A man has been arrested on suspicion of rape after a woman was allegedly attacked in a tent in Manchester city centre.
City centre patrols responded to a report of a nearby disturbance in the afternoon of Saturday 29 November.
They saw a man and a woman in Lincoln Square where the woman, who is in her 20s, disclosed to officers that she had been raped by the man the previous night.
GMP officers believe they had spoken to one another in Manchester city centre on Friday 28 November, before going into a tent on Lincoln Square, where the assault took place.
The 30-year-old man was arrested, has been questioned over the weekend, and released with strict bail conditions not to enter the city centre.
ADVERTISEMENT
Local patrols are making enquiries and investigating this incident, and urging anyone with concerns or information to come forward.
Detectives from City of Manchester CID continue to investigate and anyone with information to help with enquiries should directly report it to GMP.
ADVERTISEMENT
Superintendent Nicola Williams, of GMP’s City of Manchester district, said: “Our priority is supporting the victim through what is a really distressing time. We are working with her and specialist support agencies to work at a pace that will establish the full details and secure the best evidence to bring a successful prosecution.
“Our enquiries so far suggest this incident took place on Friday evening after the offender began interacting with the victim in the city centre at around 10pm.
“It is shortly after when the offence is believed to have taken place, and we are doing all we can to understand exactly what has happened so we can bring the offender to justice for crimes committed.
ADVERTISEMENT
“While we have not been able to secure charges at this stage, we are in contact with the Crown Prosecution Service to help bring a case to court. In the meantime, we have strict bail conditions on the suspect not to enter Manchester city centre while enquiries continue.
“There are no other suspects we are looking for. Officers are in the area engaging with those who frequent the area so they can come to us with any information that may seem insignificant but could help us.
“We already have increased patrols across the city on Friday and Saturday nights to help ensure woman and girls can feel safe in the nighttime economy. We know thousands of residents and visitors enjoy Manchester’s nightlife week in week out, and if you are out and about you will continue to see our officers on hand to provide reassurance and security in the coming weeks.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact police directly online or via 101 quoting incident 1613 of 29/11/2025. Details can be passed anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Hundreds of staff at four Greater Manchester hospitals to strike AGAIN next week
Emily Sergeant
Another round of strikes has been called at a handful of major Greater Manchester hospitals.
Amid ongoing disputes following the first set of strikes at the end of last month, it has now been announced that more than 350 Northern Care Alliance Foundation Trust (NCA) employees – including nurses, clinical support workers and housekeepers – who are members of the union UNISON will once again walk out for three days next week.
According to the union, the dispute centres on the NCA’s use of an outside agency called NHS Professionals (NHSP) to manage overtime.
When covering staff shortages, workers are entitled to time-and-a-half pay – however in some cases, staff earn less than they would on a normal shift, and some have even been missing out on more than £80 per shift, the union added.
Operating theatre staff were previously on picket lines in June, and although an option to resolve the row was initially tabled by NCA bosses, this has now fallen through.
Hundreds of staff at four of Greater Manchester’s hospitals are set to strike next week / Credit: Stephen Andrews (via Unsplash)
This means that staff at Salford Royal Hospital, Royal Oldham Hospital, Rochdale Infirmary, and Fairfield Hospital in Bury are walking out next week on Monday 14, Tuesday 15, and Thursday 17 September.
The union’s North West regional organiser, Kevin Dolan, said the trust had given ‘no indication’ that it’s willing to re-enter negotiations, adding that operating theatre services were ‘chronically under-staffed’ and staff were choosing to work extra shifts to cover shortages.
Ahead of the August strikes, the trust declared a critical incident to help it secure extra support and keep urgent surgery running, while also announcing that some procedures would have to be postponed.
Understandably, some disruption is expected at each of the hospitals on strike days.
But Gertie Nic Philib, who is the chief people and strategy officer at the Northern Care Alliance, said that the trust will do ‘everything we can to minimise the impact on patients’ and ‘maintain high standards of care and quality at all times.’
“We also have contingency plans in place for emergency situations,” they concluded.
Featured Image – Pxhere
News
Stockport man jailed for life after kidnapping and sexually assaulting teenage girl
Emily Sergeant
A Stockport man has been sentenced to life in prison after kidnapping and sexually assaulting a teenage girl on her way home from the library.
Paul Sharpe has been sentenced to life imprisonment with an eight-year minimum term in prison after being convicted of a number of offences when subjected a teenage girl to what police called a ‘terrifying ordeal’ that lasted several hours back in May 2026.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed that the victim had been studying at Sale Library before beginning her journey home with friends at around 5:50pm and contacting her parents at 6:10pm to let them know she was on her way.
Twenty minutes later, she spoke to her boyfriend on the phone and said she was approximately five minutes away from home, but that her phone battery was about to die.
This was the last contact received from the victim that evening.
While walking along Bradgate Road in Altrincham, the victim noticed a grey Ford parked nearby and a man wearing a high-visibility jacket pressing doorbells in the area.
As she walked past, Sharpe approached her from behind, placed her in a headlock and threatened to stab her if she did not get into his vehicle.
Concerned that their daughter had not returned home, the victim’s family contacted police at 9:22pm to report her missing, and officers immediately launched an investigation to locate her.
Over the next several hours, the victim was subjected to and placed in a number of terrifying situations.
Sharpe drove the victim to several locations across Greater Manchester and Cheshire, before police located and arrested him at around 3:40am on 19 May 2026.
Following his arrested, 56-year-old Sharpe was convicted of kidnap, committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence, sexual assault, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, threats with a bladed article, and administering a noxious substance with intent to injure, annoy or aggrieve.
“This was a terrifying ordeal for a young girl who was simply making her way home,” explained Detective Inspector Karl Perry, from GMP’s Criminal Investigation Department.
“Sharpe targeted a vulnerable victim, subjected her to hours of fear and intimidation, and went on to sexually assault her.
“The victim has shown immense courage throughout the investigation and court proceedings. Through her bravery and actions, she no doubt made it harder for Sharpe to carry out whatever acts he had planned.”
Daisy Jackson -
3rd December 2025 
