Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has confirmed that a drug dealer from Wigan has been jailed after storing cocaine inside coffee tins.
32-year-old Martin Bradshaw, of Ashbourne Avenue in the Aspull area of Wigan, appeared at Bolton Crown Court this week, and pleading guilty to dangerous driving, driving without insurance, possession with intent to supply a class A controlled drug, and facilitating the acquisition/possession of criminal property.
It comes after on Friday 5 June 2020, an officer spotted Bradshaw driving erratically in his Mercedes Benz along Scholes, Wigan, and attempted to stop the car, but Bradshaw began to accelerate, and eventually managed to flee the officer.
The car was spotted shortly afterwards parked up on Higher Lane in Aspull, and was then seized by officers.
The following day, after receiving intelligence that the car was linked to the supply of controlled drugs, officers said they returned to the compound where the car was being kept and forced entry to it.
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Following a search, bank cards, and a coffee tin containing cocaine were seized, as well as two burner phones, which both contained details of drug supply.
On Sunday 7 June, Bradshaw attended Wigan police station and was arrested, and following further investigation, it was uncovered that he had purchased a static caravan in Blackpool – which was subsequently seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act, as well as the Mercedes.
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Following a vehicle search, bank cards, and a coffee tin containing cocaine were seized, as well as two burner phones / Credit: GMP
Bradshaw has been jailed for three years and six months, and he has also been disqualified from driving for three years and nine months.
A Proceeds of Crime Act hearing has been set for 15 June 2022.
Speaking on the sentencing, Police Constable John O’Donnell of GMP’s Wigan District Tasking Team said: “Bradshaw’s reckless and dangerous driving not only risked the lives of innocent members of the public but it also allowed us to recover drugs from his car and uncover that he was engrained into a drug dealing chain.
“Drugs blight communities and negatively impact the lives of all those involved [and] I hope today’s sentence sends a clear message that this type of activity is not acceptable in Wigan or Greater Manchester and GMP will do all it can to target and disrupt this activity.
“Information and intelligence we receive from the public in regard to drug dealing in the area can greatly assist our investigations so I would encourage anyone who may know of or suspect someone involved in the trade of drugs to get in touch with police.”
Featured Image – GMP
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Advice issued as ‘quademic’ of winter bugs continues to take hold in Greater Manchester
Daisy Jackson
People in Greater Manchester are being urged to get any vaccinations they are due done, as a ‘quademic’ of winter bugs runs rife.
Cases of flu, Covid, norovirus and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) are continuing to take hold across the country, and here in Greater Manchester.
The city is seeing more flu cases and hospital admissions than usual for this time of year.
So now health chiefs are urgently reminding eligible people to get their flu jabs and other vaccinations, to protect themselves and others.
Mancs are also being reminded to follow key public health advice, such as frequent hand washing and staying at home when you’re ill.
The flu vaccination drive runs until the end of March and people who are eligible for it can get it from their GP, pharmacy or one of the city’s walk-in clinics, where no appointment is needed.
Dr Cordelle Ofori, Manchester’s Director of Public Health, said: “Our advice is very similar to recommendations made during the Covid pandemic.
“It’s really important to keep washing hands well and regularly; cough or sneeze into tissues or your arm; wipe down key communal surfaces like handles on doors; and where possible, stay at home if you are ill to avoid passing on any infections.
“And, in addition to this we would urge anyone who is also feeling financial or food pressures to ring our free cost of living advice line on 0800 023 2692 or text on 07860 022876.”
Councillor Thomas Robinson, Executive Member for Healthy Manchester and Social Care, at Manchester City Council, said: “Manchester people are well-known for how they look after one another – and passing the flu message on could save lives, as well as unnecessary illness at a time when people face many pressures.
“We want to make it as easy as possible for people to have their vaccination, so please do go to our walk-in clinics if you are 18 and over and eligible for the vaccine. No appointment is needed: it’s quick, easy and done by teams who want to help you.”
Nurses plea for Government support as 90% say patient safety is being ‘compromised’
Emily Sergeant
Patients dying in corridors, a lack of equipment, and generally unsafe practices are the findings of a harrowing new report into nursing.
Towards the end of last month, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) – which is biggest nursing union and professional body in the world, with more than 500,000 members – asked its members to answer a short survey into the state of nursing throughout 2024, and thousands of nurses across the UK responded.
The report documents the experiences of more than 5,000 NHS nursing staff, with several raw, unedited, and often heartbreaking responses included, all of which confirm that ‘corridor care’, as it’s known, is “widespread” nationwide.
Almost seven in 10 (66.8%) respondents said they’re delivering care in “over-crowded or unsuitable places”, such as corridors, converted cupboards, and even car parks, on a daily basis.
More than nine in 10 (90.8%) said patient safety is being “compromised”.
According to the findings from the survey, demoralised nursing staff reported caring for as many as 40 patients in a single corridor, and find they are unable to access oxygen, cardiac monitors, suction, and other lifesaving equipment during this time.
Some of the more shocking accounts including in the report are of female patients miscarrying in corridors, and nurses being unable to provide adequate or timely CPR to patients having heart attacks.
Nursing staff also report cancer patients being put in corridors and other “inappropriate” spaces.
Nurses are calling for Government support as 90% say patient safety is being ‘compromised’ / Credit: Stephen Andrews (via Unsplash)
More than a quarter of nursing staff surveyed said they weren’t told the corridor they were providing care in was classed as a “temporary escalation space”, which is what the report says NHS England referred to it as, and this means that certain risk protocols and measures may not be in place to ease pressures and protect patients.
This is why the RCN is calling on officials to publish how many patients are being cared for in corridors and other inappropriate places.
The union is urging the Government and NHS England from an RCN-led coalition.
RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive, Professor Nicola Ranger, said this devastating testimony from frontline nursing staff shows patients are coming to harm “every day”, and are “forced” to endure unsafe treatment.
“The revelations from our wards must now become a moment in time,” Professor Ranger said.
“A moment for bold Government action on an NHS which has been neglected for so long. Ministers cannot shirk responsibility and need to recognise that recovering patient care will take new investment, including building a strong nursing workforce.”
Emily Sergeant -
17th February 2022 
