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
‘Groundbreaking’ new police team launches on Bee Network to make it one of the safest in the world
Emily Sergeant
A ‘groundbreaking’ new policing model aimed at making the Bee Network one of the safest public transport networks in the world has launched.
Described as being ‘pioneering’, the first-of-its-kind approach – named the Transport Policing and Crime Command (TPACC) – will bring Greater Manchester Police (GMP), Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) even closer together to tackle crime, antisocial behaviour, and safety issues across the region’s transport network.
So, how will it work then? Well, according to TfGM, the command will ‘effectively establish’ the Bee Network as GMP’s eleventh policing district.
It will bring together up to 300 personnel, including new police officers, who are all involved in keeping the network safe and providing greater reassurance to passengers travelling across the region.
Efforts to keep passengers safe on buses, trams, active travel routes, and roads across Greater Manchester will be ‘strengthened’ through the new team – improving co-ordination in response to incidents, and helping to reassure communities.
A ‘groundbreaking’ new police team has launched on the Bee Network to make it one of the safest in the world / Credit: TfGM
The new team will also incorporate the existing Roads Policing Unit within GMP that includes specialist functions such as the Central Ticket Office, the Tactical Vehicle Intercept Unit, the motorbike unit, the Commercial Vehicle Unit, the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, and more.
Overall, the key focus of TPACC is to:
Increase public confidence on safety across the transport network
Reduce violence, antisocial behaviour and criminality across the transport network
Increase the number of users of the Bee Network across Greater Manchester
The launch of TPACC is said to represents ‘the next phase’ of Greater Manchester’s commitment to creating a ‘safer, more secure, and more welcoming’ transport network for everyone who lives, works, and travels across the region.
“I want a world-class Bee Network where everyone feels safe,” commented Greater Manchester Mayor, Bev Craig.
“Our new dedicated transport policing command will bring together more than 300 police and safety officers, with high-profile patrols across our roads and the Bee Network. It means a stronger presence in our communities and faster action when people need help.
“TPACC will also crack down on dangerous driving to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on our roads, which have devastating consequences for families and communities.”
Featured Image – TfGM
News
Two arrested after assaulting and burgling 90-year-old woman in Stockport suburb
Emily Sergeant
Two people have been arrested following reports of an assault and burglary at a 90-year-old woman’s home in a Stockport suburb.
While en-route to the incident in Heald Green – which was reported to Greater Manchester Police (GMP) at around 2:30am on 29 October – officers located the victim’s vehicle being driven by an unknown man.
The stolen vehicle made off from police before it lost control, went up a grass verge, and collided with a stationary vehicle.
Police confirmed that a white British man, aged 41, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of a burglary and serious assault, while a white British woman, aged 47, was also later arrested on suspicion of burglary and serious assault – with both remaining in custody for questioning.
The victim, a 90-year-old woman, was taken to hospital for treatment and is being supported by specialist officers, although luckily, her injuries are not life-threatening.
Enquiries are now ongoing, and officers are working to establish the full circumstances of the shocking incident.
“This was undoubtedly a traumatic experience for the victim, and we have specialist officers supporting her through this investigation,” explained Detective Inspector Craig Turner, from Stockport CID.
“This was a violent burglary and thanks to the brave victim reporting it, our officers made two swift arrests with the suspects taken into police custody to be interviewed.
“We believe this was a targeted attack and there is no wider risk to the community. Extra patrols of officers have been deployed to the area to offer reassurance to members of the community. Please let them know if you have any concerns.
“We are committed to tackling dangerous offenders and keeping our communities safe from harm.”
The Manc -
21st January 2021 
