Police stop car in Manchester and find four men from different homes in London 'visiting family'

What do you think about the school's message to the mum? Do you think schools should be sending safeguarding staff to check on pupils if there's little communication between home and school? Do you feel under pressure to be submitting your child's work to school? Let us know in the comments here, or share your views on our Manchester Family Facebook page. The mum, who did not want to be identified, said with her son only just turning five, he doesn't legally have to be in school until

EXCLUSIVE: Pedro Correa (The Middle), Booboo Stewart (X-Men: Days of Future Past), Raymond Cruz (Breaking Bad), Simon Rex (Scary Movie franchise), and Steven Bauer (Scarface) will star in My Dead Dad, a coming-of-age indie drama from executive producers Declan Baldwin and Karl Hartman of Big Indie Pictures, the production company behind acclaimed films like Manchester by the Sea and Beautiful Boy.

straight to your inbox every day for freeThe games are still coming thick and fast and Manchester United are back in action on Wednesday as Sheffield United visit Old Trafford.United go into the game full of confidence after beating Liverpool in the FA Cup on Sunday and having not lost in the Premier League in 13 matches.The players were back in training at the start of the week ahead of the Blades' visit.

direct to your inboxPolice are appealing for information about a missing man last seen on Saturday.Thomas Sarsfield is from the Milnrow in Rochdale, but also known to frequent Oldham.Police say he's been known to use bus, tram and train networks.Anyone with information is asked to call 101 and quote Greater Manchester Police missing reference MSP/06PP/0000130/21. 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

direct to your inboxGareth Taylor heaped praise on Chloe Kelly as Manchester City Women netted seven goals for the second successive week. After a 7-0 victory over Aston Villa last weekend in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League, City followed it up with a 7-1 win away at Brighton & Hove Albion.

direct to your inboxThe Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital is to open emergency Covid beds for adults in a sign of the unprecedented pressure facing Greater Manchester’s hospitals.Sir Richard Leese, the region’s health chief, said the situation in the system was now ‘critical’ as NHS bosses have scrambled to discharge as many people as possible ahead of a sustained peak over the coming three weeks.Crisis meetings have been held to determine the ability to scale up beds, as Salford Royal and

direct to your inboxThe NHS has sadly confirmed the deaths of 29 more patients in hospitals in Greater Manchester who had tested positive for Covid-19.The region's hospital death toll now stands at 4,757.NHS bosses said on Friday a further 993 people who tested positive for the virus have died in hospitals across England.It brings the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 65,104.In the north west, a further 94 hospital deaths were reported, the NHS said on Friday.A

direct to your inbox A road is closed in Oldham due to a serious crash between a car and a motorbike.

direct to your inboxA flood 'alert' has been put in force in Greater Manchester today after hours of heavy rainfall overnight.The alert warns of 'possible' flooding around the area of the middle River Mersey catchment area.It includes areas near Bramhall in Stockport, Sale, Altrincham and Urmston.The Environment Agency warned: "Flooding is possible - be prepared."And Transport for Greater Manchester said: "With heavy rain in Greater Manchester this morning, expect flooding in some areas.

direct to your inboxNerves are growing within the Greater Manchester system about whether the current stop-start rate of vaccine supply will be sufficient to hit government targets by mid-February.Some areas are understood to have received barely half as many doses this week as they have capacity to deliver, while across the board there is worry about the last-minute nature of their arrival from the national distribution system - meaning local health officials and GPs are struggling to plan and

straight to your inbox every day for freeOle Gunnar Solskjaer insists he would be open to moving for an influential mid-season target in the mould of Bruno Fernandes but does not expect Manchester United to pull off such a coup two years running.After much deliberation, United eventually completed the signing of Fernandes, 26, from Sporting Lisbon in a £67.6million deal last January and they did not lose a Premier League game for the rest of the season following the Portuguese's

direct to your inboxFrontline medical staff treating Covid patients at Greater Manchester hospitals have been told they must wait 11 weeks for their second doses of the Pfizer vaccine.It was reported last month that the government intended to extend the period between jabs from three or four weeks to as many as 12 to maximise those receiving the first dose amid the rise of a mutant strain.This means the second dose of both the Oxford/AstraZeneca and the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines will be within

direct to your inboxNeighbours have described the dramatic moment armed police stormed a north Manchester street after a man was shot with a pellet gun during a 'dispute'. A man in his 50s was taken to hospital with a head injury after the incident in New Moston on Friday morning.

straight to your inbox every day for freeOle Gunnar Solskjaer dismissed the notion that Manchester United's semi-final issue under his management is becoming psychological. United's 2-0 Carabao Cup defeat to Man City was the fourth time under Solskjaer that the Reds have slipped up in a semi-final — and the second time in as many years they have lost to City in the League Cup last four.

straight to your inbox every day for freeOle Gunnar Solskjaer said Manchester United's players cannot always depend on Bruno Fernandes after their fourth semi-final defeat in the last year. Fernandes was off-colour in United's 2-0 loss to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup on a night when none of their forwards performed.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola admitted he didn't know when his Manchester City side kicked off at Chelsea if they would have lost their Premier League momentum. The Blues boss was elated after the 2-0 win over Boxing Day not just with the result but with the way his team played in the victory over Steve Bruce's Newcastle.

straight to your inbox every day for freeIt would have taken the most optimistic Manchester United fan to believe Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would find himself three feasible right-wing options, having missed out on Jadon Sancho in the summer.The general consensus, after United had stated their unwilling to match Borussia Dortmund's asking price for Sancho, was that Solskjaer would struggle to fill the hole left by his non-arrival.

straight to your inboxManchester City goalkeeper Ederson Moraes appears to be a doubt for Sunday's match against Chelsea and the Manchester Derby on Wednesday.Pep Guardiola 's men face Manchester United at Old Trafford during the week in a Carabao Cup semi-final clash, and they could be without their number one. Ederson has said he is self-isolating, putting him at risk of missing the clash with Manchester United in just four days' time.

direct to your inboxThe streets were empty as Greater Manchester said goodbye to 2020 and ushered in a new year - but many were determined to keep alive at least one tradition.Our video from Werneth Low shows how many parts of Greater Manchester were ablaze with colour as people set off fireworks at midnight to celebrate the arrival of 2021.Around 200 socially distanced people gathered on the popular spot to watch the moment our region said goodbye to 2020 and ushered in the New Year.Car horns