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

The family-run farm in Bury where you can walk adorable alpacas in the countryside

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Meadowcroft Farm Alpacas

Tucked away in the Greater Manchester countryside, less than 10 minutes from Bury town centre, you’ll find a herd of loveable alpacas.

This is Meadowcroft Farm Alpacas.

Based in the Walshaw area of Bury, just a nine-minute drive from the town’s centre, the family-owned Meadowcroft Farm is run by couple Deb and Deano, who have turned their land into a home dedicated to letting alpacas live their best life – and this includes regular visits from the Greater Manchester public keen to learn all about them.

If you’re looking to swap the hustle and bustle of city life for rolling hills and views as far as the eye can see, then Meadowcroft Farm’s already-popular alpaca walking experience offers just the reset you need.

Oh, and you can make friends with alpacas and other adorable animals too, while you’re at it.

This is Meadowcroft Farm Alpacas / Credit: The Manc Group

The interactive experience starts off with a talk from Deb about everything they do at Meadowcroft Farm, and then you’ll get introduced to each of their 12 fluffy alpacas.

As alpacas are pack animals, this means you need to have at least three living together at one time by law in the UK.

Then each person gets paired up with an alpaca for the walk – with The Manc Group team members, Aimee and Emily, getting to look after the farm’s two new babies, Woody and Buzz.

Once everyone is paired with their alpaca, it’s then time to go for a short walk around the landscape of the farm, with some really gorgeous views to take in along the way.

At this family-run farm in Bury, you can walk a herd of adorable alpacas in the countryside / Credit: The Manc Group

While you’re walking around the flat, grassy route (the walk is suitable for most people, but it’s advised that you dress in correct clothing for the weather and surroundings), Deb takes the time to check in with all the walkers, even stopping to take pictures of everyone with their alpacas before heading back to the farm to feed them.

After working up an appetite, you’ll then get to feed the alpacas, alongside the other animals Meadowcroft takes care of – including baby goats, polish chickens, and rabbits.

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Visiting Meadowcroft Farm Alpacas is the perfect way to switch off and spend a day in nature this summer, with the experience costing £25 per person.

Head to their Facebook page to book here.

Featured Image – The Manc Group

Bury

Bury primary school teaching assistant jailed after pleading guilty to child sex offences

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

A teaching assistant from Bury has been sentenced after pleading guilty to multiple sex offences against a ‘vulnerable’ young boy.

Terri Cook, of Masefield Avenue in Radcliffe, appeared at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court last week, where she was sentenced after pleading guilty to eight charges of sexual offences.

The sentencing came after officers from Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) Child Protection Investigation Unit (CPIU) began in ‘intense’ investigation into Cook back in September of last year after a member of the public reported seeing her out with a young boy.

The subsequent investigation showed that she had been grooming and manipulating the young boy into engaging in a sexual relationship with her.

Police found numerous messages on Cook’s phone where she had been inciting sexual communications with the boy and holding indecent images of him, and she was also found to have been buying him expensive items, like jewellery and clothing, for a period of more than nine months.

During a powerful statement read out in court, the young boy was described as being ‘extremely kind and caring’, with his mum adding: “Despite experiencing traumatic events earlier in his life, he continued to be positive and compassionate. He smiled every day and made us all laugh.”

Cook was sentenced four-and-a-half years in prison for eight charges of sexual offences.

Speaking following the sentencing, Detective Sergeant Adam Stanfield, from GMP’s Bury CPIU, said: “This case was a horrific example of calculated abuse of power, and Cook targeted a vulnerable child who put his trust in her.

“Grooming is a form of manipulation that can leave lasting emotional and psychological damage, and our priority remains protecting young people and supporting victims as they recover.

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“This sentencing also emphasises our unwavering commitment to protecting male victims. They can be victims too and I urge anyone who believes they may have been through anything similar to please report to us.”

Featured Image – GMP

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