What is a state funeral? Hundreds of thousands of people sign Captain Sir Tom Moore petition

list of more than 100 schools that mums, dads and grandparents said had gone 'above and beyond' to support pupils and families.

direct to your inboxThree Mancunian sisters who conned businesses in Liverpool out of thousands of pounds are to be forced to pay back their ill-gotten gains.Sarah, Lynsey and Emmiline Burdon, from North Manchester, targeted luxury shops, restaurants, beauticians and hairdressers in the Liverpool ONE shopping centre and the city's Met Quarter, the Liverpool Echo reports.They stole thousands of pounds from their victims, then later splashed the cash on fags, booze and hundreds of lottery

direct to your inboxA trial into how a coronavirus vaccine works in children is set to take place.Tests will investigate the efficacy of Oxford/AstraZeneca in young people aged from six to 17.It will determine whether the jab will produce a strong immune response, with 300 volunteers set to take part.The trial will start later this month.Up to 240 children will receive the vaccine, while others will be given a control meningitis tab.Get the latest updates from across Greater Manchester direct to

direct to your inboxHundreds of bus drivers in Manchester are set to strike later this month in a dispute over pay and conditions. Members of Unite employed by Go North West will walk out from February 28.

Salford, when she was struck by two cars and killed, an inquest has heard. Selena Mystara Meyers, from Tennessee, visited her fiancé in Worsley 'a couple of times every year', according to police coroner's officer Neil McCaffrey.

direct to your inboxMore than ten thousand people in Moss Side and neighbouring communities are to be offered immediate Covid-19 tests after a new variant of the virus was identified in the area.From tomorrow Manchester council will be inviting all over-16s living, working or studying within a specific footprint - including most of Moss Side and small parts of Whalley Range, Hulme and Fallowfield - for tests, after four cases of a new strain were identified in two unrelated households.Dedicated

direct to your inbox The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine offers only limited protection against mild disease caused by the South African variant of coronavirus, according to research.

straight to your inboxPatrick de Paula has been labelled as a potential successor to Fernandinho at Manchester City, but could also be transformed into a bullish centre-half in the future.That is according to South American football expert Tim Vickery, who compared the Palmeiras midfielder to RB Leipzig star Dayot Upamecano thanks to their similar styles of play.Brazilian outlet UOL have reported that City were in attendance at last week's Copa Libertadores final, which Palmeiras won thanks to a

straight to your inbox every day for freeManchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is 'very pleased' for the Glazer family that their NFL franchise, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is involved in this weekend's Super Bowl.The Bucs beat the Green Bay Packers to secure their first Super Bowl appearance since their 2003 win and Sunday's game will be staged at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.The Glazers have owned United since their hostile takeover in May 2005, with Joel Glazer and Avram Glazer

reported earlier this week how there were calls from some families for children to start their current year from scratch in September.

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

direct to your inboxThey are becoming the foundation for many criminal enterprises - children.Their exploitation is a key way in which profits are made from supplying drugs and even moving firearms.Gangsters groom them with 'love'', attention, blackmail, cash, or a new pair of trainers.Once in their grip they are sent from Greater Manchester to rural towns up and down the UK to sell weed, heroin, crack, and cocaine.In inner-city Manchester, children as young as 15 have been armed with guns by

direct to your inboxA prolific crook took the lead role in an audacious fraud which targeted luxury Lake District hotels, shops and restaurants.Sonia Malhi, 39, who had more than 100 previous convictions, travelled from her Greater Manchester home and headed up the scam to dupe businesses across Cumbria during January last year.This involved the use of stolen receipts from card terminal transactions made by innocent members of the public whose accounts were also then plundered.As accomplices

direct to your inboxGogglebox's Tom Malone Jnr has been revealing a lot of behind-the-scenes gossip from the show. The 26-year-old stars on the Channel 4 hit alongside his family - dad Tom Snr, mum Julie and brother Sean - who are from Manchester.

direct to your inboxDebenhams department stores are set to shut for good, despite being bought by online retailer Boohoo.Manchester-brand Boohoo has purchased the Debenhams brand and website for £55m in a deal that will see the Debenhams name survive, but the company’s remaining 118 stores close for good.The deal will see Debenhams products sold by Boohoo from early next year.Around 12,000 jobs remain at risk as part of store closures.The move will allow enough time for liquidators to continue

straight to your inboxPhil Foden was magnanimous in victory after Manchester City survived a major FA Cup scare against Cheltenham Town. A massive upset was on the cards after Alfie May gave League Two side Cheltenham a shock lead in Saturday's fourth round tie at the Jonny-Rocks Stadium just before the hour mark.