Thousands of us could be getting our parcels dropped off by a drone rather than a human by the end of next year.
It may only a few weeks after it was revealed that the little shopping delivery robots dropping off Co-op groceries to Greater Manchester residents would be rolling out to more areas of our region, but it now looks like we’re taking yet another step closer to what living life in the future would look like.
And that’s because Amazon has announced it’s launching a drone delivery service in the UK next year.
Already a futuristic reality over in the US states of California and Texas, the American technology giant announced yesterday, as it unveiled its new generation of drones at its HQ in Seattle, that it intends to introduce autonomous aircraft delivery in Britain and Italy sometime “in late 2024”.
The company said it will begin using the currently-unmanned airborne vehicles for distributing goods from some of its same-day delivery sites, one of which will be in the UK, but no location for this site has been revealed yet.
Amazon said it hopes to be delivering 500 million packages via drone worldwide each year by the end of the decade.
This ambitious announcement comes up to a decade after the company first publicly-announced that it was setting its sights on the skies back in 2013, and nearly seven years after it previously trialled an early version of the ‘Prime Air’ delivery system down in Cambridgeshire in 2016 – but since then, it’s fair to say progress has been slow.
Following from what it learned during the 2016 trial, Amazon has said it doesn’t intend to relaunch the drone delivery service from standalone centres, and will be integrating the drones into its existing network instead.
Amazon is launching a drone delivery service in the UK / Credit: Amazon
Announcing the expansion of its autonomous delivery service this week, Amazon said in a statement: “As part of our continued efforts to innovate for customers, we are excited to announce the expansion of Prime Air delivery internationally, for the first time outside the US.
“We have been delivering packages by drone for almost a year in California and in Texas and we have built a safe, reliable delivery service and have partnered very closely with regulators and communities, so we will continue with that collaboration into the future to ensure we are meeting the needs of our customers and the communities we serve.”
Amazon will be working with the UK Government and aviation authorities to reintroduce the drones into the UK airspace.
The futuristic service could be in flight by the end of 2024 / Credit: Amazon
Aviation minister Baroness Vere called Amazon’s announcement this week “fantastic”.
“Amazon’s announcement today is a fantastic example of government and industry coming together to achieve our shared vision for commercial drones to be commonplace in the UK by 2030,” Baroness Vere said in a statement.
“Not only will this help boost the economy, offering consumers even more choice while helping keep the environment clean with zero emission technology, but it will also build our understanding of how to best use the new technology safely and securely.”
Featured Image – Amazon
News
Def Leppard announce HUGE arena gig in Manchester next year
Thomas Melia
English Glam Rock band Def Leppard have announced a brand new UK tour which features a stop in one of Manchester’s big arenas next year.
Known for hits like ‘Pour Some Sugar on Me’, ‘Animal’, ‘Love Bites’ and more, Def Leppard are back on the road and they’re heading out on a UK tour.
The band has achieved worldwide acclaim since entering the rock scene with their first-ever single, ‘Wasted’, back in 1979, and their success resulted in getting inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.
In 2023, Def Leppard teamed up with fellow metalheads Motley Crüe for the ultimate ‘Rock of Ages’, playing a spell-bounding gig at Wembley Stadium in front of 90,000 people.
The rock legends are continuing their career-highlight streak as now they’re about to play one of Manchester’s largest arenas, Co-op Live, sending 23,500 fans into ‘Hysteria’.
This upcoming Def Leppard UK tour sees the band making their way to Glasgow, Sheffield, London and Birmingham before visiting the music capital of the North.
The love for these rockers isn’t slowing down either, as their latest album ‘Drastic Symphonies’, a collaboration with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, scored Def Leppard their highest charting record in 32 years, debuting at number 4.
Fans will be over the moon to know that the five-piece visiting Co-op Live next year includes the same band lineup since 1992, with Joe Elliot, Rick Allen, Phil Collen, Rick Savage and Vivian Campbell playing out on the night.
The Rock Brigade will always make sure to remember Steve Clark, founding member and adorned- ‘Riffmaster’, and although the guitarist won’t be playing this innovative live music venue, fans will still give it their all for the current ‘Gods of War’.
These Sheffield-formed musicians have sold more than 110 million albums worldwide, so there will be no ‘Foolin’ around when it comes to screaming their lyrics at the top of your lungs next summer.
Def Leppard are coming to Co-op Live in Manchester on Monday 5 July, with tickets going on sale from 10am on Friday 5 September
Bolton man jailed for life after killing ‘vulnerable’ woman and hiding her body in his shed
Emily Sergeant
A man has been jailed for life after murdering a vulnerable woman and then proceeding to hide her body in a shed at his house in Bolton.
Christopher Barlow killed Mariann Borocz back in December 2024 after randomly meeting her at a shop and inviting her to his house, before killing her and then going on to dump her body in a locked shed in his garden.
55-year-old Mariann, who was originally from Hungary, was reported missing on Sunday 15 December having been last seen alive in the early hours of the previous day.
During the police search and investigation, CCTV showed Barlow following Mariann into a shop near his house and then back out again, and after Barlow was arrested on suspicion of assault on 23 December, officers found the keys to his shed – which is when they, sadly, discovered Mariann’s body.
Barlow was charged with murder, but the 63-year-old first denied this charge, and also denied any contact with Mariann.
The case was then handed over to Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) Major Incident Team, led by Detective Chief Inspector Tony Platten.
#JAILED | This is the moment Christopher Barlow was arrested for the murder of Mariann Borocz.
We made extensive efforts to locate Mariann, and our thoughts continue to be with her family.
A three-week trial then began at Manchester Crown Court, and when forensic evidence linked Barlow to Mariann’s body, he then when on to admit during the trial that he had invited her into his house, and found her not breathing in his kitchen about 40 minutes later.
Despite maintaining he did dot murder her, the jury returned its guilty verdict after less than a day of deliberation.
Last week, Barlow was sentenced to life in prison and must serve a minimum term of 20 years behind bars.
Detective Sergeant Fiona Manning described this as a ‘harrowing’ investigation and subsequent trial for Mariann’s family.
“Barlow befriended Mariann and she believed she could trust him,” DS Manning said, “That could not have been further from reality.”
DS Manning then assured that GMP remains ‘steadfast’ in its commitment to ensuring the safety and security of women in Greater Manchester‘s communities, and will continue to work ‘tirelessly’ to uphold justice.
She concluded: “Women should be able to go out freely and without fear that something may happen to them.”
Emily Sergeant -
20th October 2023 
