An armed gang who carried out a series of almost 30 robberies across Greater Manchester and Cheshire and made off with thousands of pounds’ worth of goods have been jailed for over 50 years.
Six criminals from Salford, Trafford and Sale targeted local businesses and homes throughout 2019 – threatening shop staff with machetes, dragging one retail worker across the floor by their ankle, and putting another in a headlock.
A mother and two children were also left “scarred for life” after the gang locked them in a cupboard whilst they stole watches, jewellery and the family’s car during a house raid in Warburton.
A shocking 29 armed robberies were committed between May and November 2019.
#WATCH An armed gang who carried out 29 violent robberies have been jailed for over 50 years thanks to our detectives' work. This footage shows the horrific robberies they carried out including one where a shop keeper was dragged across the floor. DS Rick Castley explains more… pic.twitter.com/ViT6OMOxBg
— Greater Manchester Police (@gmpolice) June 30, 2021
Jack Yarwood from Salford, Michael Burke from Trafford, Stuart Watson from Trafford, Daniel Adamson from Sale and Michael Kedie from Sale were all jailed at Manchester Crown Square this week (June 29) – with the combined sentences totalling more than half a century.
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The first offence took place at a Co-Op in Cheshire at around 9.45pm on 12 May 2019 where three masked men – Kedie, Yarwood and Burke – entered the store and threatened staff with a machete and a hammer and stole cash from a safe.
The gang continued to target retail stores over the next few months, including several Co-Ops in Stretford, Wythenshawe, Lymm, Bowden, Swinton and Cheadle Hulme, as well as a McColls in Bramhall, Poundland in Urmston, Starbucks in Trafford Park, Sainsbury’s in Altrincham and Asda Petrol Station in Sale.
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The OCG threatened staff in shops & even locked a family in a cupboard whilst they raided their house in #Cheshire armed with this machete. In a statement read out in court from the family, they described as the "worst night of their lives" and the children are scarred for life.. pic.twitter.com/tTlhRJg4Su
— Greater Manchester Police (@gmpolice) June 30, 2021
In October 2019, following a Co-op raid on Knutsford Road in Warrington, the gang fled in a Ford Focus and were pursued by police. Two of the men exited the vehicle armed with machetes and ran towards the officer, before getting back into the Focus and driving off – eventually abandoning the car in the Racecourse Estate in Sale.
Officers found cigarettes, cash and other items from the robbery left inside the Focus.
GMP’s Serious and Organised Crime Group division pieced the attacks together through phone and CCTV analysis, surveillance and the support of a large number of witnesses in the case.
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The group of six men were sentenced this week following a robbing spree in 2019 / Image: GMP
Detective Sergeant Richard Castley, from GMP’s SOCG, said: “This was a series of terrifying incidents that saw staff and members of the public in their own homes assaulted and scared for their lives – some of them still haven’t returned to work and some are still recovering from their ordeal.
“The members of the public targeted by these offenders were simply doing their job to serve the public in their local shop or were in their home addresses when they were confronted with this masked gang armed with weapons.
“Their robbery spree days are now over after our thorough investigation and this sends out a message – no matter how organised and sophisticated a group is – we will track offenders down and bring them to justice.”
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Vogue’s immersive ‘Inventing the Runway’ show is coming to Manchester
A Vogue immersive show titled ‘Inventing the Runway’ is coming to Manchester, and it’s even co-created by Anna Wintour herself.
Ever fancied learning more about the fashion world? Well, now’s your chance to hear everything you need to know from global fashion leaders and lifestyle magazine Vogue.
The Anna Wintour-approved immersive experience comes alongside the announcement of Factory International‘s Winter lineup, which features another new event all about voyaging to the moon.
This Vogue-fronted experience will incorporate interviews, visual media and more to help attendees visualise fashion shows of the past, present and future.
As well as understanding how fashion shows became the pinnacle of a designer’s vision, this runway-themed display also includes looking back at iconic moments of fashion and pop culture.
‘Inventing the Runway’ by Vogue is focusing on outfits worn by models and A-listers alike, with narration from the one and only Cate Blanchett.
You can expect to see curated pieces by significant creative minds in fashion history like Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Stella McCartney, Vivienne Westwood and lots more.
Throughout the Vogue experience, as well as coming visually face to face with fashion, you will also hear a soundscape that perfectly reflects this innovative industry with a fusion of classical and pop music.
This fashion exhibition uses the same Lightroom technology behind the impressive David Hockney experience that opened back in December.
Vogue is using this show to honour anyone who has made an impact in the fashion world.The Met Gala has become a staple in everyone’s calendar year in and year out.First Northern Quarter’s Chanel show, now this… Très chic. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons/GoodFon)
Anna Wintour, Chief Content Officer, Condé Nast, and Global Editorial Director, Vogue said: “At Vogue, we’ve been lucky enough over the decades to see many incredible runway shows, which have often told the story of fashion as much as the clothes themselves.”
“This Lightroom experience is a wonderful opportunity for a lot more people to experience first-hand the thrill of watching the history of fashion unfold right in front of them.”
You can experience Vogue’s ‘Inventing the Runway’ immersive show from 18 December to 10 January when it visits Aviva Studios this winter.
Find out more information and grab your tickets HERE.
Is your grandma a force of nature? Does your best friend cause an impact wherever they go? Now you can give them the recognition they deserve…
By naming a storm after them, of course.
We know all the talk is about heatwaves at the moment, especially after weather forecasters have recently predicted that the UK is in for a ‘hotter than average’ summer this year, but let’s turn our eye to the upcoming storm season for a second, shall we?
That’s right – the Met Office is inviting the public to submit their suggestions for storm names for the upcoming 2025/26 season.
Now in its eleventh year, the Met Office works with Met Éireann in Ireland and KNMI in the Netherlands to compile the list every time the season rolls around, and this headline-grabbing naming initiative helps the media and the public communicate about the impacts of severe weather events more easily and effectively.
As part of the naming process, each of the three meteorological organisations will get to name storms using selected letters, with the aim being to reflect the diversity of the three countries, and in-keeping with usual storm naming conventions, names will be picked for every letter of the alphabet except for Q, U, X, Y and Z.
According to the Met Office, a number of factors are considered for a name to be on the list – including how difficult it might be to pronounce, if the name has different meanings in different countries, and if it could be considered controversial in some way.
Once the list of names is decided upon, it will be formally announced by the Met Office in September when storm season begins.
The Met Office has launched a nationwide search for new storm names and wants you to pick / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
“The storm naming system has helped us communicate weather to help people stay safe,” commented Will Lang, who is the Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office, “and wow we need the UK public to help us compile a new list.
“Whether you want to honour a weather-lover in your family, remember a family pet, or get a friend’s name in the headlines, we welcome submissions from the public to help us pull together next year’s list of storm names.”
People can only submit their names online via the submissions page here, where there’s also the option of adding a reason for the suggestion, and must not be submitted via social media as they will not be counted.
The Manc -
1st July 2021 
