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In pictures: Manchester commuters adopt 8,000 little clay men

Wed, 16 May 2012 16:58:18 -0000

Thousands of ceramic commuters have appeared on Manchester’s streets today – as part of a new art exhibition.

The 8,000 hand-made clay models, or #littleclaymen, designed by artist Lawrence Epps have been dotted around the city as part of this month’s Future Everything festival.

Private hire taxi drivers clog city streets in protest over bus lane ban - video

Wed, 16 May 2012 16:03:49 -0000

An army of angry cabbies clogged the city's streets in protest at being banned from using bus lanes.

Hundreds of private-hire drivers drove in tandem from the Etihad Stadium to Albert Square in defiance of the council's rule.

Live - The Queen's Jubilee visit to Accrington

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:02:07 -0000

The big day has arrived – the Queen is visiting Accrington today.

Follow our live coverage ...

Roy Hodgson: Rio Ferdinand left out of England Euro 2012 squad over 'football matters' - video

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:01:02 -0000

Roy Hodgson focused on footballing matters as he explained the omission of Rio Ferdinand in his England squad for this summer's European Championship.

Fraudsters offer to sell laptops and leave victim in Hulme with sack of potatoes

Wed, 16 May 2012 14:01:19 -0000

Fraudsters offering to sell laptops on the street before leaving their victims with potatoes have sparked a police investigation.

Detectives are looking for two men who they believe have conned victims out of around £3,000 in four separate stings since February.

Rochdale sex grooming case: David Cameron tells MPs of 'particular problems in particular communities'

Wed, 16 May 2012 13:48:37 -0000

The Rochdale sex grooming scandal was a "truly dreadful case" which must be investigated further, David Cameron said today.

The Prime Minister spoke out a week after nine Asian men were jailed for plying white girls as young as 13 with drink and drugs so they could "pass them around" and use them for sex.

From chip shop worker to farmer: Failsworth-born supermodel Agyness Deyn to star in bleak Scottish drama

Wed, 16 May 2012 13:41:05 -0000

Failsworth-born model Agyness Deyn is to play a farmer in a bleak drama set in rural Scotland.

The former fish and chip shop worker - real name Laura Hollins - will star opposite Peter Mullan in British director Terrence Davies' new film Sunset Song.

United’s kit Made of Manchester? Actually that’s Oldham...

Wed, 16 May 2012 12:37:26 -0000

United are promoting their ‘Made in Manchester’ kit by using a historic photograph of Oldham.

Nike, the manufacturers of the new patterned top, claim it was inspired by the cotton industry that dominated the city when the team was formed in 1878.

Manchester writers read to passersby on 'flash fiction' day

Wed, 16 May 2012 12:09:20 -0000

Members of a Manchester writinggroup are reading their work to unsuspecting passersby today to celebrate the first ever National Flash Fiction Day.

It's not London!: Files reveal how UK government identified 'image problem' with Manchester's failed 2000 Olympics bid

Wed, 16 May 2012 11:14:48 -0000

Official papers published today reveal how the Government identified an 'image problem' with Manchester's failed bid for the 2000 Olympic Games - because the city was 'not London'.

Brave Callum leads Manchester City to glory after winning mascot competition

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:12:21 -0000

Among the hordes of jubilant City fans at the Etihad stadium yesterday one had more reason to cheer than most.

Chronic asthma sufferer Callum Fearns, eight, had the honour of leading his beloved Blues into battle after winning the M.E.N.'s mascot competition.

Unemployment total falls by 45,000 to 2.6 million

Wed, 16 May 2012 09:34:34 -0000

The Government was given some welcome good news on the jobs front today when unemployment fell by 45,000 and the number of dole claimants dipped for the second month in a row.

Live - Bury Council meeting

Wed, 16 May 2012 09:02:08 -0000

Bury Council is holding its first full meeting since the local elections - we'll have live coverage here ...

Salford shooting: Police probe after shot is fired at Pendleton block of flats

Wed, 16 May 2012 08:50:22 -0000

Police are investigating a shooting in Salford last night.

Armed officers were called to Buckingham Street in Pendleton at 10.15pm after reports that a shot had been fired at a block of flats.

Souvenir edition of Manchester Evening News celebrating City's league title win selling on eBay for 32 times original price

Wed, 16 May 2012 08:36:33 -0000

A souvenir edition of the M.E.N. celebrating City's title win is being sold on eBay for £16 – 32 times the original price.

Several copies of Monday's edition of the newspaper – which was sold in shops and on the streets for just 50p – are being advertised on the auction site.

Shameless star Tina Malone is declared bankrupt

Wed, 16 May 2012 08:34:05 -0000

Shameless star Tina Malone has been declared bankrupt, the M.E.N. can reveal today.

The actress starred as foul-mouthed matriarch and gangster’s wife Mimi Maguire in the award-winning Channel 4 drama and has also appeared in Brookside.

Live - Manchester council meeting

Wed, 16 May 2012 08:12:28 -0000

Manchester Council is holding its first full meeting since the local elections - we have live coverage here ...

Live - Salford Council meeting

Wed, 16 May 2012 08:02:47 -0000

Salford council is holding its first full meeting since the local elections and the election of Ian Stewart as the city's first elected mayor. We have live coverage here ...

Making a splash: Baby girl weighing 12lb 6oz delivered in birth pool at Manchester hospital

Wed, 16 May 2012 07:51:14 -0000

Baby Bethany Jane Turner made waves when she was born – weighing in at 12lb 6oz.

Bethany, who arrived in a birthing pool at North Manchester General Hospital, is Britain’s third biggest baby girl born naturally.

I didn't get help to control my boys: Prestwich mum and her 'wild' sons evicted from estate they terrorised for four years

Wed, 16 May 2012 07:41:35 -0000

Karla Walker, 32, whose three sons, aged 11, 12 and 13, made life a misery for neighbours on the Polefield Estate in Prestwich for four years, admits they are 'no angels', but said she hasn't had the support she needs to curb their behaviour.

The brothers, who were described as ‘wild’ and ‘out of control’, first started causing trouble aged just seven, eight and nine. Neighbours collected a dossier of evidence about their behaviour since 2008, and the family have now been kicked out of their home.

Main route from south Manchester into city centre closed after Levenshulme fire

Wed, 16 May 2012 07:32:04 -0000

Motorists are facing rush-hour chaos today after a fire closed down part of Kingsway in Levenshulme.

The main route into the city from South Manchester is shut between Moseley Road and Kingswood Road after the blaze broke out in a flat at 4.15am.

A&E blunder doctors at Tameside Hospital ‘sent gran home to die in pain’, inquest told.

Wed, 16 May 2012 06:51:50 -0000

A woman died less than 24 hours after being sent home from hospital when doctors failed to spot she had a perforated bowel.

Susan Tatum, 56, went to A&E at Tameside General with severe abdominal pains. But she was discharged following a catalogue of errors by medical staff.

Drama as Coronation Street musical tour is postponed

Wed, 16 May 2012 06:48:40 -0000

The future of the Coronation Street musical is in doubt after a series of shows were postponed – just days after its premiere.

Street of Dreams opened at the Manchester Arena last week. It is billed as a ‘live musical tribute to Britain’s best-loved soap’ and features a cast including stars of the show past and present.

Glossop pilot, 80, whose holiday crash-landing in Australia saved a family

Wed, 16 May 2012 05:00:21 -0000

An 80-year-old glider pilot who broke her neck when crash-landing to avoid a family home has spoken of her ordeal for the first time.

Mary Neighbour, a pilot for more than 50 years, had to be cut free from the plane which hit the ground as she swerved away from the house, just yards from where a mum and her three young children watched in horror.

Paul Taylor: Cycling through a red light doesn’t make me a Lycra lout

Wed, 16 May 2012 05:00:20 -0000

The angriest response I ever had was to a throwaway comment on a topic seemingly low on the Richter Scale of public opinion.

Yes, I confessed to cycling through red lights.

Manchester bookshop Blackwell's cancels launch for biography of Palestinian hijacker Leila Khaled after complaints

Tue, 15 May 2012 18:06:18 -0000

A bookshop has cancelled an event launching the biography of a Palestinian woman who hijacked two planes.

Blackwell's on Oxford Road said they were swamped with phone calls and emails from people opposed to the event.

Fresh appeal for help to catch thug who assaulted two men in Fallowfield

Tue, 15 May 2012 18:02:06 -0000

Police have launched a further appeal after a man was punched in the face in an 'completely unprovoked' attack.

The 20-year-old victim was walking along Wilmslow Road in Fallowfield with a friend after a night out at 2am when a man ran towards them.

Teenager's head stamped on in vicious attack in Wigan

Tue, 15 May 2012 17:57:51 -0000

A teenager needed surgery after he was beaten to the ground and had his head stamped on by four youths.

Doctors operated on the 18-year-old man, who suffered a broken jaw and cuts in the attack, which happened on Newton Road, in Lowton, near Wigan, at around 9.45pm on Wednesday, May 2.

Stuart Horner jailed for shooting dead his uncle Ian Taylor in Wythenshawe car park after row over flat-pack shed

Tue, 15 May 2012 17:31:40 -0000

A man has been jailed for 27 years for blasting his uncle to death in a 'cold-blooded execution' following a row over a flat-pack shed.

Ian Taylor, 44, was shot in the chest with a sawn-off shotgun as he sat in a car at Floatshall Road, Baguley, on the evening in June last year.

Man aged 28 arrested in Piccadilly Gardens after pigeon strangled and its wings torn off

Tue, 15 May 2012 16:41:17 -0000

A pigeon was strangled in broad daylight in front of horrified shoppers in Manchester city centre.

Witnesses saw a man catch the bird in Piccadilly Gardens before tearing off its wings and choking it to death.

Footballer Jermaine Pennant given suspended jail sentence for drink-driving home from Manchester nightclub

Tue, 15 May 2012 16:31:46 -0000

Premier League footballer Jermaine Pennant has been given a suspended jail sentence for drink-driving home from a Manchester nightclub after being dumped by text message by his girlfriend, a court heard.

Commuters face delays after Metrolink tram failure in Piccadilly Gardens

Tue, 15 May 2012 15:07:12 -0000

Metrolink services in Manchester city centre have come to a standstill after a tram broke down on Piccadilly Gardens.

Trams running on three lines between Piccadilly and Deansgate Castlefield are currently suspended after the failure, causing commuter delays.

Premier League awards for Manchester United duo Sir Alex Ferguson and Ryan Giggs

Tue, 15 May 2012 14:53:17 -0000

Manchester City may have wrestled the title from their grasp, but Manchester United were awarded two prestigious honours for their dominance of the Premier League. Sir Alex Ferguson was named the best manager in the Premier League's 20-year history and Ryan Giggs won the best player award at a ceremony in central London.

Manchester Metroplitan University art lecturer hailed by critics as ‘genius’

Tue, 15 May 2012 13:18:36 -0000

A lecturer who left a hidden trove of masterpieces worth an estimated £1m in his home has been declared an undiscovered genius by leading art critics. David Pearson taught Manchester Metropolitan University students for 40 years.

Clubber from Birmingham died ‘after clash with bouncers’ outside Pitcher and Piano at Deansgate Locks, inquest told

Tue, 15 May 2012 11:53:20 -0000

A ‘healthy' clubber died after being restrained by doormen outside a Manchester nightspot, an inquest heard.

Julian Webster, 24, collapsed after clashing with door staff at Deansgate Locks. Two post mortems have failed to identify what killed him.

Labour Party suspends two branches in Manchester as probe launched into sudden rises in membership

Tue, 15 May 2012 11:50:45 -0000

Two Manchester Labour branches have been suspended by the national party while officials probe a sudden spike in membership.

Crumpsall and Cheetham – the wards of council leader Sir Richard Leese and high-profile former Lord Mayor Afzal Khan – have been placed under investigation by party chiefs.

Street party and new mosaics by Northern Quarter artist Mark Kennedy to mark Afflecks 30th birthday

Tue, 15 May 2012 11:31:46 -0000

Afflecks is to get a street party in its honour – and replacements for the mosaics that disappeared from its walls four years ago. Celebrations are in full swing to mark the Tib Street shopping emporium’s 30th anniversary.

Afflecks: A launch pad for fashion designers and entrepreneurs

Tue, 15 May 2012 11:16:32 -0000

For a generation of Mancunians, Afflecks Palace represents the soul of the city as a mecca for the off-beat and individual.

Jail for Stockport driver, 35, who killed OAP the morning after she drank seven beers

Tue, 15 May 2012 10:43:27 -0000

Charlotte Roberts, 35, was over the drink drive limit when she hit granddad Antonio Ricci, 79, in her Peugeot at Finney Lane, close to his home in Heald Green, Stockport the morning after downing seven beers.

In pictures: 100,000 fans hail champions Manchester City along league trophy parade route

Tue, 15 May 2012 10:37:49 -0000

More than 100,000 fans packed into Manchester as City paraded the Premier League trophy.

Paddy Doherty's sons brawled with rival families in Big Fat Gypsy punch-up outside court in Spinningfields

Tue, 15 May 2012 09:54:30 -0000

The sons of Big Fat Gypsy Weddings star Paddy Doherty have admitted their role in a violent brawl between feuding gypsy clans outside a courtroom in Spinningfields, Manchester.

Mystic Mani: Did Stone Roses reunion prophecy win league for Manchester City?

Tue, 15 May 2012 09:10:13 -0000

Manchester City's title win brought to fruition a mystical prophecy once delivered by none other than...Manc music legend Mani.

'I'm so proud of my Vince', says Kompany's wife Carla

Tue, 15 May 2012 08:13:30 -0000

Vincent Kompany's wife Carla has spoken of her pride after her husband lifted the Premier League trohpy. She told the MEN: "Proud doesn’t even scratch the surface of how I feel towards Vince, his determination and passion.”

Manchester City apologise over 'tasteless' RIP Fergie poster held aloft by Carlos Tevez on parade bus

Tue, 15 May 2012 07:43:11 -0000

Manchester City have apologised to Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson after striker Carlos Tevez held up a banner goading his former manager.

FA charge Joey Barton with violent conduct over clashes with Manchester City players after he was sent off

Mon, 14 May 2012 16:32:26 -0000

Joey Barton has been charged with two acts of violent conduct by the Football Association following his actions after his sending-off in QPR's defeat by Manchester City.

Struggling to remember what happened last night: Vincent Kompany recovers after title party with Liam Gallagher and Ricky Hatton

Mon, 14 May 2012 14:46:41 -0000

Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany was apparently nursing a sore head after celebrating his team's title win with celebrity fans Liam Gallagher and Ricky Hatton.

Police investigate after four 'gun incidents' in Sale

Mon, 14 May 2012 14:15:31 -0000

Police are investigating reports that a gun was used as violence flared in Sale.

A series of four disturbances at Chepstow Avenue, Ascot Avenue and two on Epsom Avenue were reported to officer on Sunday (May 13) between 9pm and midnight.

Married couple 'plotted kidnap of Oldham schoolboy Sahil Saeed', court hears

Mon, 14 May 2012 14:12:33 -0000

A married couple plotted the gunpoint kidnapping of five-year-old Oldham schoolboy Sahil Saeed in Pakistan from a Mediterranean seaside town, a court heard.

Muhammad Zahid Saleem, the alleged mastermind behind the kidnapping, and his wife Gianina Monica Neruja went on trial with flatmate Muhammad Sageiz at the provincial court in Tarragona, on Spain's north eastern coast.

Pictured: Manchester City fans in Blue heaven after 120 seconds that changed everything

Mon, 14 May 2012 13:40:37 -0000

It was a roar of pure joy – the sound of the weight of 44 years of pain being cast off in two incredible minutes.

In the Etihad Stadium, in pubs and bars and front rooms across Manchester, they roared and screamed and danced and sang and embraced.

Horror as 50-year-old woman plunges from bridge onto A34 near Wilmslow station

Mon, 14 May 2012 12:54:33 -0000

The 50-year-old woman plunged 20ft on to Macclesfield Road onto the A34 bypass, near Wilmslow Railway Station.

Manchester City champions: Was title win the most dramatic in British football history?

Mon, 14 May 2012 12:16:30 -0000

It will go down as one of the most incredible title deciders in British football history. A nail-biting 3-2 win secured in the dying moments of their final Premier League game of the season saw Manchester City clinch the title in dramatic fashion on Sunday. Here are some other examples of how trophies have been won in dramatic circumstances.

Loaf of bread cost 9p and Jumping Jack Flash was No 1: When Manchester City were last league champions

Mon, 14 May 2012 12:06:14 -0000

The paint was still fresh on Coronation Street's first outdoor set, and an unknown band called Led Zeppelin were playing in front of a handful of Manchester students.

The Mend beaten by dog to Britain's Got Talent crown, but Simon Cowell still has high hopes for Manchester boyband

Mon, 14 May 2012 11:11:43 -0000

They made it to the final of Britain’s Got Talent as the “wildcard” act only to be beaten by a dog. But even though Manchester boy band The Mend failed to finish in the top three of the talent show search they still look set for an exciting future.

Children of 12 to get tips on how to keep sex groomers at bay

Mon, 14 May 2012 10:30:18 -0000

More than 100 children in Greater Manchester are being given special training to protect them against sexual predators, the M.E.N. can reveal today.

Dozens of girls and boys – some as young as 12 – have been identified as ‘high-risk’ targets for potential groomers.

Family of Anthony Grainger man shot dead by Greater Manchester Police 'in limbo' over investigation

Mon, 14 May 2012 09:59:00 -0000

The family of a man shot in a car by a police firearms officer claim they are being kept in the dark over the continuing investigation into his death.

Anthony Grainger, 36, died from a single shot fired from a sub-machine gun while he sat in the front seat of an Audi in a car park in the village of Culceth, Warrington, on March 3.

Couple found dead in Coldhurst flat may have died from carbon monoxide poisoning

Mon, 14 May 2012 09:25:51 -0000

A couple who were found dead at a flat in Oldham may have died from carbon monoxide poisoning, the M.E.N. can reveal. The bodies of the 59-year-old man and 69-year-old woman, who are yet to be named, were discovered at the property on Eden Street, Coldhurst.

Here's one of me with Aguero: Jubilant Manchester City players tweet pictures of themselves alongside goal hero Sergio Aguero

Sun, 13 May 2012 20:07:57 -0000

Manchester City players celebrated winning the title by sharing their delight with fans on Twitter - and by tweeting pictures of themselves with goal hero Sergio Aguero.

Arsonists blamed for huge fire at plastics warehouse in Oldham

Sun, 13 May 2012 13:23:15 -0000

Arsonists are believed to have started a huge blaze which destroyed a warehouse crammed with plastics on Meek Street, Oldham.

Teenager Ashleigh Butler and her pet dog Pudsey are crowned winners of Britain's Got Talent 2012

Sun, 13 May 2012 07:44:29 -0000

Teenager Ashleigh Butler and her pet dog Pudsey were crowned winners of Britain's Got Talent, beating off competition including Manchester boy band The Mend, who were reinstated in the final of the ITV1 show on a wild card.

Return of the Hornet Moth: First plane to land at Manchester Airport makes 75th anniversary flight

Sun, 13 May 2012 07:17:12 -0000

The plane which made the first landing at Manchester Airport is returning to celebrate the 75th anniversary of its historic flight.

The Hornet Moth two-seater aircraft will fly back to Manchester next Thursday – exactly 75 years after it first touched down on the runway.

Manchester council spent £40,000 on hosting Queen's Diamond Jubilee visit

Sun, 13 May 2012 07:02:31 -0000

Manchester city council spent a 'modest' £40,000 of taxpayers' money on hosting a Diamond Jubilee visit by the Queen in March, it emerged today.