A former pub landlord has been jailed for 21 years after carrying out a series of sexual assaults on four young girls.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has confirmed today that Carl Marland – who was the former landlord of The Chequers pub in Ilford, London – was convicted of more than 20 offences in October 2021 after a trial at Manchester Crown Court, and was subsequently jailed for 21 years yesterday (24 May 2022).
Among the charges that Marland was found guilty of were three counts of rape, three counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, and secretly filming one of the girls while she undressed.
He was also found guilty of multiple counts of supplying class B and class C drugs.
The court heard how the 58-year-old would travel to Manchester from London most weeks from June 2020 to December 2020 to visit the girls – who were aged between eight to 16 at the time – to carry out his attacks, and he would groom them by giving them gifts of clothes and money, as well as drugs and alcohol.
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Marland was even found to have set up a bank account for one of the girls and transferred around £3,000 to her.
He would drive the girls around in his car, where much of the abuse took place, GMP said.
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Greater Manchester Police says it became aware of Marland when one of the girls’ mothers found inappropriate messages from him on her phone in November 2020, and detectives from GMP Rochdale’s Child Sexual Exploitation Team then worked closely with officers from the Metropolitan Police to co-ordinate Marland’s arrest on 27 January 2021.
Carl Marland was convicted of more than 20 offences in October 2021 after a trial at Manchester Crown Court yesterday / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
“Marland spent the majority of 2020 travelling from London to Manchester in order to commit these offences, some of which are the most serious offences against children,” explained Detective Constable Andrew Sanderson, from GMP’s Child Sexual Exploitation Team.
“These crimes have had a huge detrimental impact on his victims and their families, and he has essentially stolen their childhoods.
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“I would like to praise the victims’ bravery in reporting these crimes.
“Hopefully following this sentencing they can have some closure and begin to move on and rebuild their lives.”
Given the horrific circumstances of this sentencing, Greater Manchester Police is also keen to remind people who may know someone who has been raped or sexually assaulted that they need not suffer in silence, and they can report it to the police or a support agency so that they can get the help and support they need.
A number of services, including Saint Mary’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre, Greater Manchester Rape Crisis, and Survivors Manchester, are currently available to provide support across the region.
Middleton to receive a cinema and Metrolink as part of regeneration plans
Thomas Melia
Greater Manchester town Middleton is about to undergo a huge facelift thanks to a new regeneration project, including a new cinema and Metrolink tram station.
Middleton is one of many bustling communities that make up the borough of Rochdale, and with these new plans, the town might receive a fair few new visitors who want to know what it’s all about.
The Greater Manchester town is undergoing a huge transformation with regeneration plans confirming that Middleton will receive a brand new cinema complex along with an extended Metrolink line as part of the Bee Network expansion covering this area.
This is all thanks to Middleton teaming up with the Mayor to launch the Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC), which pushes forward regeneration plans for the town and future ideas.
Middleton Shopping Centre right in the heart of the town centre.Middleton Town Centre bustling as the markets take place.Credit: Steven Haslington (via Geograph)/@Rept0n1x (via Flickr)
The MDC considers lots of aspects of the town and even aims to create new homes and improve surrounding public spaces.
Middleton regeneration plans have been floated previously, but complications arose due to a lack of land and available funding, which ultimately brought these foundations to a halt.
Now it seems the green light has been lifted and Middleton is about to get a whole new facelift, which will not only improve the town economically but aesthetically too, along with the wider Rochdale region.
For many Middletonians, the idea of a cinema may have felt like a distant memory, with their last big screen location shutting down just over a decade ago.
This all-new high street regeneration will not only bring an array of shopping favourites back to the town centre but also the long-awaited return of a local cinema. Most importantly, the plans also include a slate of new housing, with an estimated 300 apartments set to be created in one building alone.
Early CGIs of the proposed Middleton regeneration plans.Grade II-listed Warwick Mill looks set to be turned into flats.Credit: Publicity Picture (supplied)
This all falls in line with the ‘Atom Valley scheme‘, which has been commissioned in order to generate over 20,000 job opportunities for people in Bury, Oldham and Rochdale.
The scheme also mentions how it aims to bring a combined economic boost of around £1 billion to these previously mentioned areas.
Rochdale Borough Council leader, Neil Emmott, said: “The development of 1.2 million square metres of employment space around the junction 19 area will help to generate 20,000 high-quality jobs and bring a £1 billion economic boost.”
Featured Image — Publicity Pictures (supplied via Rochdale Borough Council)
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Scouting For Girls announce stacked UK tour with Manchester date
Thomas Melia
British boyband Scouting For Girls are heading out on an extensive UK tour with dates up and down the country, including right here in Manchester.
If the first thing that pops into your mind when you read this headline is “I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know how we’ll make it through this”, then you’re on the right side of history.
Nearly 20 years since their single ‘She’s So Lovely’ reached catastrophic heights and had everyone putting on their best Roy Stride accent, Scouting For Girls are heading back on the road.
This UK tour announcement comes two years after their last project, The Place We Used To Meet, reached our ears and was coined by the band as “Our best work since our debut”.
It’s been 18 years since this Brit trio captivated our hearts with their eponymous debut album, which sold over one million copies and went number one on the UK official charts for two weeks.
Whether you know them for ‘Heartbeat’ or ‘Elvis Ain’t Dead’, it’s clear to say this band had their fair share of smash hit singles throughout the noughties.
This tour, however, celebrates the sophomore follow-up: Everybody Wants To Be On TV, which went on to continue their legacy and secure them their only number one, ‘This Ain’t A Love Song’, back in 2010.
Now, the boys are treating UK fans to an array of live performances, and if you can’t make one date, fear not because there are 20 different locations for you to choose from.
The group will also be playing the likes of Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle and a whole host of other Northern cities, so you have plenty of chances to catch them.
If you can’t wait all the way until March 2026 for your next Scouting For Girls fix, lead singer Stride has his own cameo account where you can get the star to read out a message or even sing you a song: “‘Michaela Strachan’ in full, please?…”
Scouting For Girls are coming to O2 Apollo in Manchester on 21 March 2026, with tickets going on sale next Friday, 2 May at 10am HERE.
The Manc -
25th May 2022 
