An coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak at Manchester Piccadilly train station has forced dozens of staff into self-isolation after 11 people are confirmed to have tested positive.
Avanti – which runs the West Coast Mainline route from Manchester to London – has confirmed an outbreak at Piccadilly, which is managed by Network Rail.
It’s understood a staff member took a COVID-19 test last Monday before arriving for his shift on Tuesday, and then received a positive test result later that day. It was at this point he informed his managers, and now some 11 Avanti staff members have subsequently tested positive, with a further 25 self-isolating after having contact with the affected individual.
In total, 42 of the 95 Avanti workforce in Manchester are currently now in self-isolation, although it’s thought that not all are linked to this case.
Avanti West Coast bosses say they acted as soon as they were made aware of the positive test.
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The operator retraced the employee’s movements to send “around 10” of their colleagues home, and they said a further 15 workers were contacted via the NHS Track and Trace App and were told to self-isolate.
The area where the affected individual worked was closed immediately and underwent a specialist deep clean overnight.
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Dave Whitehouse – Safety and Security Director at Avanti West Coast – said: “We’re providing support for all of our people who have tested positive for COVID-19 and those self-isolating at home.
“We’ve been in regular contact; providing advice and guidance as well as stringently following government guidelines [and] we are cooperating fully with Public Health England North West and the local authority.
“As soon as we were aware of the positive test, we confirmed the member of staff’s movements and sent a number of their colleagues home immediately. A further 15 were contacted via the NHS Track and Trace App and told to self-isolate.’
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He confirmed the deep clean took place and added: “Throughout the pandemic we have ensured our people can carry out their duties in a COVID-safe manner.”
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Scott Green – Manchester Piccadilly station manager for Network Rail – said: “We have offered support to Avanti West Coast during its staffing issues due to COVID-19.”
He added that the affected area is separate from other staff areas in the station.
Mr Green continued: “Manchester Piccadilly is open and operating as normal.
“We have regular and rigorous cleaning regimes in place so passengers can travel with confidence. We’d urge passengers to wear a face covering unless exempt for medical reasons, use the numerous hand sanitising points and follow the one-way systems when travelling through the station.”
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20 of the best Father’s Day deals in and around Greater Manchester | 2025
Danny Jones
This weekend is festivals galore with Parklife and Outbreak, as well as National Beer Day here in the Uk, but most importantly for lots of us, it’s Father’s Day, i.e. that one specific time of year when you can spoil the bloke who ‘never asks for anything’, is ‘always looking after the rest of us’and so on.
You know the drill.
Every year, when it comes round to Mother’s Day, we always get the usual suspects commenting, ‘What about Father’s Day?’ – well, for what we hope is the final time, the date is the third Sunday in June and in 2025, it happens to be this coming Sunday, 15 June.
Now we’ve got all the tedious housekeeping out of the way, we’re going to channel our inner non-nonsense dad energy and tell you a few deals and offers that you can score for your pops this Father’s Day in a handy little round-up. We think they’d be proud of that already.
Great Father’s Day deals and offers for Greater Manchester dads
The Black Friar – Salford: ‘Bottomless Boddingtons’ deal; book a table this Sunday and when you buy your pops a pint, he gets free refills.
The Black Friar’s Father Day offer has to be one of the best deals around, if you ask us.Boddies is the ultimate Mancunian dad beer.Credit: The Manc Group
1.Lane7 – Great Northern Warehouse: Free pint when booking and using the codeCHEERSDAD at checkout online.
2.J. W. Lees – Various: Sunday roast with all the trimmings, bottomless gravy and unlimited Yorkshire puddings at all J. W. Lees locations.
3.Greene King – Various: Free pint of any Greene King-brewed beer for dads when booking a table for food at any Greene King pub.
Credit: The MancA Greene King great.Greene King is keeping their Father’s Day deals special for 2025: free pints, init.
4.Spirit of Manchester Distillery – City centre: Complimentary rum negroni for all dads. Feasting boards + a bottle of wine for £50 are also available.
5.Stock Exchange Hotel – City centre: Limited-edition Afternoon Tea and Sunday Lunch all Father’s Day weekend. Afternoon teas are available all weekend from 12:30pm until 5pm (4:30pm on Saturday). Book now to secure your spot.
6.Sexy Fish – Spinningfields: ‘Roll the dice’ offer, where fathers can win prizes, including an extra game, free beer, raffle entry, and dad eats free. There is a catch, though, as you can also land yourself a trick, which means dad pays for everything… You can book HERE.
7.Pip – Deansgate: Add a welcome drink and complimentary massage from specialists Ruuby before or after food when reserving a table for Sunday lunch. Bookings HERE.
8.Albert’s Schloss – City centre: Every dad dining ‘in-haus’ will receive a branded stein and a bottle of Krombacher to take home; they can even have it engraved from 1-4pm when booking in advance. There will also be a ‘Rise + Shine Brunch’, where dads can take control of the playlist.
9.Zouk – Oxford Road Corridor: Brunch and Sunday roast sharing platters, close-up magic with Daniel Maze, as well as Zouk BBQ Banquet Kits and Masterclasses.
As far as deals and offers go, Zouk has some of the best in Manchester as it is, let alone on Father’s Day. (Credit: The Manc Eats)
10.The Ivy – Spinningfields: Cowboy-themed Father’s Day set menus on Saturday, 14 and Sunday, 15 June. Top-quality meat and fish are the stars of the show, and dads will also take home a limited edition set of The Ivy playing cards as a souvenir. More info on the menu and bookings HERE.
11.TGI Fridays – Central and Trafford Centre: Free pint of Hofmeister (or alcohol-free version) with any portion of wings purchased.
12.TheRefuge/Kimpton Clocktower Hotel – Oxford Road: Free pint on Manchester Union Lager when booking a meal this Sunday.
13.Cockfield’s Farm Park – Oldham/Ashton: Free entry for dads with every child ticket. In addition to the usual resident animals, kids’ playground, cafe and gift shop, there will also be a ‘Machine Madness’ event this weekend. Find out more HERE.
14.Seven Brothers – Ancoats, Media City, Salford Brewery and Taproom: Father’s Day Bundle (12 cans from £34.95) and Gift Pack (£9.95) as well as other discounted items available to order online.
15.Forbici – City centre: Free haircut for all fathers at Urban Gent when settling the bill.
One of the most random Father’s Day deals in Manchester, we’ll admit, but we rate it.
16.The Lead Station – Chorlton: Free pint of beer and branded Shindigger pint glass. Set Sunday menus are also available for booking.
17.The Martlet Kitchen – Rochdale: Special Father’s Day menu; as well as the usual stunning Sunday roast, dads can also share a ‘Tomahawk Rib Eye for Two’ or ‘The Lancashire Mixed Grill’ – both built for big boys. You can find out more details and reserve your table HERE.
It really is a Greater Manchester gem, and its Father’s Day menu offers plenty of variety, plus quality too.
18.Manchester Airport – GM Ringway: Hangar and aircraft showcase tours at the Runway Visitor Park as well as a free sausage or bacon barm. Now, if this Father’s Day offer isn’t the most dad deal on this list, we don’t know what is. You can book online or over the phone on 0161 489 3932.
19. Maya – Gay Village: Bottomless brunch promising 90 minutes of free-flowing drinks as well as a ‘Quiz & Cocktails’ event from 6:30pm onwards. The prize? £50 bar tab.
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20.meetspaceVR – Trafford Park: 25% off all gift cards when using code BONUSTIME at checkout, and those who spend £50 or more can claim a bonus Black Card, which gets you 25% off all future bookings. As in forever.
Now, obviously, this is by no means an exhaustive list of all the Father’s Day deals and offers that there in and around Greater Manchester this year, but it’s a bloody good start.
And on a very serious note, if this particular annual observance is one that you’re also guilty of perhaps overlooking, then let’s make 2025 the last year that is the case.
Happy Father’s Day to all the proper good pops out there – we love you. Cheers.
Yellow weather warning issued for Parklife weekend with thunderstorms forecast
Daisy Jackson
A yellow weather warning has been issued for Greater Manchester over the weekend – just as Parklife festival gets underway.
The Met Office has predicted thunderstorms may hit the region on Saturday, the first day of the two-day party up at Heaton Park.
There’s a yellow weather warning in place across much of the UK over the coming days, but it doesn’t come into force in Greater Manchester until Saturday.
The Met Office is currently predicting wet weather for Parklife festival-goers on day one, with a 70% chance of light rain from the time the gates open until early evening.
It’s then might to brighten up and is likely to be dry, if a little cloudy, into the evening.
The yellow weather warning for thunderstorms is in place from midnight until 6pm on Saturday 14 June.
Temperatures are expected to peak at around 21°C
As for Sunday at Parklife, which will be headlined by none other than Charli XCX, the weather is looking a lot more settled, if a bit cooler.
There are forecasted highs of 18°C and lows of 12°.
While the day will begin quite overcast, it’s expected to really brighten up with sunny intervals in the afternoon and into the evening.
Back in 2023, when thunderstorms hit Manchester during Parklife, the entire festival had to be momentarily halted.
On that occasion, festival-goers were told to ‘keep away from metal structures’ and all the live music was paused.
The Manc -
11th November 2020 
