A man who caused £10,000-worth of damage to a memorial dedicated to victims of the Manchester Arena attack has walked free from court.
24-year-old Anwar Hosseni, from Salford, appeared in court yesterday and admitted to vandalising the ‘Glade Of Light’ memorial – which was opened in January, and is dedicated to the 22 people who tragically lost their lives during the bombing at Manchester Arena on 22 May 2017- during the early hours of 9 February 2022.
Mr Hosseni admitted to scratching white lines across various parts of the memorial with a crystal Buddhist head figure in an act that Manchester City Council previously dubbed “sickening”.
Before damaging the memorial, CCTV footage captured from the incident showed Mr Hosseni praying and dancing at the site – which is next to Manchester Cathedral in the heart of the city centre – only a few weeks after it had opened to the public.
He was later arrested at his home address, but told police at the time that he wanted to give “love, unity, honour and gratitude for the souls of those who passed away”.
During the sentencing yesterday, Manchester Crown Court heard that Mr Hosseni has an “established psychiatric history”, including periods of detention under the Mental Health Act, and Gwen Henshaw, defending, said that he now understands what he did was “wrong and hurtful to many”, including the victims’ families.
ADVERTISEMENT
“He is mortified to know that he has caused them hurt and anguish because he prides himself on helping people [and] he is sorry for the pain that he has caused,” Ms Henshaw said.
24-year-old Anwar Hosseni, from Salford, admitted to vandalising the ‘Glade Of Light’ memorial in February 2022 / Credit: Manchester City Council (via Twitter)
Several personal statements from families of the Manchester Arena attack victims were read out in court during the hearing.
Mr Hosseni – who has no previous convictions – pleaded guilty to criminal damage at an earlier hearing, and was sentenced to a two-year community order and a two-year criminal behaviour order, which prevents him from visiting the immediate area surrounding the Glade Of Light memorial.
Handing Mr Hosseni the sentence, Judge Nicholas Dean QC, told the court: “The memorial is precious to the people of Manchester, but especially precious to the relatives of the 22 who died and your actions were bizarre.
“What you did was caused significant and widespread damage and that was interpreted by the relatives and friends of the victims as being a sacrilegious act.
“No doubt they would have thought there was some sort of political motive.
The memorial is dedicated to the 22 people who tragically lost their lives during the bombing at Manchester Arena on 22 May 2017 / Credit: The Manc Group
“I am satisfied that is not the case.
ADVERTISEMENT
You were motivated by some bizarre thought process. You thought you were somehow honouring the dead. If this had been a malicious, political act you would you be facing a lengthy sentence of imprisonment.”
He added: “I accept what the doctors say, and what you say, in that you did not intend any ill will to the deceased or their families and friends.
“Quite the contrary, although the way you chose to express it would be difficult for anyone to understand.”
Featured Image – The Manc Group
News
More than 70,000 home buyers set to pay thousands after missing stamp duty relief deadline
Emily Sergeant
More than 70,000 home buyers across England are estimated to have missed the stamp duty relief deadline.
This sadly means they’ll be required to fork out thousands of pounds extra.
In case you hadn’t heard, up until yesterday (31 March 2025), anyone who was moving and had bought a home in the past was not required to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax, better-known as just stamp duty, on the portion of the property price up to £250,000.
But from today (1 April), this threshold has now fallen back to £125,000, which unfortunately means that property purchasers are facing an extra £2,500 in moving costs, on average.
While the end of the stamp duty relief will mostly affect those Greater Manchester buyers who had already previously purchased properties, first time buyers are sadly not exempt from the deadline changes too, as their current stamp duty threshold of £425,000 has now fallen back to £300,000 as of today.
Person holding the keys to a new house in their hand / Credit: Maria Ziegler (via Unsplash)
Given that the average property price for a first time buyer-type home is currently around £227,965, according to Rightmove, the new £300,000 threshold may hit those purchasing properties in more expensive areas – particularly the South East.
A third of those estimated 70,000 home buyers who have missed the deadline are thought to be first time buyers.
Leading property platform Rightmove published an analysis in February into just how much of an impact the end of the stamp duty relief would have on home buyers, all while calling on the UK Government to announce a short extension to the deadline to help people in the middle of the property purchasing process avoid potentially thousands of pounds in extra moving costs.
But despite these calls from industry leaders, there was no extension to the deadline announced in the last week’s latest Spring Statement.
“It’s extremely disappointing that the Government has not used the Spring Statement as an opportunity to extend the impending stamp duty deadline for those currently going through the home-moving process,” commented Rightmove’s property expert Colleen Babcock.
“We estimate over 70,000 people are going to miss the deadline and complete in April instead, and a third of those are first time buyers.”
Featured Image – James Feaver (via Unsplash)
News
Manchester’s iconic Vimto statue to be removed for repair – with Aitch-sponsored sculpture in its place
Daisy Jackson
One of the city’s most familiar landmarks will soon be leaving its spot in town, as the iconic Vimto statue is removed.
The sculpture has been in Vimto Park off Sackville Street since 1992, and consists of a giant Vimto bottle surrounded by oversized fruit.
But the art piece dedicated to Manchester’s most famous drink has weathered (it’s made of wood, after all) and will have to be dismantled in the coming months for an undisclosed period of time.
This will be the second time the Vimto statue has undergone maintenance work, having last received a colourful paint job in 2011.
Worry not, though, Manchester – a new sculpture, dedicated to another local drinks brand, is already in the works until our beloved Vimto statue returns.
Local rapper Aitch, who launched his own drinks brand SYPS last year, has decided to make good use of the space.
A gigantic statue of a SYPS can is to be installed later this year in place of the Vimto statue, created by a local artist.
I don’t know why any of you are surprised – there haven’t been many product launches or marketing opportunities that Aitch hasn’t jumped on this year.
Rave in the Super Awesome Deluxe burger takeaway? Done it.
‘Launching’ Joe & The Juice back into Manchester? Done that too.
Performing on a train to launch a limited-edition Southern Comfort called ‘Northern Comfort’? Yes, that also happened.
Aitch is funding a temporary SYPS statue in place of the Vimto statue in Manchester
He’s now announced that he’ll be funding a new statue for the city centre while our beloved Vimto statue is gone.
A spokesperson for Manchester City Council said: “While it’s a shame to see our beloved Vimto statue leave the city centre, it’s important that this landmark is preserved for the future before it’s too late.
“When Aitch kindly offered to fill the space in Vimto Park with a SYPS sculpture, how could we say no?”
Aitch said in a statement: “I couldn’t leave my Manny without a drinks statue, could I? Also happy April Fool’s day you idiots.”
The Manc -
23rd June 2022 
