Greater Manchester Police has shared a story of two officers who helped save the life of a member of the public who suffered a heart attack at the wheel of his HGV on the motorway and collided with the central reservation.
Whilst on shift travelling along the M60, PC Chris Pixton and PC Patrick Geoghegan-Shaw came across Shane Sharkey who moments earlier had suffered a Cardiac Arrest at the wheel, which meant he lost control of his HGV and collided with the concrete central reservation.
The collision caused extensive damage to the vehicle and resulted in its contents being emptied across both carriageways.
Without hesitation, the two officers stopped and ran over to the collision.
PC Pixton pulled Mr Sharkey, who was unresponsive, out of the now smoking HGV and PC Pixton, alongside a member of the public with first aid training who bravely came to assist, tried to revive Mr Sharkey using the de-fib in the officers’ possession and performed CPR for at least 10 minutes.
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PC Geoghegan-Shaw helped give first aid to the victim, as well as collating witness details on the incident, until the ambulance service arrived to take over medical care.
Mr Starkey was taken to Salford Royal Hospital in a critical condition and is now making a steady recovery.
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A third GMP officer, PC Nicola Greenhalgh – who is part of the Serious Collision Investigation Unit (SCIU) – attended the hospital to get updates on the victim and whilst there, supported the victim’s partner who, due to COVID-19, had to attend the hospital alone.
Superintendent Richard Timson – Greater Manchester Police’s South Manchester District Commander – said: “This was a true act of bravery. Both officers acted swiftly and their quick thinking saved the driver of the HGV.
“PC Pixton has recently completed police medical training and PC Geoghegan-Shaw is currently part-way through the course. This incident highlights the importance of the skills officers learn on this course and I’m glad that they were both able to, in a high-pressured situation, but into practise what they had learnt. I am proud of courage and professionalism they displayed.
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“I would also like to thank the member of the public who also demonstrated great courage in assisting with giving Mr Sharkey first aid.
“I am pleased to hear that Mr Sharkey is making a recovery with the support of his partner Debra who wrote a letter of thanks to all the officers involved expressing her gratitude for their actions.”
PC Chris Pixton, said: “I’m delighted that Shane is now on the road to recovery with the support of his partner.
“Responding to the incident truly was a team effort between the brave members of public and all the emergency services, who came together to ensure the scene was made safe and administer life-saving care. This is no doubt one of those defining moments in my job that will stay with me and I’m thankful that we could make a difference.
“I am also thankful for the additional training of the medic role, as without it I wouldn’t have been able to act as I did, or have been in possession of the kit that I had.”
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Manchester band Westside Cowboy release ‘thrilling’ debut album that critics are calling one of the year’s best
Emily Sergeant
One of the UK’s best rising bands have released their debut album today to glowing reviews from critics and fans alike.
Jimmy Bradbury, Reuben Haycocks, Aoife Anson O’Connell, and Paddy Murphy – better known together as Westside Cowboy – formed back in 2023 when they were students at the Royal Northern College of Music, so while they may not all be from Manchester, they definitely have the spirit of our city at the heart of everything they do.
After playing in different bands across the city throughout their student years, the four-piece joined forces to create Westside Cowboy – an indie rock collective credited with self-coining the genre of ‘Britainicana’.
Put simply, Britainicana is a cultural concept that mixes the hazy, mythic feel of American country and folk, with the sound of raw British punk, indie rock, and small-town life.
Westside Cowboy have released their debut album, It Goes On / Credit: Clementine Schniedermann (Press Shots – Supplied)
If that sounds like your cup of tea, then you’ll be pleased to know that Westside Cowboy have released their debut album, It Goes On, to the world today (21 August).
And the reception from critics, arguably, couldn’t be better.
Prior to the release of their debut album, the band had released two EPs, including So Much Country ‘Till We Get There in January earlier this year, and had started to make a name for themselves with their popular debut single ‘I’ve Never Met Anyone I Thought I Could Really Love (Until I Met You)’ in 2024.
They went onto make even further waves when they supported equally-rising American rock band Geese on their UK and Irish tour back in March – with many fans calling it one of the best support and main act combinations in some time.
Three singles from their debut album were shared with the world ahead of its release – ‘Kick Stones (The Boys)’ came first, followed by ‘Pin Up Boys’ and ‘Dobro’.
So, it’s fair to say the anticipation for album was high… and if the reviews are anything to go by (which we think they are), it looks like the band has very much delivered what they set out to achieve.
Westside Cowboy’s debut album It Goes On is now available to stream, or you can purchase a physical copy in a range of formats from their website here.
Take a listen👇
Featured Image – Press Shot (Supplied)
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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.
Emily Sergeant -
10th September 2020 
