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.
Teen sentenced after deliberately driving into a female police officer in Stockport
Emily Sergeant
A teen who deliberately drove into a female police officer at a retail park Stockport earlier this year has been sentenced.
Harvey Bell was at a retail park on Wilmslow Road in Cheadle back on 25 January 2025 when he seriously injured a Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officer during a shocking incident – which left the officer requiring hospital treatment.
At the time, the 19-year-old from Knutsford was present while police were investigating reports of class C drug use in a car park.
Police parked in front of an Audi and the officer signalled for Bell to remain stationary and turn the engine off, but instead he reversed, and as the officer approached the front windscreen, Bell drove at the officer, knocking her to the ground.
He then proceeded to drive over her legs with both sets of wheels, before heading out of the car park at speed.
#JAILED | A man who deliberately drove into a police officer in Stockport has been jailed.
Harvey Bell (12/08/2005) has been sentenced to 31 months in a Young Offenders Institute and was disqualified from driving for two years.
— Stockport Police (GMP) (@GMPStockport) June 4, 2025
Bell was subsequently arrested the following day and made no comment in his police interview, but then went on to plead guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving, as well as possession of cannabis on 27 March 2025.
The teen appeared at Manchester Crown Court this week where he was sentenced to 31 months in a Young Offenders Institute, and was also disqualified from driving for two years – which will take effect when he is released.
“What [Bell] did to me is permanently in the back of my mind, every call I go to, I feel the apprehension, the fear that any incident, no matter how innocuous it appears, can end with being assaulted or hurt,” the officer explained in a powerful victim impact statement read in court.
“This is an unseen result of Bell’s assault on me.”
She continued: “I know that Bell’s abhorrent behaviour is an exception, and the majority of the public we serve do not wish us harm, but assaults on police need to stop. An attack on a police officer is an attack on us all.
“Bell is a danger to society and had total disregard for my life.”
Featured Image – GMP
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IKEA announces decision to close popular Greater Manchester site
Emily Sergeant
It’s the end of the road for one of IKEA’s popular Greater Manchester sites.
The Swedish furniture giant has announced its decision to close its ‘Plan and Order Point’ over in Stockport in a couple of weeks time.
The store – which is located in Stockport town centre’s Merseyway Shopping Centre – launched to huge success back in March 2023, and at the time, was the second of this ‘test and trial’ format to open in the UK, becoming a smaller space dedicated to kitchen and home planning, as well as ordering items.
IKEA says the closure comes as a result of ‘valuable learnings’ which plan to take this conceptual format in a direction to ‘better suit the needs of UK customers’.
IKEA is closing its close popular Stockport site this month / Credit: Jon Super (via IKEA)
Since the opening of the Stockport Plan and Order Point, IKEA claims it has seen an increased demand for Click and Collect services, a desire by customers to shop a smaller selection of home furnishing accessories, as well as the ability to return goods to physical IKEA units, and this is all something which the current location is unable to offer.
Learning from this change in consumer habits, the company says its future Plan and Order Point openings – including in those in other northern cities like Hull and York – will offer these services.
IKEA says it also remains ‘committed’ to trialling new formats, such as its upcoming small stores, one of which will open in nearby Chester later this year.
Luckily for IKEA fans, the retailer has confirmed that its major Greater Manchester store in Ashton-under-Lyne, as well as the neighbouring store in Warrington, will remain open as normal, offering all the services available at Stockport and more.
The Swedish furniture says the closure comes as a result of ‘valuable learnings’ about customer needs / Credit: Jon Super (via IKEA)
In addition to the upcoming opening of a smaller store in Chester, IKEA has revealed that the North West continues to be an area of interest for future expansion.
“After careful evaluation, we’ve made the difficult decision to close the IKEA Plan and Order Point at Merseyway Shopping Centre,” explained Salma Azad, who is one of IKEA’s Area Managers.
“In the two years since opening, we’ve taken valuable learnings, including how our customers prefer to meet IKEA, and we’ll take these insights into future openings, to serve shoppers in a more impactful way.”
Thanks to last year’s Click and Collect expansion, Stockport residents can now pick up purchases from Tesco Extra Stockport and Tesco Extra Stretford, as well as the Manchester store and the upcoming small store in Chester.
Stockport Plan and Order Point’s final day of trading will be on 16 June.
The Manc -
25th May 2022 
