'Feral youths, drugs and fighting': Judge's warning that Piccadilly Gardens brawling could put people off the city centre

direct to your inboxTwo sisters have been slapped with a £150 fine EACH after feeding a McDonald's hash brown to pigeons in Piccadilly Gardens.Jacqueline Falconer, 53, and her sister Nicola, 48, were Christmas shopping in Manchester city centre on Wednesday morning (December 9).They said they left Primark to get breakfast from McDonald's - and got their sausage and egg McMuffin meals to take away, due to Covid-19 restrictions.The sisters, from Worsley, Salford, sat on a step in Piccadilly

direct to your inboxPolice seized cocaine, cannabis and heroin following dawn raids in Tameside today.Officers also arrested four men in suspicion of drug dealing after executing warrants at two addresses in Hyde.The suspects remain in police custody and are being questioned.Greater Manchester Police confirmed officers recovered cocaine, cannabis and heroin with an estimated street value of £10,000, alongside cutting agents and several thousand pounds in cash.Four men, 19, 26, 32, and 51, were

HMP Forest Bank in Salford on Sunday afternoon. Officers were made aware of parcels being thrown into the exercise yard inside prison grounds at around 1pm, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said today in a statement.

direct to your inboxHundreds of people gathered for an anti-lockdown protest in Piccadilly Gardens which spilled over into a march through the city centre.Holding placards and banners with a variety of messages - including ‘Your Voice Your Choice’ and ‘Boris Loves Satan’ - the group gathered for the ‘Rise Up Manchester’ event at around 1pm on Sunday afternoon (December 12).But Manchester City Councillor Pat Karney has slammed those who marched down Market Street as ‘totally dangerous and

direct to your inboxFashion boss Seema Malhotra is fighting back after lockdown by launching her first ever dedicated store.Seema, the owner of the Manchester-based online fashion brand Forever Unique, has opened the shop in the Trafford Centre.Determined Seema, one of the stars of the hit ITVBe reality series The Real Housewives of Cheshire, believes there's now light at the end of the tunnel for retail and Manchester - the 'fashion city' - where her brand was founded."Who could have predicted

direct to your inboxPiccadilly remains the busiest railway station in the north west, with more than 32 million passengers passing through last year.And with Manchester city centre's phenomenal growth expected to continue in the coming decades, it is only likely to get busier.That is why the city's leaders say they are determined to get the redesign of Piccadilly right, first time.The next stage in that process is responding to the government's refinements to the design of HS2, the high-speed

direct to your inboxA rally in Manchester today (Saturday) called on the government to implement a 'zero Covid strategy' by introducing stricter measures to save lives.The small gathering in Piccadilly Gardens is said to have mirrored events held across the country.Support for the call is said to have been garnered from doctors, scientists, students and trade unions - with organisers criticising what they called the hovernment's 'reckless return to regional tier measures'.They said it would be

direct to your inboxDoctors fear that symptoms of lung cancer are being mistaken for Covid-19, and that people could die as a consequence.Lung specialists and GPs say cancer referrals dramatically fell across Greater Manchester during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.But unlike other forms of the disease, lung cancer referrals still haven't returned to normal levels.It's become a major area of concern for experts, namely because lung cancer remains the biggest single cause of premature

Bury and the daughter of a major drug dealer from Doncaster, Manchester Crown Court heard.

direct to your inboxThree arrests have been made in dawn raids carried out to crackdown on the supply of class A drugs.Officers raided properties in Moss Side, Longsight and Manchester city centre this morning (Tuesday). They were searched as part of GMP 's Operation Bathurst, an investigation into the supply of class A drugs in the Moss Side and Longsight areas.

police team in Greater Manchester has taken to social media to share news of its particularly 'busy week'. GMP Leigh, Atherton and Hindley posted about a string of incidents that they have spotted, while patrolling Leigh, since last Thursday (November 26).

Lightopia is preparing to welcome visitors later this week, filling Heaton Park with colourful lanterns and light installations.The festival, which has delayed its opening due to the national lockdown, will officially kick off on Thursday December 3.Many people who held tickets for earlier dates have had their bookings pushed into the new year, with the festival running through now until January 10.It's one of the few festive events that will be able to go ahead, thanks to being outdoors.But the

hereRemi Merrimam, 33, of Cambourne Road, Hattersley, Tameside, has been charged with eight counts of conspiracy to supply drugs and two counts of conspiracy to convey an article into a prison.Lewis Carr, 29, of Hart Mill Close, Mossley, has been charged with eight counts of conspiracy to supply drugs.Andrew Brereton, 54, of Bob Massey Close, Openshaw, Manchester, has been charged with two counts of conspiracy to supply drugs.Matthew Lister, 40, of Monks Lane, Breightmet, Bolton, has been

hereNorthern are conveying passengers between Manchester Piccadilly and Leeds in both directions until further notice, Avanti West Coast said.The operator said the following trains have been cancelled:11:40 London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly, due 13:4611:55 Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston, due 14:0612:20 London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly, due 14:3512:40 London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly, due 14:4612:55 Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston, due 15:07No further details have

hereA chunk of the wall however has been preserved.

mounting tensions between Greater Manchester leaders and the government over lockdown measures.

Manchester's Finest showed a huge pile of rubble on the floor the next morning. Council bosses say it's a 'new beginning' for the Gardens.

A luxury £27m four-star hotel backed by former Manchester United player Cristiano Ronaldo has been given the go ahead by city planners.The 151-room hotel near Piccadilly Gardens is a joint venture between the footballer and Portuguese hoteliers Pestana, and will be part of the CR7 brand when it opens in 2023.A ground floor bar, cafe, basement gym and roof terrace are proposed over 11 floors, while the area outside the hotel will also be improved with widened pavements and new trees.It will take

Tameside. Police seized a 'substantial amount' of drugs during the raids including crack cocaine, a quarter kilo of heroin and a cannabis farm.They also seized some cash.Seven men - aged between 22 and 54 - were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply class A drugs.A 54-year-old woman was also arrested on suspicion of the same offence.They all remain in custody for questioning.