Bury

Bury FC offering free tickets to Morecambe fans amid ongoing club crisis

A lovely gesture.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 5th August 2025

Bury FC are offering free tickets to travelling Morecambe fans free tickets to an upcoming match in a show of solidarity for the fellow North West football club amid their ongoing crisis.

For anyone unaware of the situation in the Lancashire town, Morecambe FC could soon be no more after being suspended from the National League as they face further financial uncertainty.

At present, controversial owners  Bond Group Investments LTD, led by businessman Jason Whittingham, have failed to sell the struggling club despite multiple deadlines, leaving the vital community sporting organisation on the precipice of complete collapse.

While the seaside team currently have no fixtures to look forward to with the 25/26 season now underway for various parts of the football pyramid, the Greater Manchester outfit, which only recently survived similarly their own precarious circumstances, has offered Morecambe fans free admission.

Although this is a very temporary alternative, with complimentary tickets being offered for Bury’s Northern Premier League West season home opener against Newcastle Town, it is a touching show of support from regional counterparts who know all too well the fear and pain of potential dissolution.

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Sharing a post on their official website and social media along with the message, “We’ve been where you are. We stand with you.”, The Shakers have stated that anyone who turns up at Gigg Lane for the game this Saturday, 9 August, with their season ticket or wearing a Morecambe badge can enter for free.

It was only back in 2019 that Bury themselves were expelled from the football league after 125 years as a result of their unpaid debts. It’s fair to say that the state of affairs at Morecambe looks strikingly familiar.

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Plenty of clubs have been placed into administration and hit with suspensions over the years, and Bury did go on to reunite their AFC phoenix club back in May 2023, but unfortunately, nothing is ever certain given how money-driven modern football is.

To add more context, Whittingham has been registered as the director of 25 companies during his career, but it’s important to add that a staggering total of 18 have been dissolved (either forcibly or voluntarily), put into administration, liquidated, or put into receivership – the stage before full liquidation.

Global sports investment firm, Panjab Warriors, stated that it is still prepared to acquire 100% of the club, but is yet to finalise any kind of deal now that all footballing operations have ceased, especially given that the club’s insurance has also run out.

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It remains to be seen how many travelling Shrimps supporters will make the nearly 50-mile journey to 0161 for the game, but Bury’s classy gesture has nevertheless been met with plenty of praise.

For now, it has been reported that Morecambe have anywhere between the end of the week and 20 August – when the National League meets to discuss the matter again – to balance books and/or discover their fate.

The beautiful game belongs to everyone; people of all regions and walks of life, from the grassroots all the way up to the Premier League, and as a footy-obsessed part of the world, we all know all too well how important it is to have these sporting and crucially social outlets in local areas.

Sending all our support to all those at Morecambe FC, and we hope to see these dire straits resolved with the right outcome sooner rather than later.

Bury offering free tickets to Morecambe fans is touching, but when are clubs going to get better protection from questionable ownership?

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Featured Images — Surreykraut (via Flickr)/Ian Taylor (Geograph)/Bury FC

Bury

Greater Manchester’s spooky steam trains are returning this Halloween

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Spooky season is right around the corner, and one of Greater Manchester’s most-popular Halloween events is returning.

What’s Halloween without East Lancashire Railway‘s (ELR) eerie ghost trains at this point? Generally selling out each year, the heritage railway’s Halloween Trains always prove to be top of the Halloween bucket list for people looking for some ‘spooktacular fun’ once the scariest time of year rolls around.

And 2026 is expected to be no different… in fact, it’ll be even creepier than normal, because the scream train has had a spooky makeover.

You can expect flickering lights, eerie sounds, creepy surprises, and perhaps a very unwelcome visitor climbing aboard.

Those brave enough at lending the Monster Squad a helping hand at banishing ghosts and ghouls will be whisked away on a haunted steam engine through the atmospheric Greater Manchester countryside.

Before you join them though, you’ll need to prove you have what it takes by making it through the Halloween Walkthrough on the footbridge with a fair few jump scares.

Once you reach the platform, you’ll be greeted by Halloween favourites, Vampire Brian and Veronica the Witch, who’ll prepare you for your terrifying train trip with a song, a dance, and probably a scream or two.

Spooky steam train rides through Greater Manchester are returning this Halloween / Credit: ELR

As you take in the autumn sights and delights of the local countryside out the historic steam train’s windows on your journey, there’ll be lots of spooky entertainment and music along the way, and as always, screaming and singalongs are to be expected – and encouraged – as this is all part of the experience.

Families are also encouraged to ‘show off your spookiest fancy dress’ on the day too, and if you make it to the end, then a goody bag for every child ‘full of tricks and treats’ awaits.

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The Halloween Ghost Trains are happening over an extended weekend in late October, running from Thursday 29 to Saturday 31 October.

Tickets are now on sale, starting from just £15 per person, and you can book here.

Featured Image – ELR

Bury

Six GMP officers dismissed following racial discrimination allegations

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

A number of police officers have been dismissed following an internal investigation, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has confirmed.

Following the internal investigation into alleged racial discrimination against an officer on the Bury district – which was launched by GMP‘s Professional Standards Directorate in July 2024 – six officers and two former officers were found to have committed gross misconduct, and a ninth officer was found to have committed misconduct.

The investigation came after a report was made that an officer had been subjected to ‘racist behaviour’ by colleagues in December 2023.

The panel heard how PC Y – who has African heritage and has been granted anonymity – made a complaint after her accent was mimicked by a group of officers. She was also compared to a suspect with similar skin colour, and one of the dismissed PCs made a derogatory comment about her hair.

PC Y was supported and kept updated throughout the investigation, GMP assured, as well as providing evidence at the hearing.

The misconduct hearing lasted just over two weeks, with the panel concluding that the officers breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour relating to Equality and Diversity, Authority, Respect, and Courtesy.

The six officers who have been dismissed are PC Demi Green, PC Heena Rani, PC Lucy Granby, PC Matthew Barlow, PC Matthew Hill, and PC Mohammed Abid, while the former officers who were found to have committed gross misconduct are PC Jake Holt, and former Officer A – who has been granted anonymity.

The panel also found that Sergeant Adrian Bick’s actions amounted to misconduct, as there was no  breach of the standard of equality and diversity.

As a result, the six serving officers have been sacked without notice, while the two former officers would have been dismissed had they not already left the force, and Sergeant Bick was issued a written warning.

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“No officer or member of staff should have to come to work and experience discriminatory behaviour from the people they serve alongside,” declared Deputy Chief Constable, Terry Woods.

“Everyone has the right to feel respected, valued and part of the same team with a shared commitment to serving our communities and keeping people safe.”

Featured Image – David Dixon (via Geograph)

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