A man who attempted to murder a stranger in broad daylight in Davyhulme has been sentenced to life behind bars.
Michael Canning has been sentenced to a minimum of 20 years imprisonment.
The 23-year-old was previously found guilty by jury on Friday 1 December 2023, and subsequently appeared at Manchester Crown Street Court yesterday (Tuesday 23 January 2024), where he was sentenced for attacking and attempting to murder someone he didn’t know during broad daylight one day last June.
The distressing incident was said to have taken place at around 5:09pm on 19 June 2023, according to Greater Manchester Police (GMP), and saw Canning attack the male victim with a knife.
The victim, who was a complete stranger to Canning, and was said to have simply been on his way home from work at the time of the incident, ended up sustaining more than 30 wounds during the attack.
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Police say Canning fled the scene shortly after carrying out the attack, and left it to passers-by to call an ambulance for the victim – who was then taken to hospital for treatment.
A man who attempted to murder a stranger in broad daylight in Davyhulme has been jailed for life / Credit: GMP
An extensive police investigation followed the attack, which GMP says included “meticulous” reviews of doorbell and private CCTV footage provided by members of the public that eventually led to identifying Canning as a suspect.
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Canning was arrested and charged for the attack within just days of the offence taking place.
Detective Superintendent Phill Xavier, of GMP’s Trafford District, described Canning’s actions as “ferocious”.
Following the sentencing this week, DS Xavier commented: “This was a ferocious attack on an innocent man who was simply walking home from work – a journey no longer than 15 minutes, and something he would do every day.
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“After being arrested, Canning denied having anything to do with the attack.
“At court, he claimed he did not tell the truth in his police interview, as he had not accepted what he had done, and he claimed he committed the attack because he wanted to be arrested for something. But he went out that day with a face covering, and used a convoluted route back to his home address to evade detection, so I’m pleased the jury paid attention to all the evidence and have rightly found this violent offender guilty.
“Our investigators worked hard to bring Canning to justice, and I hope today’s sentence goes some way to providing some solace to the victim and their family.”
Featured Image – GMP
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Plans to build tower next to Manchester’s historic Britons Protection pub scrapped
Danny Jones
Punters, rejoice: plans to build a large apartment tower next to Manchester’s Britons Protection pub have reportedly been scrapped after a long, drawn-out process and widespread protests.
What a relief.
One of the city’s oldest boozers, the Britons Protection was due to be dwarfed by a large development reaching 26 storeys tall, which not only would have encroached on the cultural landmark and storied watering hole, but also blocked out its popular beer garden to the rear.
We’ve seen a similar loss of outdoor drinking space with the recent St Michael’s development, which has essentially removed the equally historic Sir Ralph Abercromby pub – though it is at least getting a refurb – but in truth, the ‘Protect the Protection’ fight has been going on much longer.
As per a notice published on Manchester City Council’s website this week, it now appears that the plans for 72 new flats have been cancelled, with developers Arrowsmith Management having officially withdrawn their application.
Run by Bahraini businessman Mohamed Abbas Haji, the company is now said to be reassessing its options for the ‘Apex Tower’ proposals.
Speaking to the BBC, Mark Brennan – who took over the pub back in January 2025 – said: “I’m quite happy to be honest, a lot of people say the pub might be busier with more people about, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to people coming in here.”
“It would have looked horrendous… It’s Grade II-listed, so the pub should always be here. It wouldn’t have been a good look, having a big ugly building on top of our building.”
Countless Mancunians have echoed the sentiment over the past few years, with appeals dating back to post-pandemic and a big awareness push in 2021.
Standing for more than two centuries and holding countless awards, it was never going to go quietly.
It also happens to be quite comfortably on our list of the cosiest pubs in Manchester and has been since day dot.
Anyone who’s been in will know the sense of a warm welcome the place always puts out, and we’re overjoyed to hear that years of petitions and campaigning to save it have paid off.
These stories don’t always end with the right outcome (not often enough, anyway), so we’ll definitely be raising a glass to the Britons Protected this weekend.
Unfortunately, we do still have some other sad news from the hospitality sector, as our oldest Manc publican has passed away at a fellow favourite pub.
Featured Images — CGI (via Arrowsmith Management)/Gerald England (via Geograph)
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Avanti staff at Manchester Piccadilly to strike tomorrow over ‘unfair dismissal’ of colleague
Emily Sergeant
Avanti West Coast staff based at Manchester Piccadilly are set to stage strike action tomorrow.
Due to what has been described as the ‘unfair dismissal’ of a colleague, rail union RMT has announced that Avanti West Coast members at Manchester Piccadilly station are set to walk out tomorrow (Saturday 1 August) – with several other strikes also planned later in the year.
Despite taking industrial action against sacking – which was based on anonymous allegations – RMT says the company has decided to ‘ignore’ the workforce and uphold the sacking at an appeal hearing.
As well as the 24-hour strike tomorrow, two other strikes have also been announced for future dates – 29 August, and 10 October.
Avanti staff at Manchester Piccadilly are striking over the ‘unfair dismissal’ of a colleague / Credit: Network Rail
RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said that the sacking was ‘extremely disappointing’.
He claimed the worker had ‘clearly’ been the victim of a toxic workplace culture which encouraged anonymous and unsubstantiated complaints.
“This member has been made a scapegoat for multiple management failings, including the company’s inability to manage its employees to an acceptable standard within the workplace,” commented RMT general secretary, Eddie Dempsey.
“This union is sending the clearest possible message to Avanti West Coast that there will be no let-up until this unfair dismissal is overturned and the issues at the heart of this dispute are resolved.”
Emily Sergeant -
25th January 2024 
