The people's voice of Greater Manchester
  • The Latest
  • What’s On
    • Things To Do
    • Christmas
    • Gigs & Nightlife
    • Theatre
    • Kids & Family
    • Art & Culture
    • TV & Showbiz
    • The Guides
  • Eats
  • Audio
  • Sport
  • More
    • Places
      • Manchester City Centre
      • Salford
      • Trafford
      • Stockport
      • Cheshire
      • Bolton
      • Bury
      • Oldham
      • Rochdale
      • Tameside
      • Wigan
    • Travel & Tourism
    • Feature
    • Business
    • Property
    • Shopping
Weather Icon
The people's voice of Greater Manchester
X
Search for...
Weather Icon

Sandwich Technician

AJ Handley-Rowe AJ Handley-Rowe - 10th November 2021

A Wigan dad is searching for the ‘hero’ who helped calm his son’s panic attack while on a busy train

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

A former rugby player from Wigan is searching for the ‘hero’ who came to his son’s aid when he was having a panic attack on a busy train.

Shaun Ainscough – a former rugby player who played for Wigan Warriors at the start of his career from 2009-10 – was on a packed train home from the match between his former team and St Helens at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Sunday 5 July when his son started having a panic attack.

The 11-year-old boy was crying, screaming, shaking, taking his clothes off, and begging to get off the hot train carriage that was full of people travelling home from the match.

“All the fans [on the train] were singing and we were having a laugh, although because we were all stood up, we literally couldn’t sit anywhere,” Shaun explained to the BBC in an interview.

Shaun says he then became overwhelmed with emotion himself as he saw his son in distress, to the point where he also started crying.

ADVERTISEMENT

But then, a woman – whose name is still unknown – came to the rescue and spent the entire rest of the journey trying to calm the boy, reassuring him with words and using a handheld fan to calm him down.

Shaun has since put out a post on social media – which has been seen by thousands of people – asking for the woman to come forward, as the pair are desperate to thank her in person and ‘give her some flowers’.

ADVERTISEMENT

“It might not have seemed like a big deal to her but the small act was massive and we just want to say thank you,” Shaun explained.

Read more:

  • Police appeal after woman is killed by driving wrong way down M62 near Rochdale
  • NHS 111 service to begin offering crisis mental health support for the first time
  • Guide Dogs desperately needs people in Greater Manchester to ‘foster’ its dogs while they’re in training

“She could read something over text, but in person means so much more, and maybe we could give her some flowers just to show how much we appreciated her that day.”

He concluded: “This hero came over and ended up being the strongest person on the train.”

Featured Image – Shaun Ainscough (via Facebook)

Transfers: Manchester United reportedly secure deal for player they nearly signed YEARS ago

Danny Jones Danny Jones

There appears to be another turn in the tale of Manchester United’s summer transfer window saga, as it’s claimed that the club are soon set to sign a player they’ve long been linked with and that they nearly bought years ago: Youri Tielemans.

Yes, more than seven years after he was first linked with a Man United move, Tielemans now looks like he could finally be making his way to Old Trafford, with several sources stating that the deal is all but done.

The Belgian midfielder, now 29 years old, has only just exited the World Cup following their defeat to semi-finalists and reigning European champions Spain, having scored twice before having to miss their last game after picking up an injury in the warm-up.

But now it seems as though he’ll be linking up with another team of Red Devils when he returns to club football next month.

WHATTTTTTTTT THE FUCKKKK????
WHERE HAS THIS COME FROMMM???

— ☈ッ (@TheFergusonWay) July 13, 2026

Said to be a hamstring problem, United fans will obviously hope it’s nothing severe, as the versatile box-to-box player isn’t a stranger to the physio bench, leading some supporters to question the still yet to be announced transfer.

The most serious setback of his professional career came this past season, when he was out for a total of 112 days of football – missing a total of 23 games across club and country – but prior to that, he’d never been out for more than a dozen matches.

Nevertheless, plenty of people have labelled the prospective deal ‘a bargain’, with former Leicester City star and current Aston Villa squad member thought to be making his way to the red half of Manchester for around £35 million.

Perhaps the most prevailing reaction seems to be that MUFC should have done this deal “years ago”, with several posts on social media joking that this feels like the 2019 summer window, dubbing it everything from “random” and “out of nowhere”, to “shrewd” and “a steal” at the reported price.

Many others are worrying whether they’re getting a player who’s potentially leaving the peak of his career, but it’s no secret that the club want multiple reinforcements in the middle of the park for 26/27, with Chelsea youngster Andrey Santos having now been teased by the club.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Manchester United (@manutd)

While Santos is now over the line, it’s worth noting that nothing official has been shared by United regarding Tielemans, and that’s a key thing to note given the recent U-turn made regarding recruitment.

INEOS were all but nailed on to sign another Brazilian midfielder in Atalanta’s Ederson, who also received a late call-up to the Brazil squad for this World Cup, but it was revealed earlier this month that the transfer has now been cancelled.

This comes after medical tests revealed new information regarding a knee issue in the previous campaign, which looks to have taken the deal off the table.

All that being said, the board are still expected to bring in another midfielder if possible, with a return to the Champions League and a new term with two cups meaning lots more games to play and more strength in depth required. Fears over perceived panic buying and back-up options still remain, though.

On the other hand, you could very well see another academy graduate brought through should transfer spending be limited; after all, they’ve got that big, shiny new stadium to pay for…

Location for new Manchester United stadium announced after club secures land for the build
Safe to say that’ll take up a fair old chunk of the budget.

Read more:

  • Castlefield Bowl showing England vs Argentina game at Road to Victory fan zone
  • Transfers – Man United reportedly in the race for Rafael Leao as asking price is revealed
  • Prime Minister set to announce extra bank holiday if England win the 2026 World Cup

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Bryan Berlin/Олександр Осіпов (via Wikimedia Commons)

More

Road to Victory outdoor fan zone Castlefield Bowl Manchester England semi-final tickets

City Centre

Road to Victory is turning Manchester’s Castlefield Bowl into the latest World Cup fan zone

The Manchester Drummer Three Peaks challenge with drum kit

Audio

A local Manc musician is taking on a Three Peaks challenge whilst carrying a full drum kit

Fire at Dovestone Reservoir

News

Firefighters continue to tackle moorland fire at Dovestones Reservoir amid ‘strong’ winds

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Motorway

News

Police appeal after woman is killed by driving wrong way down M62 near Rochdale

Art & Culture

The best things to do in Greater Manchester this week | 13 – 19 July 2026

Beaches near Greater Manchester

Cheshire

Beaches close to Manchester that you don’t need to drive for hours to reach

Eats Logo
the best beer gardens in Stockport

A guide to an SK in the sunshine – 15 of the best beer gardens and bars with outdoor seating in Stockport

Riverbank Coffee's famous sausage rolls

The woodland coffee shop with amazing sausage rolls you can only reach on foot

Best graduation deals and freebies Manchester 2026

The best graduation deals and freebies in Manchester this celebration season

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches

The people's voice of Greater Manchester

The people's voice of Greater Manchester.
Our aim? To make sure you’re in the know, entertained and educated on what’s happened, or what’s happening, in our great city.

39 Princess Street, M2 4FN
[email protected]

  • About The Manc
  • Contact Us
  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Subscribe to our Newsletter

Copyright © 2026 The Manc