News
Defibrillator stolen from ambulance crew in Oldham returned following online appeal
The vital piece of medical equipment was found and returned by an Oldham resident.
The North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) has confirmed that its stolen defibrillator has now been returned “thanks to the power of social media”.
In an appeal which took social media by storm, and was shared thousands of times, the NWAS urged the public to come forward with any information that could lead to the safe return of the piece of “vital life-saving equipment”, which was taken from the scene of an incident in the first hour of the New Year.
The NWAS said that “an unknown individual” took the defibrillator from an ambulance vehicle on Union Street West in Oldham at about 00:15 GMT on Saturday 1 January.
The device – which is part of every ambulance’s equipment – is used in life-threatening emergencies when people are in cardiac arrest, and a spokesperson for the NWAS also revealed that these defibrillators are “much larger than the community ones and those in public buildings”, with “special training” required to use them.
“As well as being an expensive and necessary piece of equipment for any ambulance crew, using them incorrectly can cause serious harm and they can be potentially fatal in the wrong hands,” the spokesperson continued.
The NWAS issued a public appeal for the device’s return on Twitter on New Year’s Day.
But now, “thanks to the power of social media” after thousands of people from far and wide joined members of the Greater Manchester public to spread the word, the NWAS said the defibrillator is now “back in service saving lives”.
The vital piece of medical equipment was collected from Mr Fiaz Ali from Oldham.
Mr Ali spotted the defibrillator by the roadside a mile away from where it disappeared, and immediately recognised it and contacted the NWAS to arrange its safe return.
“When I saw it, I knew it was the one being talked about on social media and so I took it home for safekeeping and then immediately contacted the ambulance service,” Mr Ali explained.
“One of my family members was taken ill not so long ago and the ambulance crew used one of these machines, so I knew how important it was [and] I’m glad it has been safely found and that I was able to help.”
Oliver Mayor – Operations Manager for Tameside and Glossop at the NWAS – added: “We are very grateful to Mr Ali for his vigilance and the safe return of the defibrillator, which is in full working order and back on the road in one of our ambulances.
“I went to see him yesterday evening to collect it and thanked him personally for his help.
“We were overwhelmed with messages of support and offers to help from the public and are delighted to have it back with us.”
The NWAS Trust also said it received offers of donations to replace the defibrillator by “kind-hearted members of the community”.
The trust said it would like to thank everyone who helped aid in the device’s safe return.
Featured Image – NWAS
News
Jackass star Bam Margera cancels Manchester shows due to ‘injury’ after street fight video emerges
Danny Jones
Former Jackass star Bam Margera has had to cancel both of his Manchester shows just hours before the first event was supposed to take place due to injury.
The skater, TV personality, filmmaker and former stunt performer is currently in the UK for his Q&A tour and live interview series with DJ and presenter Matt Stocks, having recently played in Glasgow and a pair of shows in the Republic of Ireland.
However, the 44-year-old has unexpectedly had to cancel both of his intimate conversation dates at Gorilla in the city centre, with the venue citing “unforeseen complications emerging from a recent injury”.
He was set to play this evening and again next week on Tuesday, 30 April, with the shows billed as somewhat of a meet and greet with Margera and him “talking from the heart”.
The news comes less than 24 hours after Margera shared a clip of him on the phone complaining to police in the US after a video of him fighting on a street in LA surfaced online.
While details surrounding how the scrap arose and the identity of the other man in the video still remain scarce, Margera has officially claimed self-defence. He can be heard shouting several expletives in the man’s direction throughout the altercation.
Responding to what he called a ‘bum fight’ on his other Instagram page, he tells 911: “Get a police officer here. Los Angeles Police Department is fucking worthless…
“You should be ashamed of yourselves… It’s been two hours of us trying to sleep and, fucking, this dude’s throwing shit everywhere and nobody showed up.”
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Speaking to TMZ, a representative from his team reiterated that the unidentified male was the aggressor and eventually exited the situation with both parties leaving without injury at the time.
That being said, is still unclear as to whether the incident and the cancellation of his Gorilla shows in Manchester are linked.
Offering a separate statement directly, he added: “I’m not going to be threatened or attacked without defending myself and my friends or people trying to just walk by this idiot, I aimed only to neutralize the threat and ensure the safety of my crew.”
Bam’s rep told the outlet that the altercation ended with no injuries and the aggressor eventually departed and he is still yet to issue a response after calling off the remainder of his dates.
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Featured Images — Bam Margera (via Instagram)
News
FA Cup final confirmed for 3pm kick-off time as Metropolitan Police stress safety for fans
Danny Jones
The start time for the 2023/24 FA Cup final has officially been confirmed with holders Manchester City and challengers Manchester United set to kick off at 3pm on Saturday, 25 May.
It’s a Manc final for the second year running and yet another Manchester Derby this year as City beat Chelsea on penalties to try and defend one of their trophies from last season and Man United did just about enough to scrape through against Coventry City this past weekend.
Logistics and travel arrangements for the conclusion of last year’s FA Cup proved problematic, with the Metropolitan Police stressing that they needed the schedule brought forward to try and help curb crowd trouble – the first time the final had been reverted back to a traditional 3pm start since 2011.
Kick-off times for the knockout tournament have varied for the last three finals, having taken place at 4:45 and 5:15pm in the two years prior to 2023’s first-ever all-Manchester final, but it looks as though the same rationale has been put in place once again.
As per an official statement by the FA, the final has now been officially confirmed as 3pm BST which has been agreed with local authorities, members of the Safety Advisory Group and broadcasters, as well as with the clubs who must take the time needed for fans to travel to and from Wembley into consideration.
While pockets of fighting broke out before and after the game last year, it was deemed that this time would still be the best kick-off time for all parties involved and there will, of course, be an increased police presence in London for the game next month.
Although prioritising safety comes as welcome news, it’ll no doubt prove to be a blow to broadcasters who prefer later kick-offs when eyeing up peak audience numbers; the game is also set to clash with ITV’s coverage of the rugby as the Investec Champions Cup final is also due to start at 2:45pm.
With last season’s historic FA Cup final being the first time the two sides had met in the final in the entire history of the oldest competition in all of football, it rounded off a massive year of viewing figures for the tournament which has continued to hit record numbers in 2024.
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The game will once again be shown live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and ITV1; ITVX, UTV, as well as STV, and there will no doubt be huge screenings of the game all over Greater Manchester, where an increased police presence is also expected.
With Man City having dropped out of the Champions League, this year’s FA Cup final could see them defend the first of their treble for last season. As for their fierce and historic rivals, this is the second year in a row that both United’s men’s and women’s teams have made it to their respective FA Cup finals.
Is it going to be back-to-back FA Cups for the Blues or are the Reds going to make it two trophies in Erik ten Hag’s first two seasons?
Featured Images — @brentflanders (via Flickr)/FA Cup (via X)
Emily Sergeant -
3rd January 2022 
