Dozens of firefighters from across Greater Manchester are currently tackling a major blaze at a landfill site in Bury this morning.
Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service (GMFRS) confirmed that crews were called to a fire involving domestic waste at the Pilsworth Road site just after midnight, and urged people living and working nearby to keep windows and doors closed as firefighters battle the blaze.
The fire service took to Twitter to say that the situation is still “ongoing”, and there will be “disruption to the local area until it is resolved”.
Area Manager Ben Levy said that he was “very proud” of the work by firefighters at the scene as they “sustained efforts through the early hours of this morning have significantly reduced the impact of this fire.”
“The first crew on scene immediately assessed the situation and escalated the scale of the response.
“We now have 12 fire engines, plus off-road vehicles and the Scorpion special appliance from Salford fire station at the scene [and] the GMFRS drone unit is also in attendance supporting the operation by providing live aerial images to the incident commander and those in the Command Unit.
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“The fire is approximately fifty metres by fifty metres and involves domestic waste.
“There’s a large amount of smoke in the area so please keep your windows and doors closed if you’re nearby.”
This incident is the second fire at the site this year.
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The scene at the first major blaze at Viridor Recycling Centre back in April 2021 / Credit: GMFRS
Local residents may remember that back in April, firefighters declared a major incident after crews were called to a blaze at the Viridor Recycling Centre.
Dramatic drone footage of that fire showed it was “the size of a football pitch”.
Pilsworth Road in Bury is currently closed from junction three of the M66, to Moss Hall Road as crews work to extinguish the blaze.
A GMFRS spokesman said the blaze was “understandably causing disruption to the surrounding roads and will do so until the fire is extinguished”.
“Please avoid the area, keep your doors and windows closed if you’re nearby, and stay safe.”
Featured Image – GMFRS (April 2021)
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Manchester Airport issues update for anyone flying today after hundreds of cancellations yesterday
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Airport has issued an update for anyone catching a flight today after hundreds of cancellations yesterday.
In case you hadn’t heard, hundreds of flights at several major UK airports – including Manchester Airport – were disrupted by a technical fault at air traffic control provider National Air Traffic Services (NATS) yesterday (8 September 2026), with the incident grounding planes and resulting in numerous cancellations.
According to Flightradar24, more than 1,000 flights were cancelled nationwide, and many passengers were told to expect disruption for the rest of the day.
One of the worst-affected airlines was said to be Ryanair, with around 65,000 passengers affected by the cancellations and delays.
Manchester Airport issued its first statement addressing the matter at 3:15pm yesterday, stating: “We are aware of an issue affecting NATS’ air traffic control service at UK airports, which may result in delays to some departing flights from Manchester Airport today.
“Passengers due to travel are advised to check the latest status of their flight with their airline. We will continue to monitor the situation and share further updates as more information becomes available.”
Now, although the issue has been resolved, Manchester Airport has issued further statements informing anyone travelling today what they can expect.
The airport started off by saying that it is ‘operating as normal’ today, but that passengers are advised to ‘check with their airline for the latest information’.
“A full flight schedule is expected to operate [today] but the airport may be busier due to rescheduled flights,” it added.
Passengers were then thanked for their ‘patience and understanding’ over the past 24 hours.
Featured Image – Ivan Shimko (via Unsplash)
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Hundreds of staff at four Greater Manchester hospitals to strike AGAIN next week
Emily Sergeant
Another round of strikes has been called at a handful of major Greater Manchester hospitals.
Amid ongoing disputes following the first set of strikes at the end of last month, it has now been announced that more than 350 Northern Care Alliance Foundation Trust (NCA) employees – including nurses, clinical support workers and housekeepers – who are members of the union UNISON will once again walk out for three days next week.
According to the union, the dispute centres on the NCA’s use of an outside agency called NHS Professionals (NHSP) to manage overtime.
When covering staff shortages, workers are entitled to time-and-a-half pay – however in some cases, staff earn less than they would on a normal shift, and some have even been missing out on more than £80 per shift, the union added.
Operating theatre staff were previously on picket lines in June, and although an option to resolve the row was initially tabled by NCA bosses, this has now fallen through.
Hundreds of staff at four of Greater Manchester’s hospitals are set to strike next week / Credit: Stephen Andrews (via Unsplash)
This means that staff at Salford Royal Hospital, Royal Oldham Hospital, Rochdale Infirmary, and Fairfield Hospital in Bury are walking out next week on Monday 14, Tuesday 15, and Thursday 17 September.
The union’s North West regional organiser, Kevin Dolan, said the trust had given ‘no indication’ that it’s willing to re-enter negotiations, adding that operating theatre services were ‘chronically under-staffed’ and staff were choosing to work extra shifts to cover shortages.
Ahead of the August strikes, the trust declared a critical incident to help it secure extra support and keep urgent surgery running, while also announcing that some procedures would have to be postponed.
Understandably, some disruption is expected at each of the hospitals on strike days.
But Gertie Nic Philib, who is the chief people and strategy officer at the Northern Care Alliance, said that the trust will do ‘everything we can to minimise the impact on patients’ and ‘maintain high standards of care and quality at all times.’
“We also have contingency plans in place for emergency situations,” they concluded.
The Manc -
14th October 2021 
