Wednesday 6th April 2011 Naked soldier stops car theft
Three masked robbers who smashed down a door to get a soldiers car
keys and steal his vehicle got a shock when he confronted them, stark
naked. The miscreants were attempting to drive away in L/Cpl Wayne
O’Mahoney’s car from outside his home in Salford when he smashed the
car window with his bare fist in an attempt to stop them. Despite
having a large knife waved at him by one of the robbers, L/Cpl Mahoney
continued to punch the man stealing his car through the broken
driver’s window until he got out. The robbers, realising they’d bitten
off more than they could chew, then ran off. Greater Manchester

Tuesday 5th April 2011 Manchester FA Cup semi-final tickets stolen
Thieves have stolen around 900 tickets to the FA Cup semi-final tie
between Manchester City and Manchester United. The tickets were stolen
when two Special Delivery bags were taken from a Royal Mail van near
the City of manchester stadium. Supporters are now being urged not to
buy tickets from unofficial sources as the stolen tickets are now
invalid. A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: "Shortly
before 7.50pm on Friday 1 April 2011, police were called to Ashton New
Road, Manchester, following reports two bags of special delivery mail
had been stolen from a Royal Mail van. A number of tickets for the FA
Cup semi final were stolen and GMP is working with Royal Mail and
MCFC. Inquiries are continuing." Greater Manchester

Wednesday 22nd December 2010 Police Christmas card ‘star’ back in jail
An ex-convict who featured in a Greater Manchester Police campaign
urging offenders to spend Christmas out of prison is also now going to
spend the holiday inside. Earlier this month Tommy Rouse, of Bury,
posed for pictures while holding Christmas cards which the police were
sending to repeat offenders. The cards were intended as a "timely
warning" of the risks of straying back into illegality. Rouse, a
father of five, subsequently breached his bail conditions when he
tested positive for drugs and has been sent back to jail despite
vowing he would spend Christmas day with his family. Greater Manchester

Tuesday 14th December 2010 Bottle and glass attacks injuring 1,000 people annually in Greater Mancheste
Over 1,000 people every year are injured in attacks with a glass or
bottle in Greater Manchester. The shocking figures obtained by the BBC
also revealed that in about two-thirds of the incidents, no-one is
ever charged with an offence. "That's a lot of people injured and we
would like to see that fall," said Ch Supt Steve Hartley, Greater
Manchester Police's divisional commander for Bolton. "We will always
take this type of offence very seriously. This is unacceptable. It
does cause life changing injuries and I've seen that personally when
I've been a detective over the years. We intend to work even harder to
try and stamp it out and we're moving towards working with our
partners, particularly in those areas where it happens more
frequently, to look at all the different ways we can reduce this type
of offence." Greater Manchester

Thursday 25th November 2010 Husband of Coronation Street star guilty of punching picture seeking fan
Andrew Chapman, husband of actress Vicky Entwistle who plays
Coronation Street’s Janice Battersby, has been found guilty of
attacking a fan who asked for a picture. Salford magistrates heard how
Chapman, 48, lost his temper and punched Michael McWhirter in the face
after the victim approached the couple with his mobile phone. Chapman,
a black belt in karate, claimed he had acted in self defence after
McWhirter became “menacing”. The victim told the court that he had
asked: "By any chance please can I have a photo of you because my mum
really likes your programme?". Instead of being given a photo he was
knocked unconscious by Chapman. He was convicted of common assault by
district judge Jonathan Finestein. Greater Manchester

Thursday 11th November 2010 Rare bird from USA has twitchers excited
A Greater Manchester nature reserve has hosted an influx of
bird-watchers intent on getting a glimpse of a rare North American
species of bird. A pied-billed grebe was first spotted on Hollingworth
Lake, Rochdale, last week but initially was mistaken for a little
grebe - a common British species. It was subsequently confirmed by an
RSPB expert as the North American bird, the first to be spotted on the
UK mainland for eight years. Chris Breen from United Utilities who own
the reserve said: "You only get a sighting as rare as this very
occasionally so it is extremely exciting. Unlike most species of
grebes they are rarely found in flocks. If disturbed, they dive
headfirst under water, or they sink slowly into the water until only
their heads are above the water, like a submarine periscope. Greater Manchester

Wednesday 3rd November 2010 Lucky escape at Salford gas blast site
Fire crews have expressed their amazement that more people were not
seriously injured in a suspected gas explosion in Salford, Greater
Manchester. The blast flattened three homes and another 20 properties
were damaged in Salford’s Merlin Road. The blasts only major casualty,
a woman aged 82, is in a critical but stable condition in hospital.
Fourteen others caught up in the blast suffered only minor injuries.
Firefighter Paul Duggan said the damage caused in "a blink of the eye"
was "astonishing". The explosion comes after the house in at the
centre of the blast was subject to some renovation work which involved
disconnecting the gas cooker. The property owners, City West Housing
admitted it was highly likely the blast was connected with the work.
The firm’s chief executive Tim Doyle said: "As part of the work, the
cooker was disconnected at the start of the day and reconnected at the
end of the day. A full investigation is being carried out and we don't
have any information as yet." Greater Manchester

Wednesday 22nd July 2009 Manchester might give everyone fifty quid!
An idea has been put forward during a full meeting of Manchester City Council whereby the council would give all Manchester households £50 to help them through the recession.

However, a report by council officers recommends against accepting the plan which would cost the council £10m from its reserves. There have also been suggestions that the cost of actually making the payments could be in the region of £500,000.

As the plans do not include means testing any recipients, it would mean that any of the very well paid stars from the two Manchester football clubs living within the city would also get that much needed fifty pound note! Greater Manchester