Jailed Islamic extremist who was visited in prison by Salman Abedi denies grooming the suicide bomber

criminal offences over the past week, with M.E.N. reporters there to cover the most serious cases.

Wigan in the seven days up to February 27. The figure is up from 24 the previous week and marks a 112pc increase.According to figures from Public Health England, the infection rate for Abram & Bickershaw has soared to 604.6 cases per 100,000 people, the highest rate anywhere in the region.The M.E.N.

Wigan man who was killed on the streets of Greece has finally arrived home more than two years later. Lee Robinson, 41, was initially buried as an unidentified person after being stabbed to death in Athens in December 2018.

court cases our reporters have covered in February 2021.

straight to your inbox every day for freeReferee Stuart Attwell admitted to Harry Maguire that it would have been controversial for him to award Manchester United a penalty against Chelsea. That is according to United defender Luke Shaw, who revealed the details of a first-half conversation between the official and the United captain.

hereLatham, of Prestwich, Manchester, is also charged with failing to provide information about the driver of a car involved in an offence to the police.He told the court he didn't provide the information as he was not made aware that it had been requested by the police.If found guilty at a subsequent hearing, the penalty for driving between 91mph and 100mph could be four to six points and a fine.The case was adjourned by District Judge Timothy Boswell to March 28.As well as playing Lip

Farnworth, to reports of the 'sudden death' at around 2.30am on Sunday, February 21, 2020.

direct to your inboxStrangeways prison has been hit by a major outbreak of Coronavirus after nearly 200 members of staff and inmates tested positive, the M.E.N understands.Over 90 members of prison staff, and over 100 inmates have contracted the virus, a source has confirmed. Official government figures show the number of cases in the Strangeways district of Manchester rose by more than 105 per cent in the week ending February 16.

Rochdale, launched an abusive tirade against the officer calling him a ‘dirty P*** b******’, Manchester Magistrates Court heard.

five wings of Forest Bank prison in Salford are in lockdown due to a coronavirus outbreak.That outbreak disrupted proceedings at Manchester Crown Court with one high-profile trial and two sentencing hearings having to be postponed due to defendants not being produced from Forest Bank due to the lockdown.The latest data from the Ministry of Justice shows that there were 846 positive Covid-19 cases among adult prisoners for the week ending 15 February in the UK, down from 1,005 the week before.The

direct to your inboxNearly a third of Manchester Evening News readers think it’s too early to lift lockdown restrictions.And the results of a new survey show they would prefer to see restrictions on visiting shops relaxed before indoor visits with family and friends can happen.A survey of 5,676 people on the M.E.N website found that 32 percent think it’s too early to lift lockdown.That compares to 16 percent who think now is the right time.For others, progress in vaccinations was key - with 30

in Salford and surrounding areas.  The incidents happened between August and October 2019.Police say he entered the homes of several lone women before tying their hands and feet together.He would then threaten them and go on to ransack their homes.No one was injured but the incidents left the victims traumatised.He was today sentenced at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court to nine years in jail after pleading guilty to 10 counts of burglary, two counts of robbery, five counts of theft and two

Sign up to the MySalford newsletter and don't miss a thing happening in and around the cityFive wings of Forest Bank prison in Salford are in lockdown due to a spate of coronavirus cases.The outbreak has resulted in proceedings in a major high-profile trial being delayed as defendants could not be produced to Manchester Crown Court from the jail.And a sentencing of two defendants in a two others cases at Manchester Crown Court was also postponed for the same reason.In a statement a spokesperson

straight to your inbox every day for free Daniel James claims he meant to play the ball into the path of Bruno Fernandes for Manchester United's second goal in their Europa League romp against Real Sociedad. Fernandes scored United's first two goals of the tie, the second confirmed after he'd initially been flagged offside after sweeping in a first-time shot from James' lay-off.

Get the inside track on the big stories from Manchester courts with our weekly newsletterA pensioner who strangled his wife to death after he 'snapped' days into the first UK lockdown has been jailed.Anthony Williams, 70, told police he “literally choked the living daylights” out of his wife of 46 years on the morning of March 28 last year at their home in south Wales.Williams was cleared of murder following a trial in which a psychologist argued his anxiety “was heightened” because of lockdown,

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola allowed his Manchester City players a moment of praise after their demolition job on Tottenham... before claiming he would deny he had ever said anything.

direct to your inboxFamilies of Manchester prisoners say they have been forgotten in the pandemic. In prisons, inmates have been consigned to their cells for up to 23 hours a day to try and prevent the spread of the virus.In-person visits were cancelled in March, then briefly allowed in the summer, before being stopped again in the autumn, preventing children from being to able to see their parents face to face for months on end.The separation has had agonising consequences for kids - and

direct to your inboxThe delay in getting firefighters to the Manchester Arena bomb attack meant 'vital assistance to the dying was denied them', the inquiry into the atrocity has heard.Regular fire engines loaded with one stretcher each and specialist fire service vehicles each with five stretchers, as well as firefighters trained in treating blast injuries, took two hours to get to the Arena after Salman Abedi detonated a huge bomb in his backpack as mainly young concert-goers were leaving an