One Eight Six in Manchester city centre has posted an emotional statement following the huge blaze inside its venue on New Year’s Eve.
A fire broke out at the Deansgate basement bar shortly after the midnight countdown.
Terrifying CCTV footage obtained by the Manchester Evening News showed the moment balloons across the ceiling caught fire.
The footage shows how quickly the blaze took hold, with people scrambling for safety.
Screams and loud popping noises can be heard.
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CCTV from when the fire took hold at One Eight Six.
Around 170 people were evacuated from One Eight Six, and two men were treated for smoke inhalation.
The bar’s co-founder Dean Mac has now released a public statement, saying it has taken ‘five long, emotional days’ to address the fire – which they say has destroyed the main bar and live music venue.
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He wrote: “We cannot put into words how deeply excruciatingly painful this is to be writing, but the fire that broke out just after midnight on NYE has completely destroyed the main room and the majority of the contents within.”
One Eight Six
The statement also thanks their staff and the emergency services who reacted so quickly to save people’s lives.
One Eight Six say they will reopen ‘as soon as we possibly can’.
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They are urging anyone affected by the incident and seeking professional support to reach out.
One Eight Six was only open for three months before the pandemic started and forced it to close for a year.
People have been responding with messages of support for the venue.
Love Island star Scott Thomas wrote: “The comeback will be beautiful.”
Actor and model Gemma Pell posted: “Ugh this is emotional! Sending you all so much love, light and strength at this difficult time. Bring on the come back”
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The full statement from One Eight Six
“It has taken 5 long, emotional days to write this…
“The ONE EIGHT SIX concept and venue on Deansgate took us 2 years to create and build. Just three months after launch night, we were told we had to close our doors for 12 months due to a global pandemic.
“Once we were allowed to re-open, we could have only dreamt of what ONE EIGHT SIX was going to become and how our loyal customers were going to love the brand as much as we did.
“We have built the most dedicated and professional family of staff and we were all so incredibly excited to be celebrating New Years Eve with you, especially after such a successful Christmas period.
“We cannot put into words how deeply excruciatingly painful this is to be writing, but the fire that broke out just after midnight on NYE has completely destroyed the main room and the majority of the contents within.
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“We will be forever grateful to all our brave staff and the emergency services that saved peoples lives that night, and no matter what material items are gone, everyone is safe.
“If any of our customers that night still have belongings inside the venue, please send the ONE EIGHT SIX Instagram account a description of what they are, along with pictures of the items and our team will be in touch shortly to try and retrieve them and get them back to you.
“We also ask that anyone present that evening who is in need of free professional mental or emotional support, please get in touch.
“If any of you have any doubts, we WILL come back from this and we WILL be re-opening again as soon as we possibly can.
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“From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your constant support.
“DM / ONE EIGHT SIX x”
Featured image: One Eight Six
News
Body of woman found in River Mersey last year finally identified after ‘extensive’ investigation
Emily Sergeant
The body of woman who was found in the River Mersey last year has finally been identified.
Following what has been described as an ‘extensive investigation’ by Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) Major Incident Team to determine the identity of the body, which was sadly discovered in the river adjacent to Chorlton Water Park on 21 March 2024, the family of the victim has now been informed and supported by specialist officers.
The victim has been formally named as 38-year-old Laura Stanley, who was originally from Derbyshire but was living in Stockport.
After the body was discovered, and ‘exhaustive and determined’ investigation by GMP officers began to identify here, including detailed checks of both national and international databases.
The Major Incident Team (MIT) also closely worked in collaboration with specialist forensic service providers to create an anthropological profile, which eventually culminated in the creation of a facial reconstruction image.
Following several media appeals, a relative of Laura contacted officers and then a DNA match was confirmed through a familial link.
“Laura was a kind and gentle person with a great sense of fun and adventure,” Laura’s family said in a heartbreaking tribute to her.
“She was generous, thoughtful, caring and always keen to volunteer within the community. Laura was a proud and loving mum and she will be greatly missed by her girls and all of her friends and family who loved her dearly.”
The River Mersey, across from Chorlton Water Park, where Laura’s body was discovered / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
While Laura has now been identified, police say further investigations will take place to understand her last movements, the events that led to her death, and her discovery in the river.
Additionally, as is standard practice, GMP’s Professional Standards Directorate is also reviewing a previous missing report relating to Laura in the time before the discovery of her body, which will determine prior contact relating to Laura, and whether the appropriate measures were enacted.
#UPDATE | A woman who was discovered in the River Mersey last year has been identified following an extensive investigation by officers in GMP’s Major Incident Team.
Thank you to those of you who have shared our appeals over the last year.
Anyone who knew Laura and thinks they may be able to assist with the investigation is asked to contact police by calling 101, or by using the Live Chat Service at gmp.police.uk, quoting log number 1191 of 21 March 2024.
Alternatively, you can contact the Major Incident Team Syndicate 3 directly on 0161 856 9479, or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
It is currently believed that Laura was last seen around January 2024.
Featured Image – GMP
News
More than 70,000 home buyers set to pay thousands after missing stamp duty relief deadline
Emily Sergeant
More than 70,000 home buyers across England are estimated to have missed the stamp duty relief deadline.
This sadly means they’ll be required to fork out thousands of pounds extra.
In case you hadn’t heard, up until yesterday (31 March 2025), anyone who was moving and had bought a home in the past was not required to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax, better-known as just stamp duty, on the portion of the property price up to £250,000.
But from today (1 April), this threshold has now fallen back to £125,000, which unfortunately means that property purchasers are facing an extra £2,500 in moving costs, on average.
While the end of the stamp duty relief will mostly affect those Greater Manchester buyers who had already previously purchased properties, first time buyers are sadly not exempt from the deadline changes too, as their current stamp duty threshold of £425,000 has now fallen back to £300,000 as of today.
Person holding the keys to a new house in their hand / Credit: Maria Ziegler (via Unsplash)
Given that the average property price for a first time buyer-type home is currently around £227,965, according to Rightmove, the new £300,000 threshold may hit those purchasing properties in more expensive areas – particularly the South East.
A third of those estimated 70,000 home buyers who have missed the deadline are thought to be first time buyers.
Leading property platform Rightmove published an analysis in February into just how much of an impact the end of the stamp duty relief would have on home buyers, all while calling on the UK Government to announce a short extension to the deadline to help people in the middle of the property purchasing process avoid potentially thousands of pounds in extra moving costs.
But despite these calls from industry leaders, there was no extension to the deadline announced in the last week’s latest Spring Statement.
“It’s extremely disappointing that the Government has not used the Spring Statement as an opportunity to extend the impending stamp duty deadline for those currently going through the home-moving process,” commented Rightmove’s property expert Colleen Babcock.
“We estimate over 70,000 people are going to miss the deadline and complete in April instead, and a third of those are first time buyers.”
Daisy Jackson -
6th January 2022 
