'Serial paedophile' who posed as girls online jailed for 96 child sex abuse offences

court cases our reporters have covered in February 2021.

straight to your inbox every day for freeFormer Manchester United captain Roy Keane was involved in a heated debate with ex-Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp live on Sky Sports over the quality at Tottenham Hotspur.The pair were in complete disagreement over the current state of Spurs' squad.

direct to your inboxOld Trafford recently set the scene for the return of the Sky One TV drama COBRA.Cameras have been rolling in Greater Manchester for filming of the second series of the show, which follows Britain’s leading experts during a national emergency.And the drama, starring Trainspotting actor Robert Carlyle, is nurturing new production talent.Trainees from Manchester are among the team working on the series with ScreenSkills, the industry-led skills body for the screen

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

direct to your inboxThe family of a woman who died at the hands of her violent partner say they can finally move on from a ‘life of hell’ after a coroner concluded that she had been unlawfully killed.The bodies of Nichola Jayne Campbell and John Lee Kirwin were discovered in a bedsit in Harpurhey in December 2017.Nichola - known to family and friends as Niki - was found with multiple stab wounds next to a knife covered in Mr Kirwin’s fingerprints.An inquest held at Manchester Coroner’s Court on

direct to your inbox A man has been charged with guns and drugs offences following police raids in Stockport. Jack Wilde, 23, of Brownwood Avenue, Offerton was charged with possession of a firearm, possession of cocaine, possession of cocaine with intent to supply and possession of cannabis.He has been remanded in custody and is due to appear at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court on March 19.

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

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,

direct to your inboxA convicted terrorist recruiter has denied helping Salman Abedi carry out the Manchester Arena attack from prison and claimed his mental state is 'too fragile' to give evidence to the public inquiry into the atrocity.Abdalraouf Abdallah, 27, is said to have used an 'illicit' mobile to attempt to call Abedi while he was in prison in early 2017 a few months before attack which claimed 22 lives and injured hundreds more.Abedi also visited him in prison, once in February 2015

straight to your inbox every day for freeHere are the Manchester United evening headlines on Monday, February 15.Manchester United centre-back Harry Maguire had a huge claim for a penalty overturned in Sunday's 1-1 draw with West Brom. The United captain went down after a challenge from Semi Ajayi, with referee Craig Pawson initially pointing to the spot.

straight to your inbox every day for freeAnthony Martial was subjected to further racist abuse following Manchester United's 1-1 draw at West Brom.Martial and United teammate Axel Tuanzebe were targeted by racist trolls last month after the Premier League defeat to Sheffield United on January 27 and the Frenchman was abused on social media again on Sunday.A number of Instagram users left racist words and symbols in the comments section of Martial's most recent post, uploaded 16 weeks ago.Last

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

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes making people prove their identity before opening a social media account is key to stopping abuse and threats online. In recent weeks, football has seen a rise in players being abused online and on Thursday England’s football bodies united to call on Facebook and Twitter to do more to stop it.

Yesterday (Thursday 11th February), Danny Parmar, 40, of Ashbourne Avenue, Bolton, was arrested and charged with conspiracy to supply class A controlled drugs, conspiracy to supply class B drugs and conspiracy to sell / transfer a pistol to being a prohibited weapon.He has been remanded in custody until his next court appearance.As part of the same investigation two other men were charged last month with firearms and other offences after being arrested at Manchester Airport.The pair were held on

direct to your inboxThis is the moment The Chase fans - especially those in Manchester - were stunned after a contestant on the show made a major music mix-up.Contestant Charlene was the third contestant up against new Chaser Darragh Ennis in the latest episode of the hit ITV game show.The Essex resident had an unfortunate cash builder round, only managing to scrape £1,000 for her head-to-head with Darragh.But the worst was yet to come, with the 38-year-old scuppering her very first

Get the inside track on the big stories from Manchester courts with our weekly newsletterThe 'heavy' of a gang who posed as police officers and kidnapped a 'drug dealer' before demanding £500,000 in cash and drugs for his release has admitted his part in the plot.Micah Walfall, 36, who was referred to by other offenders as 'Big Dave', pleaded guilty to conspiracy to kidnap.Five other members of the gang were previously jailed for a total of more than 50 years, for their part in the audacious