2,000 homes across Greater Manchester were evacuated on Wednesday as emergency services worked overnight to protect locals from Storm Christoph.
Heavy rain and snow continued to fall across the region throughout the night – forcing residents in East Didsbury, West Didsbury and Northenden to temporarily leave their properties.
Emergency services have been helping those affected whilst Environment Agency teams deploy temporary flood defences and close flood barriers.
Severe flooding alerts – meaning ‘danger to life’ – remain in place in four local areas: Little Bollington, Heatley, East Didsbury, and West Didsbury & Northenden.
The Environment Agency has warned that heavy rain is expected to continue on Thursday (January 21) and into the weekend.
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Water levels on the River Mersey also remain high.
Well that all happened very quickly. ❄️
From the rainiest day of the year to the snowiest in a matter of minutes. Today has been crazy to say the least!
Graph ⬇️ shows impact of opening of flood gates on Mersey at Sale Ees (for 1st time since early 90s) – huge volume of water pouring into Sale Water Park to prevent Mersey bursting banks. Levels in lake ⬆️ 3/4m in 4 hrs – see vid of flood gates from c. same time. 🙏 @EnvAgencyNWhttps://t.co/9Z9s7CgfO8pic.twitter.com/wrnsLNuX4f
“Please do not travel in the North West if possible”
People right across the Greater Manchester region and beyond are being urged to avoid all forms of non-essential travel.
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Rain, snow and freezing temperatures have created extremely challenging driving conditions – with more bad weather on the way later today.
Some public transport in the area stopped entirely on Wednesday, with local train operator Northern cancelling the majority of its services due to “increasingly poor conditions”.
More than 40 services were cancelled by 8am on Thursday morning, with Northern confirming that “disruption is expected until the end of the day”.
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East Midlands railway is still unable to run morning services between Liverpool and Manchester.
Manchester Piccadilly Station said that all services between London, Liverpool and Manchester are currently cancelled, with engineers “working out how long it’s going to take to clear all the flooding”.
Manchester Metrolink services also experienced disruption on Wednesday due to a fallen tree on the line between East Didsbury and West Didsbury.
Metrolink reps have since said the incident has been resolved and that “services will run as timetabled”.
Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service said that people “should only travel today if it’s essential”.
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“Our brave emergency services”
As Environment Agency workers, police, paramedics, and fire workers waded into the eye of the storm last night, one takeaway worked late to whip up food for the emergency services personnel keeping people safe.
Staff from local Palestinian restaurant Baity teamed up with Didsbury West Councillor Greg Stanton to cook and send out the food with just a few hours notice – delivering over 100 meals.
Thanks to all the teams from @gmpolice@manchesterfire and @mancitycouncil working to support residents in south Manchester. Please follow their advice and stay safe everyone
Salford RLFC issue statement as head coach Mike Grady departs after less than three months
Danny Jones
Salford Rugby League Football Club have issued an official statement following the departure of head coach Mike Grady, who has left the role after less than three months in the job.
It has been insisted that this is not a sacking, but rather a joint decision to terminate his contract.
Grady, who took up the mantle at the start of this project following the end of the Salford Red Devils era, was only appointed on 5 January.
He had previously been in charge of the Red Devils’ women’s side over the past couple of years, but moved over to hopefully lead this new era forward.
As you can see, the club confirmed in a statement that they and Grady have “mutually agreed to part ways due to changes in his personal circumstances.”
They go on to write: “We are forever indebted to Mike for his unwavering commitment to the club. We want to thank him for all his hard work since taking on the role as Head Coach in very challenging circumstances in December.”
Also sharing a comment from former player turned CEO, Ryan Brierley, he said: “Mike came in as Coach at a time when the club had just come through one of its toughest times with the double impact of relegation and liquidation.
“He was willing to roll up his sleeves and bring stability to the club on the pitch. The fact we were able to field a team against Oldham in January, after only three weeks, speaks volumes about his commitment and determination. To beat Hunslet at home only four weeks later was a fantastic achievement.
“Mike will always be remembered as the person [who] strived and achieved the objective of sending out the first Salford team of this new era. A team running onto the pitch, after so much hard work, gave us all something to cheer about. We also remember how well he successfully guided our women’s team to third and fourth place finishes in the Championship.”
Sharing his own farewell message, he went on to add: “I want to thank Ryan for the opportunity to represent this great club and fan base. What we created at the start of the year was pretty special, and I’m proud to have built that.
“I’m happy to leave the club in a better place than I found it and wish the club all the best for the future.” Salford RLFC have already assured that they are now recruiting for his replacement.
Price caps and standardisations to be introduced for vet care in UK following major investigation
Emily Sergeant
Reforms to the veterinary industry to help pet owners better navigate the vet services market are set to be introduced this year.
After an independent inquiry group recently found that the current system is leaving pet owners ‘in the dark’, with a lack of information to help make informed decisions leading to weak competition and high prices, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has this week concluded its investigation into veterinary services for household pets in the UK.
The final report green-lights a package of measures to make the market more competitive, easier to navigate, and more responsive to pet owners’ needs.
It outlines the final remedies and recommendations, which together, will transform the market.
Remedies and recommendations in the report range from price caps and standardisations, through to upfront cost transparency.
We’ve set out major reforms to the UK’s veterinary sector now our market investigation is complete.
Our reforms will help pet owners better navigate the vet services market and will start coming into force later this year.
— Competition & Markets Authority (@CMAgovUK) March 24, 2026
Practices will soon be required to publish a comprehensive price list for standard services – including consultations, common procedures, diagnostics, written prescriptions and cremation options – so pet owners know up-front how much certain services are expected to cost.
They’ll also have to make it clear whether they are part of a group or an independent business, and provide a written estimate in advance for any treatment expected to cost £500 or more (including aftercare costs), plus an itemised bill.
Written prescription fees are set to be capped at £21 for the first medicine, and then £12.50 for any additional medicines.
Price caps and standardisations are set to be introduced for vet care in UK / Credit: Pxhere
There’s also set to be changes to the complaints process, as practices will now be required to follow a transparent, accessible, in-house complaints process, and engage in mediation where disputes cannot be resolved.
The CMA says an ‘unprecedented’ response from both the public and the sector has helped to shape the final report.
The next step is for the Government to respond to the report formally – with Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Emma Reynolds, commenting: “We are grateful for all the work of the Competition and Markets Authority, and we will respond to the report and set out next steps for our proposed reforms in due course.
“This Government is focused on helping families save money on vet services by improving transparency and choice around pricing, so the public can make informed decisions about their pets’ care.”
The Manc -
21st January 2021 
