THE HEART OF OUR FAMILY HAS BEEN TAKEN FROM US — MATTHEW BLADES’ WIFE’S DEVASTATING WORDS REVEAL THE UNBEARABLE PAIN LEFT BEHIND
The wife of PC Matthew Blades shared an emotional tribute following the funeral of her deeply loved husband.
A full police guard of honour was on display as hundreds of grieving officers lined the streets of Hartlepool to pay their respects to PC Blades on Wednesday. The hearse carried a floral tribute at its front reading “Dad”.
Tributes to PC Blades were made throughout the hour long funeral service, including from Cleveland Police Chief Constable Victoria Fuller. Following the service, his heartbroken wife shared the following words:
“There are no words powerful enough to express the heartbreak of losing my beloved best friend, my husband and father to our beautiful boys, especially in such tragic and unimaginable circumstances,” she said. “The heart of our family has been taken from us and from those who loved him far too soon.
“The pain of his absence will be felt every day, but so will the love he gave, the memories he created, and the precious place he will forever hold in the hearts of his family. He may no longer be here to hold our hands, but his love will remain with them for the rest of their lives.
“He will be loved, remembered and missed beyond words, today, tomorrow and always. He will be incredibly proud and thankful for all the support that’s being given to us as a family.”
Hundreds gathered for the funeral of PC Matthew Blades
She continued: “We miss everything about him, but perhaps most of all, we miss his laughter, his silly jokes and the way he could always make everyone smile, even when we least expected it. He was the joker of the family, the one who brought light and laughter into every room, and life feels unbearably quiet without him.
“Matt’s laughter may no longer fill the room, but the memories of his humour, his love and the happiness he brought us will stay in our hearts forever. We will miss him more than words could ever say, and we will love him always.”
PC Blades and his colleague PC Tom Clough, 38, both died at the scene of a crash on the A66, after their marked police vehicle was hit by a VW Passat travelling the wrong way down the dual carriageway. Five young men, who were inside the Passat, also died in the crash.
More than £1.2m was raised to support the officers’ families after a Go Fund Me page was set up by the Cleveland Police Federation. Following the funeral, Lauren Somerville, chair of Cleveland Police Federation, said: “The police family came together shoulder to shoulder today, arm in arm to remember our brave colleague PC Matthew Blades.
“It was an honour and a privilege to attend today’s funeral on behalf of our colleagues across Cleveland. His family have shown incredible dignity and bravery since those awful events in August and it was our privilege to play our small part in honouring Matt’s memory.
“He has been taken from his loving family far too soon and they remain squarely in our thoughts. The support and love we offer them does not end today. We will always be there to take care of them.”
A force left grieving – officers stood shoulder to shoulder at the funeral(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)
Police officers paying their respects to PC Blades(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)
Pipers played Amazing Grace as the coffin was taken into the church(Image: Teesside Live)
She added: “Matt was a police officer who was loved deeply by his colleagues and clearly a cherished and much missed football coach. It was so moving to hear the stories of his humour and cheekiness. That’s the man who will be remembered fondly and we will never grow tired of hearing these stories.
“Policing Cleveland will continue – but we will ensure that Matt and Tom, and their legacy, will never be forgotten.”
Posting on social media, Cleveland shared a moving photo taken inside the church. A spokesperson for the force said: “Today, PC Matthew Blades’ funeral took place at St Joseph’s Church, Hartlepool. Many thanks to members of the community who lined the streets to pay their respects, and to the Cleveland Police officers, staff and wider police family who supported the ceremonial parade that led PC Blades to the church.”
Dad-of-two PC Blades was a much-loved coach at FC Hartlepool and in a lasting tribute to him the club has changed one of the team’s names. Seaton Carew FC has also paid tribute to the officer, who had recently joined the club as a coach and was looking forward to coaching his son in the U7 team.
Did you know you can make Teesside Live a preferred source of Teesside news in Google, which will mean you get more of our breaking news, exclusives, and must-read stories straight away? Here’s more information about what this means and how to do it – you can also do it by clicking here .
