Hundreds gathered by the roadside, chanting and waving flags shortly after confirmation of the tyrant's death hit their television screens.
Fireworks lit up the night sky and women used biscuit tins as makeshift drums. Passers-by beeped car horns and some drove past with flags sticking out of windows.
Others climbed on to a wall and hoisted flags in to the air. Dads carried young children on their shoulders.
Saeed Al Shamre, 38, a father of five, who lives in Moss Side, said: "We couldn't imagine we would be free of this man.
“It's like a dream come true for the Libyans. It's hard to describe what we feel. He was the worst in the whole world. Today we feel taste of freedom."
Saad al-Moghrabi, 47, who was celebrating with his three-year-old daughter, said: “We're really happy that this dangerous man is finished after all these years.
“He killed people, he killed children and he made Libya poor. Everyone in the world was suffering because of Gaddafi."
Esondes Malek, 29, from Old Trafford, said: "The whole community has come together and it's finally sunk in that this has actually happened.
“History is being made right now. We only regret that we are not in Libya tonight."
Members of the Libyan Youth Association were among those joining the celebrations.
Essra Sultan, 19, said: "We've been waiting for this day for so long.
“We all want to be in Libya right now and be part of the celebrations there.
“It's a day to remember. We'll be celebrating here and then we'll be going home to celebrate.
Jamal el Jabri, 43, a former Army captain who escaped from Libya in 1995, said: "This is an amazing day.
“We've been waiting for this for years now. It's not just Libya that has suffered but other countries have suffered as well. I am so happy for my family I want to thank all the countries that have supported us."
Bara Said, 19, from Cheetham Hill, said: "I didn't expect this. I just didn't imagine it was going to happen." Tweet
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I am glad they are happy and this tyrant is gone. I wonder if any Libyans here would now go back to their homeland now that it is free or stay in England?
Be careful of what you wish for,Libya! Arabs aren't very good at democracy and i'll bet that the dictators are now queuing up to take over. Either that or a Taliban type of organization!
That was nice for the family to see on teh news this morning. A man pleading for his life. being apparently beaten and stabbed and then a nice picture at the end with a dead body and a bullet through his head.
I don't care who he is or what he has done why do people feel a need to show this? It was the same when we saw saddam swinging from a rope - no need.
Mind you it was not as sickening as seeing grinning Labour Blair with Gaddaffi.
Anyway, hopefully there will be a gun amnesty in Libya and some order can be restored and decent folk can get on.
Now that Gaddifi has gone will we see a mass exodus of Libyans from Britain? I don't think so the benefits are too good here.
Disgraceful
Let’s have a party celebrating someone being slaughtered. How nice!
Unsure what misery Gaddafi and his oppressive regime inflicted on the Rusholme area?
Thousands upon thousands of Libyans celebrate his death and 'freedom' in the streets of Manchester and London. Now that the war is over when can we expect them all to return home? Yeah right!
Does this mean the Libyans of Manchester will go back home now?
It would save us the British taxpayers a fortune in housing/council tax benefits, & jobseekers & incapacity benefit, child tax credits & so on & so forth.
I notice Blair had chosen to keep his distance from Gaddafi these last few months. I was half expecting to see his face in that sewer pipe.
But why the attacks on the Manchester Libyan community on here? Certainly unwarranted in my view.
Can't help but feel a little sad for the Colonel, having been rehabilitated from terrorist funding, Soviet stooge and "mad dog" back in the cold war days he succesfully reinvents himself (so he thinks) as a western loving bulwark in the fight against "Islamism",lets his security services help out the CIA and MI6 with the type of questioning they want to keep their hands clean of, gives up on trying to aquire WMDs, gets invited to Brussels and a go on the UN Security Council, only to find himself as public enemy number one and being bombed out of town when the people or North Africa organise themselves.
The fickle world of global politics. There's probably a lesson in there somewhere.
Good Luck to the Libyan people. The free mind is like a new found wealth, used correctly and it's happy days forever and a day....
Why do i get the feeling that Al-Qaeda affiliated groups will now mop up in Libya, give it a couple of years and there's going to be another "situation" ?
Noticed on the live BBC news feed yesterday from Sirte that one of the pick up trucks that was on screen alongside the group of NTC fighters had a flag attached to it that i am sure was a shahada with the disc symbol which is i think is only ever used by Militant Islamist Groups ?
Did anybody else notice this ?
Great news for the people of Libya and their exiles in Manchester, hopefully they will remain here as they contribute so much to Manchesters rich tapestry.
BoB A
Stop being such a whimp
Algeria next then Morocco,then Gib, Spain and Portugal! It happened in the 7th century and history has a nasty habit of repeating itself. By the time the Muslim invasion reaches Britain,most of the population will be Muslim anyway so they will just be invited in.
This is not a racist comment,merely a prediction.
I welcome the end of any tyranny. But how is it good or civilised to show graphic horrible pictures like we saw today on TV? Has this evil tainted us now and have we lost sight of our decency? At 10 in the morning too. Quite shameful.
So now we can help another country to get rid of another murderous dictator who has been at it just as long as Gadaffi. Robert Mugabe your time is up.
Oh perhaps not, as your country has got nothing of any value that we are interested in.
Carry on as you are.