Bolton leaders slam Tier 3 decision and the borough's 'never-ending lockdown'

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direct to your inboxEngland has been put into a national lockdown from today as millions wake up to tough new restrictions. Everybody in England has been told to stay at home and only leave the house for a number of select reasons, including shopping for essentials and medical appointments.

direct to your inboxGreater Manchester’s Covid-19 infection rate has crept above 300 for the first time since November 19.It is currently 300.9 per 100,000 people in the seven days up to December 31.That represents a 45 per cent week-on-week increase and is the first time it has risen above 300 since November 19.Despite the rising number of cases here, our region’s rates are still well below the English rate - which is currently 537.5.The fastest growth is happening in Wigan, where cases are up

straight to your inbox every day for freeBorussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke admits Jadon Sancho expected to move clubs in the summer transfer window.The England international was identified as Manchester United's top target last year but a move never materialised over financial concerns surrounding the deal.United were prepared to invest a British record fee in order to land Sancho in the summer but could not find a suitable compromise with Dortmund over the structure of a deal - having

Wanderers manager Ian Evatt as to whether this was a tactical move - but the Wanderers manager confirmed this was not the case. With Greater Manchester and the North West now placed in tier 4 of national coronavirus restrictions, Evatt confirmed the move was purely part of protocols to reduce the risk posed by the virus and was a health and safety measure.

as of yesterday, the borough had the lowest rates in Greater Manchester.

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Bolton is the largest town in the country without a direct train service to the capital and with the recent electrification of the line, transport leaders believe it is the ideal time for that to be rectified.

Get breaking news first on the free Manchester Evening News app - download it here for your Apple or Android device. You can also get a round-up of the biggest stories sent direct to your inbox every day with the MEN email newsletter - subscribe here. And you can follow us on Facebook here.

direct to your inboxThe new highly transmissible strain of Covid-19 is not thought to have reached Greater Manchester yet, say the region's health leaders. A variant of the virus, which is said to be behind huge spikes in the south of England, is believed to have already reached parts of Cumbria.

with the Woodland Trust planting over 130,000 trees on land around Winter Hill last year.Pete Stringer, GI planning and technical manager at City of Trees, added: "The new planting proposals will help deliver on the government’s commitment to increase tree planting to 30,000 hectares per year, across the UK, by 2025 as well as Greater Manchester’s goals to be carbon neutral by 2038.“We hope this year’s planting programme will be the first of a longer partnership between City of Trees and Bolton

direct to your inboxManchester United remain unbeaten in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League as they recorded a 6-1 victory against Bristol City in their final match of 2020.Leah Galton, Millie Turner, Jess Sigsworth and Tobin Heath were all on the scoresheet for Casey Stoney’s side while Ebony Salmon scored Bristol’s goal.The Manchester United manager was pleased her team claimed another win, saying: "It is nice to go in top at the break but we can only control what we can, and we did that

Bolton Council has said that people in the borough need to 'pull together' over Christmas in order to avoid any further lockdowns. Yesterday, Boris Johnson announced that plans to ease restrictions for five days over the festive period would have to be cancelled due to rising case numbers.

Bolton. Officers were called to the Harwood area at 00.20am on Saturday morning (December 19) following reports of a drunken man walking in and out of traffic, and causing a disturbance for local residents.Greater Manchester Police said that when they arrived to arrest the man, officers were assaulted by the man and two women who were nearby.

direct to your inboxLeaders from across Greater Manchester have shared their damning assessment of Greater Manchester Police as Chief Constable Ian Hopkins announced he is quitting the force. The police chief announced he was standing down today after his force was placed in special measures due to concerns over its failure to record more than 80,000 crimes in the space of a year.

Bolton on Friday morning - a day after millions across the region learned they would remain under Tier 3 restrictions over Christmas. Making the announcement yesterday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock called on people living in Tier 3 areas to 'pull together' to get out of the measures.

straight to your inbox every day for freeTwo goals conceded within the first two minutes set the tone for an abysmal showing by Manchester United U23 away to league leaders Chelsea in a game that ended 6-1.

If you’re a die-hard Coronation Street fan then you may well remember Bruce Jones who played the part of Les Battersby.The actor left his role as the taxi river in 2007, but what has been up to since? Let’s take a look… Get exclusive celebrity stories and fabulous photoshoots straight to your inbox with OK's daily newsletter . You can sign up at the top of the page.

direct to your inboxTameside now has the most places with hardly any cases of Covid-19 in Greater Manchester.The borough’s council boss says the explanation is simple – everyone has ‘played their part’.The latest hyper-local neighbourhood data shows that there are five areas of the borough which saw two or fewer cases in the last week.Ashton North, Audenshaw, Hurst Cross, Denton East and Dukinfield West all saw either two, one or no new infections in the seven days to December 11 according to

direct to your inboxGreater Manchester’s political leaders have criticised the government’s decision to place the area under the strictest coronavirus rules – but Rochdale’s leader has welcomed the news.Trafford’s director for public health, Eleanor Roaf, said she doesn’t believe Greater Manchester is being ‘punished’.She said: “I think really, unfortunately, in Greater Manchester we happen to have a lot of things that put our population at greater risk – more people in lower paid work, more