A man who caused £10,000-worth of damage to a memorial dedicated to victims of the Manchester Arena attack has walked free from court.
24-year-old Anwar Hosseni, from Salford, appeared in court yesterday and admitted to vandalising the ‘Glade Of Light’ memorial – which was opened in January, and is dedicated to the 22 people who tragically lost their lives during the bombing at Manchester Arena on 22 May 2017- during the early hours of 9 February 2022.
Mr Hosseni admitted to scratching white lines across various parts of the memorial with a crystal Buddhist head figure in an act that Manchester City Council previously dubbed “sickening”.
Before damaging the memorial, CCTV footage captured from the incident showed Mr Hosseni praying and dancing at the site – which is next to Manchester Cathedral in the heart of the city centre – only a few weeks after it had opened to the public.
He was later arrested at his home address, but told police at the time that he wanted to give “love, unity, honour and gratitude for the souls of those who passed away”.
During the sentencing yesterday, Manchester Crown Court heard that Mr Hosseni has an “established psychiatric history”, including periods of detention under the Mental Health Act, and Gwen Henshaw, defending, said that he now understands what he did was “wrong and hurtful to many”, including the victims’ families.
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“He is mortified to know that he has caused them hurt and anguish because he prides himself on helping people [and] he is sorry for the pain that he has caused,” Ms Henshaw said.
24-year-old Anwar Hosseni, from Salford, admitted to vandalising the ‘Glade Of Light’ memorial in February 2022 / Credit: Manchester City Council (via Twitter)
Several personal statements from families of the Manchester Arena attack victims were read out in court during the hearing.
Mr Hosseni – who has no previous convictions – pleaded guilty to criminal damage at an earlier hearing, and was sentenced to a two-year community order and a two-year criminal behaviour order, which prevents him from visiting the immediate area surrounding the Glade Of Light memorial.
Handing Mr Hosseni the sentence, Judge Nicholas Dean QC, told the court: “The memorial is precious to the people of Manchester, but especially precious to the relatives of the 22 who died and your actions were bizarre.
“What you did was caused significant and widespread damage and that was interpreted by the relatives and friends of the victims as being a sacrilegious act.
“No doubt they would have thought there was some sort of political motive.
The memorial is dedicated to the 22 people who tragically lost their lives during the bombing at Manchester Arena on 22 May 2017 / Credit: The Manc Group
“I am satisfied that is not the case.
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You were motivated by some bizarre thought process. You thought you were somehow honouring the dead. If this had been a malicious, political act you would you be facing a lengthy sentence of imprisonment.”
He added: “I accept what the doctors say, and what you say, in that you did not intend any ill will to the deceased or their families and friends.
“Quite the contrary, although the way you chose to express it would be difficult for anyone to understand.”
Featured Image – The Manc Group
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Demolition and regeneration plans for former Manchester shopping centre to begin next month
Emily Sergeant
Plans to demolish and regenerate a former shopping centre in a Manchester suburb are set to kick off from next month.
Following planning approval at the end of 2025, major plans to transform the former Chorlton Cross Shopping Centre into a ‘thriving’ new destination to live and shop are set to commence with demolition in the next couple of weeks.
If you’re unfamiliar with the plans for the new Chorlton neighbourhood, they include 262 one, two, and three-bedroom apartments, all with access to outdoor space through balconies and gardens, 53 affordable homes – with 49 of them being available for social rent – and around 3,500 sq metres of public open space with fully walkable routes and outdoor seating areas.
A mix of flexible retail spaces, including a new ‘Makers Yard’ suitable for smaller start-up businesses will also be included, alongside new tree planting.
Phase one of the project will involve the dismantling the former shopping centre and neighbouring Graeme House buildings.
According to developers, the first step will be to close the precinct car park at the end of this month, before new hoardings are installed around the site to close the area off to pedestrians and vehicles for safety reasons.
The demolition work is expected to begin in mid-June, and be completed by August.
Where possible, materials from the existing buildings will be reused during construction of the new neighbourhood in a bid to help reduce the number of vehicles needed to remove materials from the site.
“Demolition marks another major milestone for the project, which will completely transform the former shopping centre,” commented Georgina Lynch, who is the managing director at Manchester-based developers, PJ Livesey.
“Our demolition contractor will carefully manage any issues throughout the work, and we will continue to stay in regular contact with local residents and businesses as the demolition progresses.”
Featured Image – Supplied
News
Full list of road closures announced as IRONMAN 2026 takes over Bolton next weekend
Emily Sergeant
The official route and full list of road closures have been announced, as Bolton prepares to host the IRONMAN next weekend.
Bolton has been the proud home of the UK’s IRONMAN race since 2009, and the world-renowned triathlon is all set to take over the Greater Manchester town once again in a couple of weeks time – with participants and spectators in thousands all preparing to flock to all four corners of the borough to the catch the action.
People of all ages and abilities – even including kids – are training to take part in three different events across the weekend.
And, as is always the case, residents and road users are being urged to plan ahead.
Bolton Council says a series of temporary road closures are needed to ‘ensure the safety’ of competitors and spectators.
⚠️ Road closures alert for IRONMAN 2026.
📆Friday, June 5 to Sunday, June 7.
For the safety of residents, visitors and athletes, roads will be closed at various times, and unfortunately some disruption is unavoidable.
Road closures are set to be the same as last year and will be in place for Night Run Bolton on Friday 5 June and IRONKIDS Bolton on Saturday June 6, before IRONMAN 70.3 then officially arrives on Sunday 7 June, extending from Pennington Flash in Leigh to Bolton, where Chorley New Road and the town centre will be most affected.
The town centre and Middlebrook retail park will be open as normal all weekend, but anyone driving into the town centre is advised to park at one of the car parks – which will be open as normal – rather than elsewhere or in the surrounding areas.
Anyone heading to Middlebrook from Bolton is advised to use Wigan Road (A676 / A58), to Manchester Road / Chorley Road (A6), and then use De Havilland Way (A6027) to reach the retail park.
Full list of road closures for IRONMAN 2026
All weekend:
Le Mans Crescent, Howell Croft North, and Howell Croft South will be closed from 6am on Friday 6 June to 9am on Monday 9 June, due to the course set up and build for the weekend events.
Friday 28 June – Night Run:
Moor Lane, Deansgate, Knowsley Street, Chorley Street, Spa Road (eastbound), St Edmund Street, Helena Road, and Bridge Street will all be closed from 5:30-9pm.
Saturday 29 June – IRONKIDS:
Le Mans Crescent will be closed all day
Deansgate will be closed from 6am-5pm
Sunday 30 June 30 – IRONMAN 70.3:
St Helen’s Road, Sandy Lane, Byrom Lane, Slag Lane, and Lowton Road will be closed from 6-10am
Wigan Road/Warrington Road (A573) will be closed from 6-10am
Bickershaw Lane, a short section of the A578, Nel Pan Lane, and Westleigh Lane will be closed from 6-10:45am
Atherleigh Way (A579) between St Helen’s Road and Kirkhall Lane, will be closed northbound only from 6-9:45am, and between Kirkhall Lane and the Talbot roundabout from 6-10:45am
Gibfield Park Way and Gibfield Park Avenue will be closed from 6-11am
North Road from the junction with Gibfield Park Avenue, Platt Lane and the A58 from Platt Lane to the Chequerbent roundabout will be closed from 6:30-11am
Park Road and Manchester Road (A6) will be closed westbound only from 7-11am
Chew Moor Lane / Tempest Road to Regent Road, and Regent Road to Chorley New Road, will be closed from 7-11:15am
De Havilland Way will be closed northbound from 7am-1pm
Victoria Road (A58) and Old Kiln Lane will be closed from 7am-1pm
Chorley New Road, from Beaumont Road to the Beehive Roundabout, will be closed eastbound from 7am-1pm but there will be access westbound throughout the day.
Chorley New Road, from Beaumont Road to Waterslea Drive, will be closed from 7am-1:30pm
Chorley New Road, from Waterslea Drive to St George’s Road (B6226), will be closed 7am-5:30pm
Chew Moor Lane, St John’s Road, Tempest Road, and Regent Road will be closed from 7-11:15am
Chorley Street, Bark Street, St Helena’s Road, Blackhorse Street, and Queen Street will be closed from 7am-3:30pm
Spa Road will be closed from 6am-6pm
“Facilitating events of this scale is not easy,” a spokesperson for Bolton Council explained ahead of the events arriving next weekend, “and it’s essential we put the health and safety of the participants and spectators as a priority.
“To ensure this requirement is met, temporary road closures will be put in place across the town, so we strongly urge residents and visitors to plan their trips with this in mind.”
The Manc -
23rd June 2022 
