A former Bolton Council employee has been sentenced to jail this week after admitting to stealing from client benefits accounts.
Richard Shaw transferred £893,296 to himself from benefit claimants’ accounts held by Bolton Council between 2015 and 2023 – which he had been managing as part of the Council’s Financial Protection Team, before he was subsequently suspended when mismanagement of appointeeship cases was discovered.
He was then sacked for gross misconduct in March 2023, after the Council identified and reported the possible fraud to Greater Manchester Police (GMP).
A lengthy investigation by GMP’s Economic and Cyber Crime Unit then began, with ‘full cooperation’ from Bolton Council, which went on to show that Shaw had been transferring the money to his own accounts for a number of years.
He also transferred money between clients’ accounts in an attempt to hide his fraud.
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Investigations in 2023 showed several bank transfers to nine personal accounts held in Richard Shaw’s name – with just over £250,000 transferred to one account, and £215,000 to another.
During the investigation, it was established that Shaw spent £100,000 buying a holiday home in Lancashire, and almost £18,000 on garden improvements.
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It is estimated to Shaw’s failure to act in the best interest of his clients meant he lost them a total of £129,749 in unclaimed benefits.
Two BMW cars and several high-value items – including computers and bikes – were seized during a warrant at Shaw’s home address of Harrier Close in Bolton on 27 April 2023, when he was initially arrested on suspicion of fraud by abuse of position and money laundering.
Shaw failed to attend his first court appearance on 23 September 2025 and was then arrested on the same day in Blackpool. He initially denied fraud by abuse of position, but then went on to change his plea to guilty at Bolton Crown Court in December 2025.
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He was finally jailed for four years and eight months at Bolton Crown Court yesterday (18 February 2026).
Speaking following Shaw’s sentencing this week, Detective Sergeant Daniel Sanchez, from GMP’s Economic and Cyber Crime Unit, said: “In his role as an appointee officer, Shaw was responsible for managing 120 client cases. Shaw abused his position of trust within the council, transferring clients’ money to accounts he had set up in his own name.
“His systematic theft and haphazard spending was uncovered by our financial investigator.
“There will now be a Proceeds of Crime hearing to reclaim the rest of the money so the council can be reimbursed.”
Featured Image – GMP
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Six teenage boys arrested following stabbing of 13-year-old in Rochdale town centre
Emily Sergeant
Six teenage boys have been arrested following the stabbing of a 13-year-old in Rochdale town centre over the weekend.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) explained that officers were called out to reports of a ‘serious assault’ near the Riverside Shopping Centre in central Rochdale on Saturday (29 August), and when they arrived on the scene, they found that a 13-year-old boy had been stabbed.
The young boy currently remains in hospital receiving treatment, while a police investigation into the incident is open and ongoing.
Two teenage boys were first arrested on suspicion of assault and possession of a bladed article on the same day the incident occurred (29 August), but have since been released on bail.
Officers then made four further arrests yesterday (31 August), again all teenage boys who were arrested on suspicion of assault and possession of a bladed article, with enquires ongoing.
A Section 60 and 60AA ‘stop and search’ authority was introduced in Rochdale town centre following the recent incidents in area and following reports of youths carrying weapons in the locality, and this has now been extended to 3pm today (Tuesday 1 September).
“This was a serious and sustained attack that could have had far more tragic consequences,” explained Detective Superintendent, Richard Hunt .”Our team of experienced detectives is working around the clock to understand exactly what happened, identify all those involved, and secure the strongest possible evidence.
“We will relentlessly pursue every lead available to us and will leave no stone unturned in bringing all those responsible before the courts.
“Community safety remains our absolute priority, and we are committed to ensuring those who seek to bring violence onto our streets are held fully accountable for their actions.”
Can you help? Anyone who witnessed the incident, was in the town centre at the time, or has any mobile phone, CCTV, or dashcam footage, is urged to come forward and speak to police on 101, quoting log 2750 of 29/08/2026, or using the LiveChat function on the GMP website.
Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Featured Image – GMP
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High School Musical at Lowry, Salford – a night spent reliving our childhood | Review
Amy Williams
What a night spent reliving our childhood.
Now, I don’t want to exaggerate or seem biased, considering this is one of my favourite film trilogies of all time, but this could be the best stage show I’ve seen in a long while.
We all know how High School Musical goes, right? Set at East High, we follow Troy and Gabriella (the star basketball player, and the geeky new girl) who meet over New Year, and then become ‘star-crossed lovers’ when back at school as they’re part of two different ‘cliques’.
The duo mess with the ‘Status Quo’ when they audition for the school musical. But will they stick to what they know? Or become stars of the stage? I’m sure you know the ending.
High School Musical is currently on stage at Lowry, Salford / Credit: Matt Crockett (Supplied)
From the costumes and the characters, to the memorable songs (there’s actually 52 songs in this production, including a mega mix at the end), they’ve kept right to the script of the films – and that’s exactly what we wanted to see.
Of course, the biggest throwback of them all is Kaycee Stroh – who originally featured as Martha Cox in the film trilogy – taking the role as Ms Darbus, and she was just as incredible as we expected her to be. And to see her do the iconic dance in the finale was unbelievable, 13-year-old Amy was screaming.
Also featuring Jason Donovan as Coach Bolton, Tobias Turley as Troy, Leonor Correia as Gabriella, Caitlin Tipping Sharpay, and Luke Bayer as Ryan, it was a proper impressive cast all round.
It’s a night to properly relive your mid-00s childhood / Credit: Matt Crockett (Supplied)
There was crowd interaction right from the off, as they taught the crowd a cheerleading routine to be included later in the show, plus for the finale, they had the lyrics on the big screen too so everyone could sing-along.
If we could go and see this show every single night, we would – it is absolutely brilliant.
Emily Sergeant -
19th February 2026 
