Father of teen, 17, killed in A66 Middlesbrough crash is charged with attacking a mourner at his own son's funeral

The father of one of the teenagers killed in the A66 Middlesbrough crash has been charged with attacking a mourner at his own son's funeral.

The funeral for Cole Worthy, 17, was reduced to chaos when his father, Gye, 39, allegedly took exception to comments made during the service.

He is accused of assaulting the mourner before obstructing police who were called to deal with the disturbance.

Cleveland Police said Gye Worthy will appear in court next month.

In a statement, the force said: 'The 39-year-old man arrested yesterday (Wednesday 9 September) at Teesside Crematorium, following a disturbance during a service, has now been charged with common assault, public order and obstructing police.

'He is due to appear before Teesside Magistrates' Court on October 2.'

Cole's mother, Natalie McConnell, was 'devastated and shocked' by the disruption to her son's memorial, a source close to the family said.

Ms McConnell has long been separated from Gye Worthy and both now have new partners.

Gye, 39, allegedly took exception to comments made during the service for his son Cole

Gye Worthy, from Acklam, Middlesbrough, works as an offshore deck foreman and is the boss of his own specialist lifting company, which operates on offshore platforms.

His semi-detached £200,000 home recently suffered serious damage in a criminal act currently under investigation by Cleveland Police.

Cole Worthy was killed within minutes of his father's home being attacked, alongside four of his associates and two police officers, PC Matthew Blades, 37 and PC Tom Clough, 38.

They were all killed at 3.39am on Saturday, August 22 when the police armed response vehicle was struck at South Bank, near Middlesbrough, by a speeding VW Passat containing the five youths and young men aged between 17 and 23.

Worthy, Jakub Matusiak, 23, Makai Saddington, 18, Michael Cahill, 23, and Theo Rae, 17, were also killed in the smash.

Police said the five all had links to organised crime and had been trying to flee police when they drove the wrong way up the A66 into the police vehicle.

The incident was blamed on a tit-for-tat gangland turf war over the supply of drugs on Teesside.

PCs Clough and Blades died from severe head and neck injuries at the scene.

The final funeral of the five youths in the Passat was also taking place today in County Durham as family gathered to mark the death of Michael Cahill.

At an earlier vigil held in his honour, a number of cars – including an £80,000 Porsche – were driven at speed around a field at Haswell, near Peterlee, and set ablaze.

Cole Worthy (left) was killed within minutes of his father's home being attacked

Sarah Moloney, a friend of Ms McConnell, thanked mourners for their attendance on her behalf.

In a social media post, she wrote: 'To everyone who came today for our Coley, thank you from the very bottom of our hearts.

'Seeing so many faces who loved him cared for him and held him close means more than we can ever put into words, your presence your hugs your kind words and every beautiful memory you shared.

'Cole was so loved and today showed us just how far that love reached. Thank you for walking this hard day with us, thank you for loving him, for remembering him and for being here for us

'He will live on in all our hearts forever. Rest peacefully our beautiful Coley, we love you more than anything.'

It comes as hundreds of police officers gathered to pay tribute to PC Clough, 38, who served in the British Army for six years until 2012, before joining Cleveland Police where he worked as a firearms officer.

At a police ceremonial funeral for PC Clough today in a Grade II-listed walled garden in the village of Kirkleatham, near Redcar in North Yorkshire, dozens of well-wishers gathered to pay their respects alongside police and military figures.

The service was held just three miles from the scene of the horrific crash that claimed the officers' lives.

As the hearse carrying PC Clough's coffin, draped in a Union Jack, passed standard bearers waving flags representing every police force in the country, many officers kept their heads bowed or wiped tears from their eyes.

The procession got underway with four policemen on horseback who were followed by officers on motorcycles and an armed response vehicle representing Cleveland Police's Matrix team – a specialist unit dealing with serious and organised crime home to PC Clough and PC Blades.