More than 200 police officers in Brighton are said to be continuing “extensive searches” for Constance Marten and Mark Gordon’s missing baby.
35-year-old Constance Marten, and 48-year-old Mark Gordon, both went missing, along with their newborn baby after their vehicle broke down close to Junction 4 of the M61 near Farnworth in Bolton on Thursday 5 January 2023.
Ms Marten was believed to have very recently given birth at the time of the disappearance, and had not received professional medial care.
Over the coming days following their initial disappearance, sightings of the couple were reported in a number of places across the UK – including Liverpool, Essex, south London and East Sussex.
Police and local authorities believed the then-missing couple had been sleeping rough in a blue tent, and had avoided being traced by moving around frequently and keeping their faces covered in CCTV images.
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But yesterday, after nearly two months of searching, it was confirmed by the Metropolitan Police and Sussex Police that shortly before 9:30pm on Monday 27 February, a member of the public reported a sighting of the couple in Stanmer Villas in Brighton, and officers attended the location and subsequently arrested the pair.
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon further arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
Search for the missing baby continues.
200+ officers searching 90+ square miles between #Brighton and #Newhaven
They were initially arrested on suspicion of child neglect, police confirmed, and were later further arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
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The couple remain in custody – but the search for their missing baby has now entered the second day, with police issuing the latest update and public appeal last night.
Over 200 officers from multiple units in the Met and Sussex Police are currently involved in the search for the newborn, with a police helicopter, sniffer dogs, thermal imaging cameras, and drones also being used to assist officers on the ground.
200 officers ‘continue extensive searches’ for missing baby as police give latest update / Credit: Met Police
“Throughout this investigation, our key priority has been finding the baby, and we remain committed to that,” explained Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford in last night’s appeal, adding that there is “a significant amount of police search activity in open spaces to the north of Brighton near to where the couple were arrested.”
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To aid in their search, police are appealing to members of the public between Brighton and Newhaven to report any potential sightings or information about where the couple may have been sleeping.
"My plea to members of the public here in #Brighton crossing over towards #Newhaven please be vigilant in the open land where you are, in the outbuildings you may have on your property"
📍 Detectives ask for public assistance in locating missing baby
“I’d also ask people living in these areas to report any suspicious behaviour or items found in their gardens, outbuildings, and sheds, between then and now,” DS Basford added.
“Equally, if you are out walking in these areas and you discover something you think we should know about, please don’t hesitate to contact us, no matter how insignificant it may seem.”
Police say support from the public throughout the search and investigation has, and continues to be, “vital”, but they are asking people to “remain vigilant” as their searches continue.
Anyone with any sightings or information that could assist the search is asked to call the Met Police’s incident room on 0208 3453 865 or 999 with anything they believe may be significant.
Featured Image – GMP
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Luxury Manchester gym Blok confirms permanent closure after weeks of uncertainty
Daisy Jackson
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure, weeks after the doors to the premium fitness facility mysteriously closed.
Around a fortnight ago, members began to arrive to their classes to find the gym on Ducie Street locked up and a forfeiture notice on the door – but at the time, Blok said that it was fighting to reopen.
Sadly, in an email sent to members today, its founder has confirmed that the studio is now permanently closed.
Blok – which has several very successful sites down in London – said that its relationship with its landlord has ‘broken down to a point where trust has been lost’.
The gym wrote that it’s been left with ‘no workable way forward’.
They said: “BLOK Manchester was a space built by our loyal and dedicated community. Whether you joined us for one class or one hundred, we are deeply grateful. You helped create something genuinely special in an incredible city.”
In the immediate future, they said they’ll be supporting the team of fantastic trainers who worked here, as well as looking after members.
Members will be contacted within a few hours with options and refunds owed.
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure. Credit: The Manc Group
CEO and founder Ed Stanbury said: “While this marks the end of a chapter, we don’t see it as the end of our story in Manchester. We’re already speaking with developers about potential future sites and remain committed to returning to the city when the time is right.
“Thank you for being part of our story so far. Let’s shape the future of wellness. The mission continues.”
Commenting on Blok’s Instagram post – its first in almost a fortnight – people have been sharing their sadness at the closure of its Manchester site.
One person wrote: “beautiful space, beautiful staff and beautiful community.”
Another said: “Sending love to all the instructors !! :(((( gutted”
Someone else commented: “THE BEST CLASSES. I’m gutted.”
‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
Emily Sergeant -
1st March 2023 
