Police have renewed their appeal for information as they continue to try and trace murder suspect John Belfield.
Detectives investigating the murder of Thomas Campbell have also released a new photo of the 28-year-old, dated December 2022.
It’s believed he was the ‘mastermind’ behind the brutal killing of Thomas, whose body was found by a neighbour at his home on Riverside in Mossley at around 10.40am on Saturday 3 July.
Last week, three people – including Thomas’s ex-wife – were sentenced to a total of 62 years for their involvement in his death.
The conspiracy to murder was ‘meticulously thought out’ and planned around his daily routine, GMP found during the investigation.
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Thomas Campbell. Credit: GMPThomas Campbell. Credit: GMPThomas Campbell was brutally murdered in his own home.
On the night of the attack on 2 July, Thomas was ambushed when he opened his front door, then was overpowered and assaulted before being tortured and murdered inside his own home.
An autopsy revealed he had suffered more than 61 injuries.
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Despite the sentencing of Reece Steven, 29, Stephen Cleworth, 38, and Coleen Campbell, 38, detectives are still trying to track down John Belfield, who is believed to have left the country.
Detective Inspector Mark Davis, of GMP’s Major Incident Team, said: “We have been working tirelessly ever since Saturday 3 July 2022 to find those we suspect are responsible.
“Three people were yesterday (Wednesday 23 February 2023) sentenced to a total of 62 years for their involvement in Thomas Campbell’s death.
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“Since July, we have followed a number of lines of enquiry and through an extensive investigation continue to appeal to the public for any information about Belfield’s whereabouts.
“We know he has links to Greater Manchester and Lancashire, but we now believe that he has left the UK and could possibly be in Spain or Tenerife.
“Thomas suffered significant injuries over a period of time, and I must stress that we do not want members of the public to approach Belfield. If you become aware of his whereabouts, please do nothing more than dial 999, quoting Operation Ravensburg. He is thought to be a dangerous individual who must not be approached.
John Belfield photographed in December 2022. Credit: GMP
“It is also worth reminding members of the public and Belfield’s associates, in particular, that assisting an offender is a criminal offence any anyone convicted of this faces up to 10 years imprisonment.
“Thomas owned at least two high-value Rolex watches that have been missing from his home address ever since his death, and we ask if anyone has any information about these to let us know as they may prove to be a crucial line of enquiry.
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“Our team continue to investigate this serious and complex investigation and are following many lines of enquiry to identify all of those responsible in playing a part in his death.”
Anyone with information should contact officers, on 0161 856 6377, or using GMP’s LiveChat facility on www.gmp.police.uk or alternatively Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Featured image: GMP
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UK set to be battered by storms as ‘unprecedented’ El Niño arrives this autumn
Emily Sergeant
The UK is being told to brace for a series of storms this autumn when the ‘unprecedented’ El Niño weather event arrives.
It’s already been a summer of extremes for the country, with multiple heatwaves over the past couple of months, but now it appears that autumn and winter are set to have some extremes of their own, as the Met Office is warning that this upcoming El Niño could be one of the most significant in recent memory.
El Niño is declared when sea temperatures in the tropical eastern Pacific rise 0.5°C above the long-term average, which therefore impacts global rainfall patterns and average temperatures.
The natural warming of sea temperatures is forecast to reach more than 3°C in the coming months, according to the Met Office, making this year’s weather event have the potential to be ‘the largest since the 19th century’.
The UK is set to be battered by storms as ‘unprecedented’ El Niño arrives this autumn / Credit: Johannes Plenio (via Unsplash)
El Niño will create a heightened risk of drought in the tropics, southern Africa, and north eastern Australia, but over in north western Europe – including the UK – it means we are likely to experience wetter and stormier conditions.
The UK, and of course Greater Manchester, is absolutely no stranger to a storm around this time of year, but forecasters say this could be an entirely different beast.
“We should be clear that this is an unprecedented event,” warned Professor Adam Scaife, who is the Head of Long Range Forecasting at the Met Office.
“I have never seen an El Nino signal this intense in our forecasts.”
Professor Scaife concluded: “A typical El Nino leads to an equatorial Pacific sea-surface temperature rise of between one to 2°C, with 2°C being a really big event. This implies that, if the forecast is accurate, and other forecast systems show similar extreme values, then 2026 will far exceed our recent experience of El Niño and its worldwide climate influences.’
Forecasters and officials, however, have warned that it could take months of sustained rainfall before rivers, reservoirs, and groundwaters are ‘completely replenished’ – which is when a drought can officially be declared as over.
It also warned drought conditions could persist into the new year as, despite El Niño, as current forecasts do not suggest this autumn will have the amount of rainfall needed to drive recovery.
Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons
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Hundreds of staff to strike at four Greater Manchester hospitals next week
Emily Sergeant
Hundreds of staff at four of Greater Manchester’s hospitals are set to strike next week.
More than 350 Northern Care Alliance Foundation Trust (NCA) employees – including nurses, clinical support workers and housekeepers – are walking out for three days next week after union UNISON says an offer to ‘resolve’ a dispute was withdrawn before discussions could take place.
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 24, Wednesday 26, and Friday 28 August.
In particular, staff from all four sites will also gather in Salford on Wednesday (26 August) for a ‘unified’ day of protest.
Understandably, some disruption is expected at each of the hospitals on strike days.
“Those at the top of NCA have shown a lack of leadership and made their disregard for their staff clear,” explained UNISON North West regional organiser, Kevin Dolan.
“A deal was put on the table but taken away before we had chance to talk it over. We are ready to continue negotiations, but it’s obvious NCA has no intention of resolving this.
“This isn’t complicated. Staff are simply asking for what their contract says they’re entitled to. Nothing more.”
Daisy Jackson -
27th February 2023 
