The criminals locked up in Greater Manchester so far in December

direct to your inboxDozens of chickens have been dumped across Greater Manchester after 'panic buyers' bought them to lay eggs. The RSPCA has warned that the birds are being dumped in huge numbers due to lockdown and fears of the return of bird flu.

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

direct to your inboxIt has been a year like no other.However Great Mancunians have still made headlines across the world, for all sorts of reasons.Here we look at those who have put the region on the map in 2020, a year we will never forget.2020 has undoubtedly belonged to Manchester United and England star Marcus Rashford.However it is his incredible work off the pitch which has made the headlines, even more than his impressive goal-scoring feats on it.The Withington-born and Wythenshawe raised

direct to your inbox"It's absolutely gut-wrenching."Hair salon owner Jane Nixon describes how she felt as Matt Hancock announced that Greater Manchester would be moving into Tier 4.And it's a feeling thousands of business owners across the region will be familiar with.A change in restrictions, businesses finally being allowed to open then being forced to shut again just a few weeks later.

direct to your inboxDoctors and paramedics say they are bracing themselves for a new tide of Covid patients to hit Greater Manchester's hospitals within weeks. Speaking as plans for the region's move to Tier 4 were announced and the return to school for secondary pupils was delayed, Dr Carole Gavin, a consultant in Greater Manchester, said concerns were growing as hospitals in the south battle to find beds as infection rates - largely found to be caused by the new mutant strain - rise.

direct to your inboxA Greater Manchester Police chief has urged people to stay at home in Tier 4 tomorrow night instead of celebrating New Year's Eve as they normally would. Under Tier 4 coronavirus restrictions, people are required by law to remain at home unless they need to leave their home for essential reasons.

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Greater Manchester certainly has a lot to look forward to. Despite a challenging 12 months, the region already has a long list of new developments coming up in the next year and through to 2023.

direct to your inboxIt's been another busy couple of weeks in the region's courts in the lead up to Christmas.People have been locked up for all manner of  criminal offences  with M.E.N. reporters there to cover the most serious.There was the vicious knifeman who has left three people permanently disfigured and traumatised.Then there was the troubled baker told investors she had 'turned her life around'.

direct to your inboxTwo men from Greater Manchester who won £20,000 on the hit BBC show Race Across the World have donated their prize money to charity.Emon Choudhury, 36, from Stockport, beat four other teams to win the race alongside his nephew Jamiul Choudhury, 25, from Oldham.The pair beat the odds to complete an epic 54-day journey from Mexico City to the south of Argentina for the second series of the BBC2 show.On their travels, the men were visibly moved by the number of homeless children

Don't miss a thing that's happening in and around Bury by signing up to the free MyBury newsletterThe coronavirus infection rate has gone up in Greater Manchester for the first time in weeks.It currently sits at 161.4 per 100,000 people during the week ending December 15 - that's a 6.3 per cent increase on the previous week.It is the first week-on-week increase in Greater Manchester of more than 1 percent since October 31.The infection rate has remained fairly level across the region for the

direct to your inboxTameside now has the most places with hardly any cases of Covid-19 in Greater Manchester.The borough’s council boss says the explanation is simple – everyone has ‘played their part’.The latest hyper-local neighbourhood data shows that there are five areas of the borough which saw two or fewer cases in the last week.Ashton North, Audenshaw, Hurst Cross, Denton East and Dukinfield West all saw either two, one or no new infections in the seven days to December 11 according to

direct to your inboxGreater Manchester has stayed in Tier 3 following a government review.There was speculation that the region could be downgraded to Tier 2 following a dramatic drop in coronavirus case rates.Greater Manchester boroughs now have infection rates that are lower than the average for England, the latest Public Health England data has shown.Mayor Andy Burnham also argued on Wednesday that there was a "clear case" for the region being eased into Tier 2.However, Matt Hancock announced

direct to your inbox Nine Greater Manchester boroughs now have coronavirus infection rates that are lower than the average for England - but numbers are beginning to creep up in some areas.

direct to your inbox The latest coronavirus infection rates for every local authority in England have been released.

direct to your inboxCoronavirus has brought heartache to thousands of families across Greater Manchester.More than 3,800 people have died in our region's hospitals alone. And tragically, this number is continuing to rise.Behind the Covid-19 death statistics that we publish each day are human beings who all had stories to tell.

direct to your inboxTwenty-six more people have died from coronavirus in Greater Manchester's hospitals.The region's hospital death toll has risen to 3,900, the latest NHS figures show.Nine more Covid-related deaths were recorded by Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust in its 24 hour data.The trust runs the Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI), Wythenshawe Hospital, the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital and Saint Mary's hospital.Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust confirmed five new deaths.

direct to your inboxThe latest coronavirus infection rates demonstrate a widening gap between northern and southern boroughs in Greater Manchester.Public Health data from the week ending December 6 shows that boroughs which lie south of the city now have an infection rate lower than the national average.It comes as Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said the disparity in rates could see the conurbation split up into different tiers when the government come to review the system next week.He

direct to your inboxEighteen more people have died from coronavirus in Greater Manchester's hospitals.The region's hospital death toll has now risen to 3,787, the latest NHS figures show.Thirteen new deaths were recorded at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, the organisation in charge of the Manchester Royal Infirmary, Wythenshawe Hospital, Saint Mary's and the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital.Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust confirmed four new deaths.

direct to your inboxFrom the man who killed his 'best friend for 20 years' after slamming into roundabout at 'over 100mph' - to the 'Iceman' Mark Fellows who was handed another life sentence for gangland attack before he murdered Salford's 'Mr Big' Paul Massey, these are some of the criminals locked up in November.The region's courts have given out hefty prison sentences for all manner of crimes last month with M.E.N.