In what is a piece of, quite frankly, unbearlievable news, police in Rochdale found a wanted car thief attempting to hide from officers inside a giant teddy bear.
No, you’ve not read that wrong.
As bizarre and implausible as it may sound, GMP Rochdale actually took to social media yesterday to share with the people of Greater Manchester and beyond, in what is understandably a now-viral post, the story of one of their latest arrests – and it genuinely did involve a criminal cutting up a teddy bear and trying to hide inside it.
GMP explained that 18-year-old Joshua Dobson, from the Spotland area of Rochdale, was wanted police after stealing a car back in May and for not paying for fuel that same day, but up until last month, his whereabouts was unknown.
That was until neighbourhood cops were tipped off to his location and went out searching for him.
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Retelling the hilarious discovery on social media, GMP Rochdale explained: “When we went to arrest him, our officers noticed a large bear breathing in the address, before finding Dobson hidden inside.
“He’s now stuffed behind bars after being sentenced last week for theft of a motor vehicle, driving while disqualified, and making off from a petrol station without payment.”
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They comically added that they hope he has “a bearable time inside”.
And the police weren’t the only ones to be cracking jokes, as not only has the post amassed thousands of likes and interactions across all social media platforms it was shared on yesterday, but the comments section was also full of witty members of the public sharing their best bear-themed puns.
Police in Rochdale found a wanted car thief attempting to hide from officers inside a giant teddy bear / Credit: GMP Rochdale
“He will only get the bear essentials in jail,” one person wrote.
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Another commented: “The bear faced cheek of him”, with a third chiming in with: “Apprehended by officers on paw patrol”, and a fourth questioning: “Did you Bungle him in the van?”
As well as all the countless bear-related jokes, one person also made sure to ask the question that a lot of us were probably all thinking too: “Can we see the officers bodycam footage? It’s not often I ask for anything but I need to see this. Please and thank you.”
While the bodycam footage is yet to be released, if you bear with them, they might get round to it.
Featured Image – GMP Rochdale
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‘Big John’ is bringing his ‘BOSH’ bingo to Manchester
Danny Jones
Attention, all you ‘Big John’ lovers, the man himself is coming to Manchester this year for his very own ‘BOSH Bingo’ show.
Excessively large takeaway order not included*
That’s right, ‘Big John’ Fisher has gone from being a viral sensation famous for eating shedloads of Chinese and saying that one catchphrase to hosting his very own live bingo tour.
Even by his standards, his announcement video was an eye-catching one, to say the least – and we expect the event itself to be equally hilarious.
— big john the boshfather (@Johnfis08605918) January 7, 2026
For anyone somehow unfamiliar with ‘The Boshfather’, there isn’t a single sentence that isn’t completely accurate, and that doesn’t sum up pretty much everything you need to know about the man, the myth, the legend.
Besides his son, Johnny Fisher Jr., being an aspiring boxer and fellow influencer on the side, as well as having appeared on Newsnight to talk about the UK’s multiculturalism being what makes this ‘Great Britain’ (legend), his legacy will very much be written online and on the back of a take-out menu.
Or will it?…
Riding the back of his growing popularity and being quite literally the physical representation of a British bulldog, he’s now preparing to do live shows all over the country.
Set up at the start of the New Year, the 51-year-old will be heading to Manchester city centre and more throughout 2026 for his debut BOSH Bingo tour.
Visiting 12 locations in total, he is promising “rave intervals, on stage competitions, ‘bosh’ prizes and, of course, a sprinkle of chicken balls for good measure.”
Put simply, not only the chaos of everyone’s favourite Bongo’s, “This is not your average bingo night, it’s BOSH BINGO!”
Sounds ridiculous… We’re SO there.
Coming to The Grosvenor on Oxford Road on 21 February, before heading to the likes of Leeds, Liverpool and Sheffield, just to name a few, you can grab your tickets right HERE.
Let’s just say there’s some very silly but nevertheless fun and fantastic stuff happening in town this year.
Featured Images — Publicity picture (via Bosh Bingo Events)/The Manc Group
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Leigh Leopards share update regarding Tesi Niu allegations
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester rugby league side Leigh Leopards have now issued an update addressing the allegations levelled at one of their players, Tesi Niu.
With the statement coming directly from the club’s owner, Derek Beaumont, the club have shed light on their understanding of the situation.
Beaumont, who bought the team over a decade ago and rebranded it from ‘Centurions’ to the Leopards back in 2022 (and also owns a local decking company based in Worsley), appeared to speak on behalf of the club following the accusations made last week.
Sharing an official communication on social media on Wednesday afternoon, 8 January, they open by saying that “the club is aware of social media activity of concern from one of its players’ accounts, that of Tesi Niu.”
“The club can confirm that the player’s account was accessed externally and without his knowledge or consent”, they continue, “and [was] deleted a short period thereafter.”
“We were instantly aware of this as it happened”, says the Leigh Leopards owner. “As a club, we have policies and procedures and employ a Player Welfare Manager who is a qualified counsellor.
“Our first port of call in these circumstances is to ensure the welfare of our player and any external party that may be involved. This was immediately initiated.
“Having since personally spoken with Tesi and Kiana individually and at length, and then our Player Welfare Manager and Head Coach, I am completely satisfied that they are both being fully supported.
“I can also confirm that there is no official complaint to the club regarding the player, nor to any relevant authorities. To that end, the club will make no further statements about the matter and would welcome supporters’ trust in the club’s processes and findings.”
For context, you can read what 24-year-old Niu has been accused of in full down below.
While the organisation has now insisted that nothing formal has been raised within the club nor with the police at this time, many supporters are still insisting that there must be a full investigation into the troubling claims.
At present, however, the statement seems to suggest that they won’t be taking the matter any further internally – at least not for now/until a proper case is opened.
Nevertheless, many Leopards supporters, rugby fans and people online in general have understandably raised more concerns following the statement.
Neither Tesi Niu himself nor Kiana Smith – his partner of more than five years, currently said to be pregnant with their third child – has yet to share any further message(s) following the initial declaration of alleged abuse.
Emily Sergeant -
11th August 2022 
