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Facing prison: Middleton man who posed as fake heir to Italian millionairess and duped elderly man out of £100k

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:45:25 -0000

Travis, who used the name ‘Franco Verradi’ and said he was set to inherit £1.7m in his mother’s will, cheated the elderly man out of almost £100,000 over a period of several years between 2003 and 2010.

He has already spent time behind bars when he was jailed for 16 months in 2005 after pleading guilty to 14 sample charges of fraud, we can reveal. Among more than 70 offences he committed was a fraud against his own girlfriend Gail Heyworth, who has been in court during his recent trial to support him.

Murder victim found dead in Middleton house is named as Mark Worton

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:39:29 -0000

A man found dead after suffering serious head injuries at a house has been identified as Mark Worton.

Mr Worton, 31, was found after police were called to a house in Lower Bamford Close in Middleton at around 1.45pm on Friday.

'Every woman's nightmare': Sex attacker raped young mum at knifepoint in her Manchester home

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:16:00 -0000

A rapist broke into a woman’s home and attacked her at knifepoint as her toddler daughter slept.

Landriston Macanda, 24, of Bank House Road, Blackley, has been caged indefinitely by a judge who told him he had subjected his victim to ‘every woman’s nightmare’.

Humble roots of 'Italian heir' exposed in court

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:00:58 -0000

A man who claimed to be an Italian viscount was in fact born into a working class family in Rochdale, a court heard. Scott Travis was described in court as a ‘con artist’ as he faces accusations that he fleeced a vulnerable elderly man out of his life savings.

Crew stands down but Gulf mission continues

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:00:58 -0000

After 10,000 sausages and 70,000 rounds of ammunition, the crew of HMS Middleton are bidding farewell to the state-of-the-art ship. But the mission will be carrying on for the Royal Navy mine hunter, which carries the town's name, as it continues on its three year mission out in the Arabian Gulf.

Video: Middleton's rollerblading Flying Squirrel takes leap for Hollywood fame

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:00:56 -0000

Jordan Watkins, 17, has set his sights on a high-flying career after being spotted in action on the internet by a Hollywood talent agent.

Jordan hopes to go to the US to make his name in advertising campaigns, music videos – and even films.

Victory for residents as disputed parking plan is scrapped

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:00:56 -0000

Controversial plans to restrict parking along Oldham Road have been axed. Highways bosses had wanted to introduce no waiting restrictions from Mills Hill train station to Spring Vale.

Pals gather for a celebration of ‘Princess Paige’

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:00:55 -0000

Friends and family have celebrated the life of a bubbly student who died just two weeks after her 18th birthday. The funeral of Paige Holt, who fell ill and died suddenly while undergoing treatment for cystic fibrosis, was held at Boarshaw Crematorium on Tuesday.

It’s stall back to normal at market

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:00:54 -0000

Middleton market is back in the heart of the town centre after a six month absence. Traders were forced to move from Middleton Gardens in June as work began on the £2m redevelopment of the town centre.

Cabinet’s plans for £11m budget cuts a step closer

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:00:53 -0000

Plans to slash another £11m from the council's budget have moved a step closer. Rochdale council cabinet has ratified their latest round of savings after months of consultation with groups affected.

‘I never thought dogs would attack mum’

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:00:52 -0000

The daughter of a pensioner savaged by dogs has spoken for the first time of her shock at the attack. Chantelle Gallagher, 38, was staying with her mum Jackie Gallagher at her home in Kenyon Lane, Moorclose, before Christmas when the pensioner was badly mauled.

Plea for health chiefs to halt maternity unit closure

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:14:45 -0000

Health bosses have been urged to halt the closure of maternity services at Fairfield General Hospital.

The unit will close at the beginning of March as part of a shake-up of children’s services across the region.

Ambulance controller: I had to quit 999 job when bosses made me share my desk

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:05:46 -0000

Nathan Roberts, 28, says his anxiety disorder meant he suffered severe panic attacks after finding colleagues at his usual workstation.

He says his problems began when the North West Ambulance Service introduced a policy of ‘hot-desking’ – where workers take any desk at the start of their shifts.

Thieves risk lives by climbing 165-ft high electricity pylon in Middleton - to steal aluminium wire worth £100

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:58:59 -0000

Scrap metal thieves scaled a electricity pylon in Middleton to steal wiring worth just £100 – but caused £100,000 damage. The gang risked their lives by climbing past 275,000-volt power cables to reach the top of the 165ft-tall tower.

School’s glass act is glowing tribute to brave Katie

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:01:37 -0000

A stained glass window in memory of a much-loved pupil takes pride of place in the new-look Little Heaton Primary School. The metre long window in the school entrance hall has been made in tribute to four-year-old Katie Williams.

Achievement award for recording legend

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:01:35 -0000

A veteran record producer is to receive a BBC lifetime achievement award after 60 years in the music business. Bill Leader – who has worked with the likes of Mike Harding, Billy Connolly and the Dubliners – will be honoured at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards next month.

Pensioner threatened unless cash handed over for ‘friend’

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:01:35 -0000

A pensioner was told he would be shot if he failed to hand over cash to help a Middleton conman posing as his friend. Scott Travis, 44, is alleged to have cheated nearly £100,000 from the man, claiming he was called ‘Franco’ and was set to get £1.7m from his Italian mother’s will.

Family devastated by death of cystic fibrosis girl, aged 18

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:01:34 -0000

A fashion conscious teenager with cystic fibrosis died suddenly while in hospital for routine treatment. Paige Holt, 18, fell ill during a regular appointment at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital last Monday.

200 homes plan to revive old Vita site

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:01:33 -0000

Ambitious plans to breath life into a forgotten corner of Middleton have been revealed. Town hall bosses want to transform land around the British Vita site off Oldham Road into a major new residential and recreation area.

Family gathers for moving ceremony in memory of Faith

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:01:32 -0000

A grieving couple marked what would have been their daughter's first birthday at a moving family gathering. Faith Elizabeth Halpin died just 21 hours after she was born at North Manchester General Hospital January 13 last year.

Cuts finally force CAB out of Middleton home

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:01:31 -0000

Middleton Citizen Advice Bureau is to close. The Milton Street office will shut in March after funding was slashed.

Uncertainty over jobs at Middleton's Bonmarche store after firm's collapse

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:40:26 -0000

Staff at the Middleton branch of Bonmarche are expected to find out before the end of the week if the store is to remain open.

The business, part of the Peacocks Group which collapsed last week, was bought for an undisclosed sum by private equity group Sun European Partners on Monday.

Yob who shone laser at police helicopter over Blackley on New Year's Eve facing jail

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:22:03 -0000

A police pilot was forced to take evasive action over the streets of Manchester after a yob shone a laser pen at his low-flying helicopter.

The copter was 1,200ft over Blackley on New Year’s Eve when Daryl Storton shone a green laser pen at the cockpit, distracting pilot Stephen
Curry and two police officers who were also in the aircraft.

Health chiefs on red alert as another £13m is slashed from hospitals budget

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:09:05 -0000

Hospital bosses must slash another £13m from this year's budget, we can reveal. It means the Pennine Acute Trust (PAT), which runs services at Rochdale Infirmary, Royal Oldham, Fairfield and North Manchester General is having to make more than £55m in cuts before April.

The figure is higher than the £43m in savings announced by chief executive John Saxby at the trust's annual general meeting last September.

Revealed: How Greater Manchester's town halls spent £1.5 BILLION of your money

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:05:21 -0000

Government rules mean councils have to publish details of every payment of more than £500.

The money was spent on everything from major building works to a fruit press for a community allotment.

Half price sale in bid to save Jumbo Social Centre

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:01:12 -0000

A social centre is holding a half price sale in a bid to ward off closure. Room hire charges at Jumbo have been slashed to try to boost the number of people using it.

Frank sings his final notes for society

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:01:11 -0000

Middleton Musical Society has said a fond farewell to its longest serving member. Frank Reddish has bowed out after singing with the group for nearly 60 years.

History crew launches bid to uncover mystery man

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:01:10 -0000

Museum experts are desperate to discover the identity of a mystery man - regularly pictured dwarfed by giant electrical equipment.

Popular shopkeeper dies

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:01:09 -0000

A popular shopkeeper who ran a DIY store for around 30 years has died. Norma Agnes Reddicen was a popular face behind the counter of the hardware and decorating store on Manchester Old Road, Rhodes.

Milestone church is set to party in style

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:01:08 -0000

In 2012 Holy Trinity in Sunny Brow Road celebrates its 150th anniversary and church members are in the process of planning and organising the programme to celebrate and mark the occasion.

Drain thieves leave taxpayer £8,000 bill

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:01:07 -0000

Tax payers have been left with an £8,000 bill after scrap metal thieves stole dozens of drain covers that will pocket them just £375.

Fire crews facing the axe despite high casualty rate

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:01:03 -0000

Middleton, Heywood and Rochdale have the third highest number of fire-related injuries in the UK, the Guardian can reveal. From April 2010 to March 2011 66 people were injured in accidental house fires - more than one a week.

Court told of 'Italian heir' £100k con

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:00:58 -0000

A pensioner was duped out of his life savings by a Middleton con-artist who posed as the heir to an Italian millionairess, a court was told.

Residents evacuated from flats in Hollin

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:54:13 -0000

Residents evacuated flats in Middleton following a fire in a bin room.

The fire, on the top floor of a two storey building in Hopwood Road, Hollin, caused smoke damage to a neighbouring empty flat and spread to the ceiling of the block of flats.

Drug addict jailed for trying to sell 10 bronze memorial plaques

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:39:41 -0000

A man who tried to sell 10 bronze memorial plaques stolen from a crematorium has been jailed for 12 weeks in Manchester.

Drug addict Sean McNab, 45, said he had "prayed for forgiveness" for what he had done.

Nearly half of children in parts of Middleton live below the breadline

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:01:14 -0000

Nearly one in two children are living below the breadline in parts of Middleton and Blackley, shocking new figures show.

New £2m Middleton Gardens redevelopment close to completion

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:01:14 -0000

Middleton's new £2m town centre gardens should be finished in a week.

Cruise bug six taken tour firm to court

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:01:13 -0000

Six holidaymakers from Middleton who claim their holiday was ruined after they fell violently ill on a luxury cruise are taking the tour operator to court.

Tesco dairy boss creamed off £3,500 in refunds scam

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:01:12 -0000

A dairy manager at Middleton Tesco creamed off thousands of pounds in a bogus refund scam, a court heard.

Middleton holidaymaker's Ibiza balcony fall death was 'tragic accident'

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:01:07 -0000

A man died in a tragic balcony stunt just hours after arriving in Ibiza, a coroner has heard.

Sam McCaughey, 23, and his friends had hit the bars and pubs after beginning their holiday on the party island.

Probe into care of pensioner savaged by dogs

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:01:06 -0000

Social services have launched an investigation into the care given to a vulnerable pensioner in the months before she was savaged by dogs at her home.

Pervert had 4,000 pictures of child pornography

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:06:38 -0000

A charity worker who downloaded more than 4,000 pornographic images of children has been spared from a prison sentence after a court heard he wasn't a risk to the public.

Patient at North Manchester General hospital sparks explosion – by smoking while attached to oxygen tank

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 05:55:33 -0000

A hospital patient lit a cigarette while attached to an oxygen tank as he sat in bed – and sparked an explosion.

The blast set off alarms and fire crews rushed to the scene at North Manchester General Hospital. The patient was given first aid, and his wounds were dressed by fire trauma technicians and hospital staff.

Facing jail: Blackley metal dealer caught selling plaques stolen from graves

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 08:45:32 -0000

A self-styled metal dealer tried to sell a bag full of stolen bronze memorial plaques to a scrapyard. But Sean McNab was arrested after diligent staff refused to buy them and told police.

McNab, 44, was arrested after 10 plaques – worth a total of £600 – were stolen from graves at the Garden of Remembrance in Blackley Cemetery in November. Relatives spoke of their shock and outrage at the time.

Cardinal's gift helped leave mark on Middleton

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 08:00:47 -0000

With the nation set to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee this year, only townsfolk of a certain age will be able to recall a time when she wasn't on the throne.

History man tracks down hall treasure

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 08:00:46 -0000

A lost relic from a stately home that once stood in the town centre has been found – in Bolton.

Use it or lose it: Volunteers get last chance to save social centre

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 08:00:45 -0000

A range of measures to try and save a community centre have been put forward.

Four eateries ordered to clean up their act

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 08:00:43 -0000

Four Middleton eateries need to make 'major improvements' to their hygiene standards.

Shop Local: John's retail values are still at height of fashion

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 08:00:42 -0000

There are few things that tailor John Berry hasn't seen after 40 years running his own town centre menswear shop.

Ex-Middleton councillor censured for foul-mouthed rant to Heywood am-drams

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 08:00:34 -0000

A former councillor has been given a slap on the wrists for a foul-mouthed rant towards a Heywood am-dram society.

New year honour for youth leader

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 08:00:33 -0000

A retired youth worker has been awarded an OBE for services to the community.

Pennine Acute health trust could bring in traffic wardens to patrol hospital car parks

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 08:26:03 -0000

Bosses at the trust, which runs Royal Oldham, Fairfield General in Bury, Rochdale Infirmary and North Manchester General, want to bring in a private management company to run its car parks.

The firm would hand out penalty notices to people who park illegally or do not use a pay-and-display ticket. We understand the fines would be in the region of £60, reduced to £20 if paid within 20 days.

Fallen tree closes main Alkrington road

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:57:41 -0000

Drivers were forced to avoid Kirkway in Alkrington after the 40ft lime tree was blown on to the road at around 3pm, near to junction with Grimshaw Lane.

No-one was hurt in the incident and the council were called to chop up and remove the tree.

Jury service is 'stuck in the dark ages' says Facebook mum jailed for contacting defendant

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 12:39:42 -0000

Joanne Fraill, 41, from Blackley, who was jailed for eight months for contacting a defendant on Facebook has spoken out about the case and said the judicial system is 'stuck in the dark ages' by failing to adapt to changes in technology.

Pushers are jailed after major drugs clampdown

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 09:01:05 -0000

Some 75 people were arrested in police raids as part of Operation Audacious earlier this month. Hundreds of officers swooped as members of the community looked on.

Now ten of those arrested have been sent to prison by courts across the region after they all admitted supplying class A drugs.

Dogged hero takes dive to save Stan from icy waters

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 09:01:03 -0000

A dog was rescued by a good samaritan after falling into the icy waters of the River Irk. Stan the Staffordshire Bull Terrier plunged head-first into the river while taking his daily morning walk along the riverbank with his owner Michelle Dawson.

Two workmen, who had stopped to buy a newspaper in Manchester Old Road, came to her rescue.

Swimming star Keri-Anne Payne all set for Olympics

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 09:00:54 -0000

Swimming champ Keri-Anne Payne spoke of her delight at securing a place at the 2012 Olympic Games as she presented an award at this year’s Sports Personality of the Year ceremony.

The two-time world champion, who was controversially missed off an all-male shortlist for the award, still took part in the prestigious programme by presenting the Coach of the Year category with women’s Wimbledon champion Petra Kavitova.

Dogs savage widow, 70, in horror attack at her Middleton home

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 08:47:06 -0000

A widow was due to undergo emergency surgery to save both her arms after she was savaged by family pets at her home in Moorclose.

Jackie Gallagher, 70, was looking after the dogs for family members at her home in Kenyon Lane when the animals attacked her.

New Rochdale council chief to earn £25,000 less

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 14:13:58 -0000

The council's current chief executive, Roger Ellis, who earns around £150,000 a year, is due to leave his post next March.

His replacement will earn between £125,000 and £130,000 - 15 per cent less. They will also be asked to do more work.