An armed gang has stolen a woman’s life savings in an aggravated burglary in Wigan.
Three men broke into the home in Bickershaw and made off with a safe containing at least £50,000 in cash.
The victim, a woman in her 60s, was ‘painstakingly’ saving the money to support her vulnerable son, police have said.
Detective Inspector Patrick Wood has described it as a ‘despicable crime’.
Officers were called at around 11.20pm on Tuesday December 21 to reports of a burglary on Beacon Road in Bickershaw.
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GMP are appealing for information
The gang were armed with pepper spray and a machete, and demanded that the victim hand over cash from a small safe.
They made their escape on foot and police are now looking for witnesses and information.
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There were no injuries and no arrests have been made.
Mr Wood, of GMP Wigan CID, said: “We believe this to be a targeted incident and are appealing to the public to find those responsible.
“A small safe with at least £50,000 in cash is believed to have been stolen from the property – these were the victim’s life savings which had been painstakingly saved over a long period of time and were in place to support her vulnerable son in the future when the victim was unable to care for him herself.
“Right now, there are three men in your community who have committed the despicable crime of stealing the life savings from a woman which has seriously impacted the future of her vulnerable son and I expect this will disgust you as much as it has the police.
“If you know who these offenders are – I would suggest somebody will do, as this is a significant amount of money stolen and difficult to keep quiet – I strongly urge you to do the right thing for the family and contact us and report them for this awful crime.
Anyone with information – including CCTV or dashcam footage from the area at the time of the incident and anyone who finds a discarded safe – is asked to report it online or by using the LiveChat service at www.gmp.police.uk quoting log 3261 of 21/12/2021.
Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Featured image: Pxhere
News
Rules around booking driving tests in UK change from today to make system ‘fairer’
Emily Sergeant
The rules around booking driving tests in the UK are officially set to change from today in a bid to make the system ‘fairer’.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has now introduced new rules for car driving test bookings, putting learners ‘firmly in control’ of their own booking, as it is now against the law for third parties – including unofficial test booking and cancellation finder services, as well as driving instructors – to make bookings for someone else.
It will also be a breach of DVSA’s terms and conditions for the booking service for third parties to change, swap, or cancel a driving test for someone else.
Learners should only ever pay the official DVSA fee – which is £62 on weekdays and £75 on evenings, weekends and bank holidays.
The Government says the new rules aim to make booking driving tests ‘fairer’ for learner drivers.
While driving instructors will no longer be able to book tests on behalf of of learners, they will still be able to advise learners on when they are ready to take a test, as well as set their available times to prevent learners from booking tests at times that do not work for them.
Following on from changes to test alterations which were introduced at the end of March, from 9 June 2026, further restrictions will come into force limiting learners to moving their test only to one of the three nearest driving test centres.
The DVSA has also pledged to continue increasing driving examiner capacity to help provide more tests for learners to book.
“Our priority is to stop learners being exploited by third parties, put them in control of their driving test, and make the process fairer by clamping down on businesses that resell tests at inflated prices,” commented Beverley Warmington, who is the DVSA Chief Executive.
“These new measures help bring a halt to a system where the use of bots and third parties increases the amount some learners pay for a test and blocks test availability for many others.
“These measures will help free up appointments for genuine learners who are ready to take their test.”
Featured Image – Pxfuel
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Canal Street cordoned off after ‘suspicious chemicals’ reported at hotel
Daisy Jackson
Canal Street and several other streets in the Gay Village in Manchester have been cordoned off this afternoon.
Greater Manchester Police are attending reported of a smell that’s believed to be chemicals coming from a hotel room in the area.
There’s a huge emergency services presence in the area, including vehicles from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue, and the North West Ambulance Service.
Police have confirmed that they have detained a man who is believed to have been the occupant of the hotel room.
The hotel itself has been evacuated while the material is examined.
Thankfully, no one has been injured in the incident that has shut down part of Canal Street today.
Emergency services vehicles at the scene on Canal StreetThe cordon in place on Canal Street
GMP said in a statement: “We are currently searching a hotel room at a premises on Canal Street, Manchester. This follows a report of a smell – currently believed to be chemicals – causing suspicion.
“A man, believed to be the occupant of the room, has been detained and is currently in custody.
“As a precautionary measure, the hotel has been evacuated while specialist resources examine the material and conduct further enquiries.
“No-one has been injured and we are working to establish the full circumstances. We thank people for their patience as we continue with our work.”
Daisy Jackson -
23rd December 2021 
