealed they were trying to stop the A66 joyriding gang in connection with the ramming of properties in the Middlesbrough area by an organised group.

As part of a “wide-scale into the criminality which took place prior to the fatal crash” the force arrested 12 people.

They had received received several reports of two vehicles being driven dangerously in the early hours of Saturday.

The first vehicle, which is believed to be a 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.

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

The Volvo XC60 involved in the initial reports has been traced and recovered in Middlesbrough as part of the criminal investigation.

Throughout the course of the weekend Cleveland Police, supported by officers and staff from Durham, Northumbria and North Yorkshire Police, have worked to establish the circumstances which led to the fatal collision.

Nine men and three women, aged between 19 and 61 have been arrested on suspicion of offences ranging from possession of a firearm to participating in the activities of an organised crime group.

Cleveland police also say there is no evidence to indicate that filming of the activities that took place on Friday night and Saturday morning has taken place for the purposes of .