A driver who struck an 11-year-old girl in Radcliffe, then drove off and left her lying in the road with catastrophic injuries, has been jailed.
Ruby Cropper died after being hit by the car driven by Andrew Cairns on 10 August 2020.
Cairns, of Rupert Street, Radcliffe, was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving at a trial at The Hilton Nightingale Crown Court in January, and has today been sentenced to five years in jail.
He will also be disqualified from driving for seven years.
Ruby’s parents have spoken of their heartbreak, saying their ‘world ended’ when they saw their daughter ‘unconscious and dying’.
They also said that Ruby’s organs were donated, adding: “Our brave, selfless girl saved three people with her kidneys and liver.”
New Road in Radcliffe, where Ruby Cropper was struck. Credit: Google Maps
Ruby had been walking along the pavement with a friend, and was struck by Cairns’ Suzuki Alto while crossing New Road in .
Eye witnesses say he was travelling at ‘around 50 to 60mph’ in a 30mph zone.
They also reported him overtaking cars and cutting across traffic before hitting Ruby.
The young girl was left with severe head injuries, and died in hospital two days after the collision.
A post-mortem examination concluded that her death was ‘primarily due to brain injury and attributed this to the collision’.
Cairns handed himself into the police, denying that he was driving dangerously but admitting to travelling at excess speed.
PC Laura Drew, a forensic collision reconstruction officer employed by Greater Manchester Police, filed a report that stated: “Witnesses estimate Mr Cairns speed was between 50mph and 60mph.
Andrew Cairns, who left Ruby Cropper lying in the road.
“It is not known as to what exact path or speed Miss Cropper ran at, however research shows her time in the road to be between 0.8 and 1.3 seconds. Mr Cairns could not have avoided this collision at the speed he was travelling.
“However, had Mr Cairns been travelling at the speed limit, Miss Cropper would have had time to pass across the front of his vehicle without him having to take any evasive action.”
Lead investigator, PC Phil Drummond, from GMP’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “For reasons only known to himself, Cairns chose to drive in a way that would inevitably end in disaster.
“His reckless actions had the most severe of consequences; the life of a young, innocent girl ended and a family torn apart.
“As quickly as he took Ruby’s life, he fled the scene without any thought for her, leaving decent members of the public to rush to her aid.
“While Cairns admitted to causing Ruby’s death at an earlier hearing, he failed to recognise and take responsibility for his sustained, despicable course of driving.
Cairns stood trial at the Hilton Nightingale Crown Court in Manchester. Credit: Google Maps
“Furthermore, only six months later and while on bail, he continued to drive without regard for public safety and was caught speeding, showing a complete and utter lack of remorse.
“Thankfully, 17 months after the collision, a jury saw through Cairns’ inconsistent account and rightly convicted him of causing Ruby’s death by driving dangerously.
“I wish to thank Ruby’s family for their patience and compassion throughout the entire investigation. I hope this serves to bring them some level of closure.
“Furthermore, I would like to take the opportunity to commend the efforts of the members of public who not only aided Ruby until paramedics arrived but furthermore, appeared in court to give evidence, ultimately reliving their horrific memories.
“I hope this serves to reassure our communities and a reminder those who seek to put them in danger – the Serious Collision Investigation Unit is dedicated to our work and will continue to prosecute them.”
Statements from Ruby Cropper’s parents
Shelley Booth (Ruby’s mum): “From the very moment I received the call from my husband telling me that our beautiful daughter Ruby had been run over, life has never been the same.
“The shock of seeing her unconscious and dying in front of me is the worst thing I have ever had to deal with in my life.
“I couldn’t understand how my gorgeous, happy girl, who would help anyone, had been run over and left in the road, and that the driver didn’t have the heart to stop and help her, not even ring an ambulance.
“Our world ended at that point. We had lost our ray of sunshine. Our girl was always positive, a kind, caring and funny girl who had her whole life ahead of her.
“We will never get to see her prom, her first day at college and at university. We won’t see her get married or become a mum. We will never see what life she would have had.
“No sentence will ever be enough, as we have to spend the rest of our lives without our beautiful, kind, caring and funny girl. She was the brightest light in the darkest room. We miss her so much.
“Ruby would have died on the 10 August but, because she was an organ donor, we had until the early hours of 12 August to say goodbye.
“We lay with her and played her favourite music, took her hand and foot prints, told her how much we loved her and were there until her last breath.
“Our brave, selfless girl saved three people with her kidneys and her liver. They have frozen her heart valves for possible matches in the future.”
Ian Cropper (Ruby’s dad): “After it all happened, I was angry for a long time. I didn’t care about anything, life just became pointless and my reason for being wasn’t apparent anymore.
“Every day merged into one and they felt endless – no work, no sleep, no one to talk to that could understand the way I was feeling – I was lost in my own bubble of anger that I couldn’t allow anyone in to, it was too hard.
“Ruby was my whole world, she was my best friend and absolute love of my life – Ruby made me the person I am. She made me a Daddy, she made me see the world differently, she made me strong when I didn’t feel it, she made me happy when I was sad – she was my EVERYTHING and it’s hard to put into words the loss I feel.
“I am not sure there are enough words in this world to try and describe a world without Ruby in it.”
Featured image: GMP
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All military personnel can travel for FREE on Manchester’s public transport this weekend
Emily Sergeant
All military personnel will be allowed to travel for free across Greater Manchester’s public transport system this weekend.
In case you hadn’t heard, this Saturday 28 June is Armed Forces Day.
Armed Forces Day sees Brits celebrate those who are currently serving troops, their families, serving reservists, veterans, and cadets, and Manchester will also be paying tribute to the hundreds who have ‘fearlessly served’ with day of commemorations in the city centre on Saturday.
Mancunians are expected to line the streets as a parade made up of armed forces personnel, veterans, and cadets will begin a procession that will proudly march through the centre of Manchester, starting in St Peter’s Square at 11:30am.
Manchester will be marking Armed Forces Day 2025 this weekend with a 'poignant' military parade through the city centre. 🎖🥁
You can also expect an afternoon of live performances by the lively Lancashire Army Artillery Band, alongside music hosted by BBC Radio DJ, Michelle Dignan, up until 4pm.
Historic military displays, and stalls from organisations including the NHS, Royal British Legion, and Manchester City Council’s own Armed Forces Covenant, will also be in attendance, as well giving visitors the chance to explore an engaging display of military vehicles, uniforms, artefacts, and personal stories that span the rich legacy of the British armed forces inside a pop-up Military Museum tent.
This year’s Armed Forces Day is also particularly-special because it marks the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE Day) which happened on 8 May, and the upcoming Victory over Japan (VJ Day) on 15 August.
All military personnel can travel for free on Manchester’s public transport this weekend / Credit: GMP | Bee Network
And so, in order to honour what an important weekend it is for hundreds in our region, the Bee Network has announced that all military personnel will be allowed to travel for free.
Free travel will be permitted on all Bee Network bus and tram services on both Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 June for any members of the Regular and Reserve Services carrying their MOD90 card, veterans who carry their Veterans’ badge or Veterans’ rail card, and cadets travelling in uniform.
To mark Armed Forces Day, we're offering free travel this weekend (28-29 June) for military personnel and veterans across bus and tram services in Greater Manchester.
“The Armed Forces community makes an invaluable contribution to our society, and we’re showing our appreciation with free travel on Bee Network buses and trams across Greater Manchester this weekend,” commented Danny Vaughan, who is the Chief Network Officer at Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM).
The free travel is part of TfGM’s commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant – a promise from the nation that those who serve or have served, and their families, are treated fairly.
“It’s a special weekend and one we’re proud to get behind,” Danny concluded.
Featured Image – Janus Boye
News
Stockport paedophile jailed after ‘grooming, exploiting, and coercing’ teenage girls in early 2000s
Emily Sergeant
A prolific paedophile has been sentenced after admitting to ‘grooming, exploiting, and coercing’ teenage girls in the early 2000s.
Christopher Oates, from Stockport, has been brought to justice this week after he subjected vulnerable girls to what Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has referred to as a ‘campaign’ of violence and sexual abuse 20 years ago.
The court heard how the 45-year-old groomed one of the survivors from when she was just 14 years old, by providing her with a false sense of security, paying her compliments, and pretending to be her boyfriend, all before he proceeded to ply her with drugs, gifts, and affection, and using the trust and control he gained to persuade her to start sex work on the streets of Manchester.
When the teenage victim began to doubt his intentions and asked to go home, Oates dragged her down an alleyway, violently attacked her, and threatened her with a gun, stating: ‘You do as I say, you’re mine now,’ commanding her to go to her ‘spot’.
It was this incident that prompted the teenager to confide in her mother and support services, and from here, found the strength to move forward with her life, while still courageously supporting the police investigation.
#JAILED | Paedophile sentenced to 13 years for abusing teenage girls and committing a catalogue of crimes uncovered by detectives pic.twitter.com/yFKNtFmy6Z
— Greater Manchester Police (@gmpolice) June 26, 2025
From this investigation, detectives were then able to identify a second teenage victim, a 17-year-old, who Oates also coerced into sex work.
The two victims recall Oates taking them to a designated spot in central Manchester at least once a week to carry out sex acts in cars for money.
Oates would supply both victims with cocaine and alcohol, and even pressured them to take crack cocaine and heroin, aiming to build an addiction and increase their dependency on him.
In April 2024, Oates pleaded guilty to two counts of making indecent images of children, taking indecent images of children, and attempting to engage a child in sexual communication, as well as pleading to the production of cannabis and two counts of possessing an identity document with improper intent.
After being remanded into custody, on 5 September 2024, Oates was postal charged with possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, three counts of engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged 13-15 years old, and two counts causing / inciting a child aged 13-17 years to prostitution.
A paedophile from Stockport has been jailed after ‘grooming, exploiting, and coercing’ teenage girls in the early 2000s / Credit: GMP
In March earlier this year on the fourth day of his trial, Oates admitted to the offences, and this week (25 June 2025), he was sentenced to 13 years in prison for all his crimes.
“I would like to commend the two women at the centre of this case for the strength they demonstrated throughout our investigation and subsequent legal proceedings,” commented Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Inspector Eleanor Humphreys, from GMP’s CSE Major Investigations Team, as Oates was sentenced this week.
“It has been an arduous process for them to relieve the horrific abuse, and I am so grateful they placed their trust and confidence in our team to pursue justice.
“Their resilience and determination were the driving force behind reaching today’s outcome, where a dangerous man begins serving a lengthy sentence behind bars, far away from causing any more harm or misery.