Thousands of Manchester runners gathered together this week to raise money for Greater Manchester’s homeless community and, holding aloft a defiant protest banner, sent a message to Suella Braverman following her recent misguided and insensitive comments.
On Wednesday, 15 November, The 2023 Manchester 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness got underway, finishing up at noon this Thursday, and countless runners turned up to put in the hard yards for the beloved and important charity event.
With members of running clubs, local businesses and countless individuals who just fancied doing their bit gathering from all over the region to complete laps of the city centre circuit, waves of runners turned up not only for a jog but to help raise vital funds to combat rough sleeping.
However, they didn’t just settle for running their socks off for 24 hours, from 7pm onwards before each wave, the hordes of runners also held up a custom-made banner referencing the now former home secretary’s comments about the UK’s homeless population.
For anyone who somehow didn’t see what Braverman had to say on the ongoing homelessness crisis, the Conservative MP described rough sleeping as a “lifestyle choice”, which was naturally met with nationwide backlash and huge calls for her to be booted from the cabinet.
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The 42-year-old was ultimately sacked and despite digging out Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in her resignation letter, her callous words about homelessness have been seen by some as symptomatic not only of her own attitudes but how the Tories have failed in their promises regarding the community.
Speaking to The Manchester 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness co-founder Tom Lewis, he said: “After seeing former Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s comments that homelessness was a ‘lifestyle choice’, we felt the need to create the banner and show how the people of Manchester disagree with such an out of touch statement.” In fact, even some of her party colleagues were left equally stunned.
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He went on to tell The Manc that “the event shows how incredible Greater Manchester‘s running community is and when they come together they can achieve something truly remarkable. We believe no one should have to sleep rough on the streets of Manchester or anywhere for that matter.”
Having smashed their fifth year since the event started, not only did they make a big splash with their Suella Braverman protest banner but The Manchester 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness also marked yet another incredible edition with the largest amount raised they’ve managed yet.
Notching a total of 40 relay laps over the course of the day and more than 9,200 kilometres, there were upwards of 1,600 runs completed by participants, with dozens of them doing a frankly ridiculous number of laps throughout.
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All told with individual and company donations, event t-shirt sales and Gift Aid contributions, they raised a whopping £19,572 for the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity, with the money going straight to their crucial ‘A Bed Every Night‘ scheme. You’re all absolutely amazing.
We couldn’t agree more with the message these guys sent out this year and if their incredible work has inspired you to take part, you can still donate HERE and find out all about how it works down below:
Featured Images — The Manchester 24 Hour Homeless Run/Brandon Hattiloney (via Flickr)
News
Onlookers ‘in tears’ after tiny duckling rescued from storm drain in beauty spot
Daisy Jackson
The RSPCA has shared a heartwarming video of a reunion between a tiny duckling and his mum, after the baby bird fell into a storm drain.
The charity, with the help of staff in the nearby Grandpa Greene’s Luxury Ice Cream Parlour, managed to fish the tiny bird out of the storm drain in a painstaking two-hour-long operation.
Miraculously, the duckling was unharmed, and his mum was waiting nearby on the canal in Saddleworth ready to be reunited with her baby.
The RSPCA has now thanked the staff member who helped rescue the duckling, and issued a warning to the public to keep dogs on a lead when near wildlife, believing the poor bird was chased by a dog before falling down the five-feet-high grid.
The rescue operation too place in Diggle last Wednesday 9 April, with Animal Rescue Officer Lee Ferrans taking on the ‘long and painstaking’ process of tempting the duckling into a net.
Lee said: “I wasn’t able to lift the grid so the only thing I could do was push an extendable pole straight down and try to catch the duckling in a net. There wasn’t a lot of room for manoeuvre and the net kept catching on all the debris.
“Just when I thought I’d been successful, the duckling kept disappearing into a drain on one side and then popping out again. A member of staff from Grandpa Greene’s had just finished her shift and came across to the other side of the canal to help me. I unscrewed the top of the pole with the net and held it down on one side of the drain while she used another section to gently encourage the bird to go into the net.
“It was quite a long and painstaking rescue but we eventually managed to bring the little one back up safely after more than two hours.”
The pair then placed the duckling into a cardboard box before heading further up the canal to reunite them with their mother and six sibling ducklings.
The adult duck ‘instantly recognised’ the chirping and swam straight towards it.
Lee added: “A little crowd had gathered and as the family were reunited people were shedding tears. It was a really lovely moment to see them all back together.
“I’d especially like to thank the member of staff from Grandpa Greene’s who offered an extra pair of hands – I couldn’t have done it without her – and to all the people in the area who stopped and were concerned.
“Storm drains can be a bit of a menace for ducklings, especially at this time of the year when there are babies around, and this brood was only a few days old.”
Man jailed for throwing acid in the face of a 16-year-old boy
Daisy Jackson
A man has been thrown behind bars for eight years and two months after throwing a corrosive substance over a 16-year-old boy, leaving him with serious injuries.
When Gilson Martins of Ashton Street, Rochdale, was arrested, he was found to be in possession of acid, being kept in a bottle of hair dye.
He pleaded guilty to robbery, possession of a corrosive substance, and witness intimidation, and was also sentenced for unrelated drugs offences in 2022.
On 24 March 2024, Martins plotted the attack on his 16-year-old victim, even demonstrating to another man how effective the acid would be by using it on a piece of paper.
The victim was then lured to an address in the Woodley area by an accomplice, where he was confronted by Martins.
When an altercation broke out, a corrosive substance was thrown over the teen.
He was taken to hospital with serious injuries which required intensive treatment at a specialist burns unit, with several more procedures taking place since.
When a man spoke to police about the acid attack, Martins attended his home and threatened to ‘stab him, throw acid on him, and carve his name’ into him.
#JAILED| A man has been jailed following an acid attack on a 16-year-old boy in Stockport last year.
Gilson Martins (06/12/01) was arrested by armed police following the attack, and was discovered with an acid-filled bottle of hair dye.
The man in question barricaded himself in his bedroom while Martins knifed the door, fleeing shortly before police arrived.
He was arrested by armed officers on 10 April this year, where he was found with a bottle of hair dye.
Detective Constable Heather Parke, from GMP’s Stockport district, said: “The effects of attacks involving corrosive substances are well-known, and can result in severe, life-changing injuries or even death.
“Using them in attacks is utterly vile and I am glad Martins is now behind bars for his vicious assault. His victim received injuries from which he is still suffering, and has already received numerous treatments.
“We have zero tolerance for these sort of crimes, and we put considerable resources into ensuring that Martins was arrested, charged, and sentenced. He now has a long time to think about his actions inside a prison cell.”
Danny Jones -
16th November 2023 
