Warring gangs are spreading terror by deliberately ramming vehicles into family homes in the town where seven people died in a car chase. Five young men died after the Volkswagen Passat they were driving the wrong way down the A66 at South Bank, near Middlesbrough, smashed into a marked police car, also killing two police officers.Police have made 17 arrests after Saturday's crash, which killed PCs Tom Clough, 38, Matthew Blades, 37, as well as Michael Cahill, 23, Jakub Matusiak, 23, Makai Saddington, 18, Theo Rae, 17, and Cole Worthy, 17.It has since emerged that houses belonging to the parents of two of the men - Worthy and Rae - were rammed by rival gangs just before the A66 smash. Meanwhile on Wednesday, seven-year-old Valentina Foster and her aunt Natalie McDonald, 34, were killed in a house fire in Grangetown, around one mile from the A66 crash, although police say it is not linked.And on Thursday, another house on Steele Crescent, South Bank, was rammed into by a car and a 39-year-old man was stabbed on Sedgemoor Road, Eston. Speaking to the Mail this week, Middlesbrough locals described a tense atmosphere in the town. Some said they felt too scared to leave their homes at night or report crimes to police for fear of reprisals.Ace Rose Robinson Coates, 17, said: 'Organised crime is more prominent now than ever. You can turn down a side street, especially as a young lad or lass, and you could get stabbed. Saturday's chase was allegedly sparked by a rival gang using a Volvo XC60 to ram into the home of Cole Worthy's father at 3am on Saturday. Pictured: The extent of the damage A house in the South Bank area of Middlesbrough was rammed by a car early on Thursday A tractor was driven at 'full throttle' into a terraced house in the town shortly after 1am on Saturday, May 9 Makai Saddington - one of the young people who died in the crash - posted videos on his TikTok of men in balaclavas driving cars at speed'I come here at night, but never by myself. I do not feel safe, especially as a young lass my age. Crime has always been a problem here. Some of it comes from poverty, while some is just violence for the sake of it.'The Mail has identified at least 12 separate incidents in which vehicles have been driven into buildings in Middlesbrough over the past two years.While the majority were ram-raids targeting commercial premises, others involved family homes suspected of being caught up in gangland feuds.The Daily Mail revealed on Tuesday that the initial chase that led to the A66 crash was sparked after a rival gang rammed a Volvo XC60 into the home of Gye Worthy, father of crash victim Cole Worthy. Mr Worthy's home was struck at around 3am on Saturday in an alleged gang feud shortly before the youths began speeding through the town in a Volkswagen Passat.It is understood the house was hit twice by the Volvo, which deliberately reversed into the front window, causing extensive damage.Within minutes, a VW Passat carrying Mr Worthy's son and four friends was racing through the streets of Middlesbrough in pursuit of the Volvo. The Passat was later spotted by a police patrol before crashing moments later.While Gye Worthy had no links to criminality, the youths themselves had amassed lengthy criminal records ranging from theft, harassment and assault to drug dealing and knife possession.It has also emerged that a rival gang also rammed the home belonging to the mother of Theo Rae moments before the A66 crash.The woman's Audi, which was parked on the driveway, was smashed into the front of her house in the early hours of Saturday morning. Rae had reportedly been stalking the streets of Middlesbrough in the Passat searching for the rival gang responsible for the attack on his mother's home.He was joined in the car by Worthy, Cahill, Matusiak and Saddington as they sought revenge.Three properties linked to the gang were targeted by rivals in a Volvo XC60 in the early hours of Saturday morning, it is understood.But it was the attack on Rae's mother's house - as well as an alleged attack on his grandmother's property - that angered him and his friends the most, sources told The Sun.A house on Steele Crescent, South Bank, was also rammed into by a car in the early hours of Thursday morning – although the property was empty. In a separate ramming incident in May, a gang of masked thugs hotwired a tractor before driving it at full speed into a family home.Photos showed the front of the tractor embedded in a downstairs room. Windows had been smashed and much of the brickwork at the front of the house torn away.The family were not at home because intruders had allegedly forced their way into the property and trashed the interior weeks earlier, leaving it unoccupied when the attack took place.Earlier this month, Nathan Blagg appeared at Teesside Crown Court, where he admitted aggravated vehicle taking and criminal damage.The 28-year-old had previously pleaded guilty before magistrates to affray and a further count of aggravated vehicle taking.He will now face a lengthy custodial sentence, the judge said. A house in Acklam, Middlesbrough, linked to the father of Cole Worthy, one of the young men who died in the A66 crash, was rammed hours before the A66 crashFriends of the dead youths have sprays walls in the town with graffiti reading 'RIP the boys' and 'f*** TMF' - believed to stand for 'The Middlesbrough Feds [police]' Emergency services arrive at the scene of the fire in the Grangetown area of MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough has a long history of deindustrialisation, and around half of its neighbourhoods rank among the most deprived in England.The overall crime rate stands at around 150 offences per 1,000 people, making it one of the highest outside central London. In 2025-26, there were 21.7 homicides per million people, the highest figure recorded by any police force area in that reporting year.Police have arrested 17 people after the A66 crash, which followed a police pursuit, as part of investigations into alleged organised crime.On Friday, Cleveland Police said Kai Inico, who was arrested on Monday on suspicion of participating in an organised crime group, has been charged with possession with intent to supply a class B drug.The force said four other people arrested by Cleveland Police on Monday have also been bailed – a 16-year-old boy and an 18-year-old man arrested on suspicion of participating in an organised crime group, a 55-year-old man arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender and a 23-year-old man arrested on suspicion of threats to kill.Earlier this week, two people were charged with offences and appeared in court and 10 others were bailed.Meanwhile, two men have been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the fire which killed an aunt and her seven-year-old niece and injured four others in Grangetown.It emerged yesterday that the uncle of one of the young men killed in the A66 crash was recently sentenced after driving the wrong way down the same dual carriageway. PC Matthew Blades, a father of two, was killed when his police vehicle was struck head-on by a VW Passat travelling the wrong way down the A66 PC Tom Clough also died in the crash, which occurred around ten seconds after a police pursuit of the Volkswagen had been called off