People living in a town where nine people have been killed in a crash and fire in the past week deserve to “feel safe in their own homes”, a council leader has said.
Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council leader Alec Brown’s comments come after seven people, including two police officers, died in a car crash at South Bank, near Middlesbrough, on Saturday and a 34-year-old woman and seven-year-old girl died in a house fire in Grangetown on Wednesday.
Brown told Radio 4’s Today programme he had called an “urgent meeting” on Friday among councillors, police and social housing providers.
Police have made several arrests in connection with the recent deaths.
Brown said he understood people from parts of Middlesbrough and Redcar might feel “left behind”.
“I’m from an estate, from the same ilk,” he said.
“You live around people that may be suffering poverty or other social issues, it can be that uniform sort of consciousness that ‘we’re left behind’.
“But I can assure the people of Grangetown and South Bank – they’re as important to me as a people from any other state in the borough and we’re working tirelessly to ensure that they do feel safe in their own houses.”