Emergency services scrambled to scene and road taped off during house fire in Oldham

recorded the highest number of COVID-19 cases since the peak of the pandemic last week. It’s unclear why Oldham has become such a hotspot compared to other parts of Greater Manchester, but residents have their own ideas."People aren’t obeying lockdown,” says Hazel Banks, who lives near Alexandra Park, one of the worst affected areas in Oldham."Everyday since the start, people have been ignoring it."We see it at our neighbour’s.

Bosses have issued an eleventh hour warning to Oldham residents to comply with tougher coronavirus restrictions or face the government imposing a ‘devastating’ Leicester-style lockdown.Cases in the borough have been rapidly rising over recent weeks, with the rate of infection now as high as it was during mid-April at the height of the pandemic.The latest figures released today show there has been another spike of 255 cases in the week up to August 8 – almost double the previous week’s total of

has now been able to track down nine out of ten people the national system had previously missed.

here Since then the council saw a rise in cases among those in their 40s and 50s.Meanwhile, Oldham’s coronavirus infection rate has continued to climb rapidly.The borough still has the highest rate in Greater Manchester, at 77.2 in the week ending August 6, the latest government data shows.There were 183 cases in Oldham that week, which is 26 more than the previous week ending July 30.Rochdale’s rate of infection has continued to climb with the figures released on Sunday (August 9) showing the

Oldham town centre at about 10.10am on Saturday. The van and the Toyota then smashed into a black Fiat 500L and a white Vauxhall Astra at the junction of Manchester Street and Tattersall Street.The driver of the Toyota – a 50-year-old man – suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

hereOne resident - who asked not to be named - said they saw neighbours “frantically banging” on the door of a nearby family home to alert them to the danger.They said they were woken just after 3am by the sound of screeching tyres and a smashing noise.“Then I heard the noise of a car speeding off at high speed,” they said.“As I went to the rear window there was a White BMW 3 series engulfed in flames.“The car was parked a few yards away from the property and almost set the house next door on

Anyone with any information is asked to contact GMP’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit on 0161 856 4741 quoting incident number 2342 of 06/08/2020, or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

the local lockdown was imposed last week, the latest government data reveals. Figures released on Thursday afternoon show that the infection rate in Oldham has risen sharply.Rates are going up week-on-week in seven of the ten boroughs.Oldham's infection rate has now reached 67.9 per 100,000 people after there were 161 positive cases in the week up until this Monday, August 3.

hereA 35-year-old man arrested at the scene on suspicion of driving whilst unfit through drink or drugs is due to be questioned by police.Huddersfield Road (A62) is currently closed in both directions following the collision, which happened between Dunham Street and Culvert Street.The road has been closed since around 6.30pm.An air ambulance is reported to have landed at a local school.Man Traffic tweeted: "A62 Huddersfield Rd, Waterhead in Oldham "UPDATE: Involves a cyclist and van at Stamford

A care home where children set a bedroom on fire, use cannabis and demonstrate ‘extreme aggression’ when demanding pocket money from staff has been criticised by inspectors.Ofsted carried out an ‘urgent monitoring inspection’ of a facility in Oldham and identified a series of ‘poor practices’ around the care being provided in a damning report.The visit was prompted by a safeguarding notification which alerted the watchdog to a fire which had been ‘deliberately started’ by two children in a

hereAt about 4am they arrived on Cheviot Avenue, and 'completely by chance' they bumped into Raheel Khan, the court was told.The prosecution claims Raheel Khan challenged Mr Khan and the three other men he was with about their presence on the street.A 'brawl' ensued, jurors were told, involving the defendants and others including Ahsan Khan."The fight did not last long," prosecutor Peter Wright QC said."No one was badly hurt and the only real injury was possibly to someone’s pride."Shortly

A new coronavirus testing centre has opened in Oldham after a spike of infections in the borough led to stricter restrictions on socialising being brought back.The new facility has been built over the weekend and launched on Monday, August 3 at the car park of Oasis Academy on Hollins Road.It will offer ‘walk-through testing’ so residents don’t need to be in a vehicle to access the site.Councillor Zahid Chauhan, cabinet member for health and social care said: “This site is accessible to many

expressed their frustrations at having the new restrictions imposed despite the relatively low rate of infection in the borough.

This graph charts the steep rise in Covid-19 cases in Oldham over the last week.In the week leading up to July 25, confirmed incidences of the virus increased 'dramatically' with 119 new positive cases being recorded across the borough.The surge in cases is mostly being seen in central and western districts, new cases are being recorded all across the borough - with an increasing number of cases in the younger population, particularly among 20 to 40-year-olds.The spike has resulted in the return

Deprivation and the easing of lockdown measures have contributed to an alarming spike in Covid-19 cases in Oldham that have prompted chiefs to bring back tougher restrictions.In the week leading up to July 25, confirmed incidences of the virus increased 'dramatically' with 119 new positive cases being recorded across the borough.To avoid a Leicester-style local lockdown leaders are asking vulnerable people to continue shielding until August 14.And for the next two weeks residents are being told

the council has imposed tougher restrictions to try and prevent a local lockdown.

here“Where meeting outside you should meet in groups of no more than six people from different households.