A former personal trainer from Manchester has been jailed after grooming and sexually assaulting a teenage client.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) first received information that Matthew Lawrence was having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old child while he was a personal trainer in a gym at the time, and had befriended her by offering to train and help her with her diet and nutrition.
At first, the manager of the gym was said to be “concerned” that the victim was not over the age of 16, as per the gym’s membership requirements, and approached Lawrence advising him to terminate her membership.
Lawrence, however, replied stating: “Don’t ban her, in case she goes to the police.”
In past conversations, Lawrence had said he preferred dating younger girls as he liked their “innocence”, and had also bragged to another member of the gym that he had been exchanging indecent images with the victim, which, of course, led staff at the gym to become concerned by his behaviour and were become fearful that he had groomed her.
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Thankfully, they reported the matter to the police, and Lawrence was subsequently circulated as wanted.
Matthew Lawrence was sentenced at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court this week / Credit: Flickr
After detectives managed to track down several witnesses who stated that they were in the presence of Lawrence when he learned the victim was just 15-years-old, as well as gathering further evidence from his mobile phone, the victim bravely confided in her mother in August 2023, and told her that Lawrence had tried to kiss her, and physically forced her to commit sexual acts on him.
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When interviewed by specially-trained officers, the victim disclosed that Lawrence had taken her to the cinema as a reward for training so hard in the gym, before sexually assaulting her in his locked car.
Phone analysis conducted also showed that there were over 3,000 calls and texts between Lawrence and the victim in the space of just a month, many of a sexually explicit nature.
He was arrested by GMP officers at London Airport on the 1 September 2023, which prevented him from starting a new job as a personal trainer on a cruise ship.
After Lawrence pleaded guilty to sexual communication with a child, and two counts of sexual activity with a child at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court yesterday (Tuesday 28 January), he was eventually sentenced to three years and nine months in jail.
He is also subject to an indefinite restraining order and sexual notification order, and a 10 year sexual harm prevention order.
Featured Image – GMP
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Appeal launched to find the owner of live chickens found at Creamfields festival
Daisy Jackson
The hunt is on to find the owner of a pair of chickens who were discovered at Creamfields festival.
The two birds were spotted on the grounds of the huge electronic music festival by bewildered festival-goers.
The cockerel and hen were trapped in a hedge, after it appears they wandered onto the festival campsite before the security barriers were installed.
The birds then found themselves trapped inside as around 70,000 music fans poured into Cheshire for a line-up that included Calvin Harris, Swedish House Mafia, Disclosure, and Tiësto.
The chickens have been safely rescued from the Creamfields festival site and are recovering at a wildlife centre, and now the RSPCA is on a mission to find their owner.
Festival-goers first called the RSPCA on Saturday 29 August to alert them to the cockerel and hen trapped inside the festival, one of whom assisted in the rescue mission.
RSPCA Inspector Leanne Cooper: “I was surprised that they were inside the festival site and I needed to get through the road blocks and security before reaching them on foot through muddy fields. I met the caller who helped me as they were just running up and down the hedge line where there was a wire fence blocking access.
Where the chickens were discovered at CreamfieldsThe RSPCA wants to track their owners down
“We managed to guide them out and I caught both of them with my rescue net which was a bit of a sight for the festival campers.
“I don’t think they were abandoned and they’re more likely to be stray because it’s farmland all around the festival site. They don’t have any health issues, apart from being quite underweight.
“With the fences going up a week before the festival starts they’d probably been unable to get out for some time and had been left foraging in the hedge. Someone mentioned that a third bird was also trapped, although we couldn’t find any others.
“I am really grateful to the festival-goer who found them and alerted us to their plight.”
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’.
Emily Sergeant -
29th January 2025 
