Locked up in January: The criminals put behind bars in Greater Manchester last month

direct to your inboxCoronavirus has brought heartache to thousands of families across Greater Manchester.More than 5,200 people have died in our region's hospitals alone. And tragically, this number is continuing to rise.

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direct to your inboxResidents in Greater Manchester have faced one bout of cold weather after the next since the start of the year.Last week, conditions were bitterly cold, with temperatures dropping below zero.And before then, the Met Office had to issue a number of severe weather warnings for snow and ice covering the region.With more time spent at home than ever during the national lockdown, many households have had to have their heating on for long periods each day.However, you may be able

direct to your inboxThe NHS has confirmed the deaths of 18 more patients in hospitals in Greater Manchester who had tested positive for coronavirus.Nationally, a further 309 hospital deaths were reported on Thursday.Of those, 42 were in hospitals in the north west region.Six further deaths have been recorded at Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, with five more at Stockport NHS Foundation Trust.Three further deaths were recorded at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust and at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh

praised families and staff at Corpus Christi RC Primary in Chadderton, Oldham, for pulling together amid the pandemic, we asked parents to tell us who they wanted to thank - and we were inundated with suggestions. More than 200 parents replied to posts on our Manchester Family Facebook page naming schools and teachers who have made this unprecedented time easier for pupils.

direct to your inboxGreater Manchester Police have been forced to step in after a 'criminal' Weetabix combination went viral on Twitter.The tweet in question was posted by the popular cereal brand this morning, and quickly caught the attention of cops.And when you see what Weetabix were suggesting, it's clear to see why.Instead of the uncontested cereal and milk combination, it was suggested that customers try their Weetabix with something new.Baked Beans."Why should bread have all the fun, when

direct to your inboxA new initiative aimed at transforming black-owned business in Greater Manchester is set to be launched next month.The programme, ran by the Black United Representation Network (BURN), will be providing black-owned businesses in the region with their own board of advisors.With a limited number of spaces available only 10 businesses will be able to take part in the scheme.Those looking to apply for the programme must fit the criteria of being a black-owned business, have at

direct to your inboxIt was a tragic twist of fate.Artist George Mayer-Marton had carefully packed his possessions and life's work to save them from the Nazis by emigrating to England.The Hungarian had made his reputation and home in Vienna - but his Jewish heritage and artistic brilliance made him vulnerable.The German invasion of Austria in March 1938 was the trigger for him to leave that year.

Trafford was home to six of the most expensive homes sold in the region last year – the priciest being a £4.6m detached property.  At the other end of the scale, many of the cheapest homes in Greater Manchester were sold in Oldham, Bolton, Rochdale and Wigan last year.The cheapest sold in Farnworth, Bolton for £24,838 in July. Last year, the threshold for Stamp Duty in England was raised to £500,000, with equivalent taxes in Wales and Scotland raised to a threshold of £250,000. The tax holiday

direct to your inboxGreater Manchester’s hospitals have almost run out of intensive care beds at points over the last couple of weeks, the region’s health lead has revealed, as the system has hit its peak of the third wave.Sir Richard Leese said that at times, critical care occupancy had come ‘very close to the absolute number of beds we’ve currently got available’.In the last week there has been a dip in admissions, however, and the third wave is now believed to have peaked within the NHS here

direct to your inboxTens of thousands of the lowest paid people in Greater Manchester have been rejected after applying for financial support to self-isolate due to Covid-19.So far 22,598 applications for support under the Test and Trace Support Payment scheme have been received by Greater Manchester’s 10 councils.In total 13,390 - or 59% - of those applications have been rejected.Reasons for refusal varied and included no loss of income for self-employed people who were already receiving

Victoria Theatre, SalfordThe beautiful terracotta facade of the Victoria Theatre is overrun with vegetation, and the Grade II-listed building has been a target for vandalism over the years.There are fears that the roof needs to be urgently repaired to prevent permanent damage to the building, which the Theatres Trust hopes could be converted into a multi-purpose space.In January 2021, Theatres Trust applied to Historic England to upgrade the listing of the Victoria from II to II* as it is the

direct to your inboxAround 70pc of Covid-19 cases in Tameside are believed to be caused by the new more contagious strain of the virus.Health chiefs say that the new variant of coronavirus, which was first detected in Kent, is now ‘dominant’ in the borough and across much of Greater Manchester.Speaking at a meeting of the health and wellbeing board, director of public health Jeanelle de Gruchy said they needed to be ‘really vigilant’ against the new strain.“We’re seeing high numbers of outbreaks

direct to your inbox People were locked up for a wide range of  criminal offences    over the past week, with M.E.N. reporters there to cover the most serious cases.

Bolton chef decided to cook up some affordable 'school dinners' and share his recipes, following the controversy about 'woefully inadequate' food parcels in parts of Greater Manchester. Gareth Mason, who recently went viral for his 'three-tier' fish, chips and mushy peas pie, decided to visit Aldi and see how many ingredients he could buy for £20.

Wigan is now emerging as a property hotspot.

Sign up to the MySalford newsletter and don't miss a thing happening in and around the cityClifton currently has the lowest infection rate in Greater Manchester.Only five Covid cases were confirmed there over the week ending January 16.The Salford neighbourhood is one of only two in all of Greater Manchester with an infection rate under 100 cases per 100,000 people in the seven-day period.The latest government figures reveal that the infection rate in Clifton was 84.3 cases per 100,000 people