Two young missing girls from Blackpool were able to safely return home thanks to the work of a “quick-thinking” train conductor.
Conductor Paul Wilkinson – who has worked for Northern for nearly 16 years – was working onboard a service from Blackpool North to York one evening last week (22 March) when he sensed that “something wasn’t quite right” with two of the passengers.
After his instincts kicked-in, Paul approached the passengers – who where two teenage girls under the age of 16 – and was eventually able to ascertain that they had, in their words, “run away from home”.
Paul then immediately alerted British Transport Police (BTP) to the situation.
BTP then intercepted the train at Leeds station after Paul’s “quick-thinking” actions, before taking the girls into their duty of care, and reuniting them with their families.
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Northern train conductor helps two young missing girls safely return home / Credit: Northern
Inspector Pete Wilcock from the British Transport Police praised Paul for being tuned-in to spotting the signs of children who are “vulnerable or at risk”.
He explained: “As guardians of the railway, we are constantly working with and training rail staff on how to look beyond the obvious and spot the signs of children who are vulnerable or at risk. And we continue to work together, sharing intelligence and knowledge, to create a network of people who can understand, identify and help support and safeguard children.
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“That’s exactly what Paul did.
“Thanks to his quick thinking the girls were returned home once safeguarding checks had been completed.”
This incident comes after Northern teamed up with charity Railway Children back in 2022, and began the process of training its 7,000-strong workforce in how to spot vulnerable people on the railway and have the confidence to intervene.
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He’s been praised for his “quick-thinking” actions / Credit: Northern
Paul urged people to “always trust your instincts” in these situations.
“I’ve worked on the railway for nearly 16 years and you meet hundreds if not thousands of customers every day, but through experience and training you can feel when something isn’t quite right, and you know that you need to call BTP,” Paul admitted after the incident.
Northern’s Regional Director Chris Jackson also said he “applauds” Paul’s actions, adding that: “He responded as any one of our staff would do when getting the sense that something wasn’t quite right.
“I’m glad these young girls were found and returned home.”
Featured Image – Northern
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Body of woman found in River Mersey last year finally identified after ‘extensive’ investigation
The body of woman who was found in the River Mersey last year has finally been identified.
Following what has been described as an ‘extensive investigation’ by Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) Major Incident Team to determine the identity of the body, which was sadly discovered in the river adjacent to Chorlton Water Park on 21 March 2024, the family of the victim has now been informed and supported by specialist officers.
The victim has been formally named as 38-year-old Laura Stanley, who was originally from Derbyshire but was living in Stockport.
After the body was discovered, and ‘exhaustive and determined’ investigation by GMP officers began to identify here, including detailed checks of both national and international databases.
The Major Incident Team (MIT) also closely worked in collaboration with specialist forensic service providers to create an anthropological profile, which eventually culminated in the creation of a facial reconstruction image.
Following several media appeals, a relative of Laura contacted officers and then a DNA match was confirmed through a familial link.
“Laura was a kind and gentle person with a great sense of fun and adventure,” Laura’s family said in a heartbreaking tribute to her.
“She was generous, thoughtful, caring and always keen to volunteer within the community. Laura was a proud and loving mum and she will be greatly missed by her girls and all of her friends and family who loved her dearly.”
The River Mersey, across from Chorlton Water Park, where Laura’s body was discovered / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
While Laura has now been identified, police say further investigations will take place to understand her last movements, the events that led to her death, and her discovery in the river.
Additionally, as is standard practice, GMP’s Professional Standards Directorate is also reviewing a previous missing report relating to Laura in the time before the discovery of her body, which will determine prior contact relating to Laura, and whether the appropriate measures were enacted.
#UPDATE | A woman who was discovered in the River Mersey last year has been identified following an extensive investigation by officers in GMP’s Major Incident Team.
Thank you to those of you who have shared our appeals over the last year.
Anyone who knew Laura and thinks they may be able to assist with the investigation is asked to contact police by calling 101, or by using the Live Chat Service at gmp.police.uk, quoting log number 1191 of 21 March 2024.
Alternatively, you can contact the Major Incident Team Syndicate 3 directly on 0161 856 9479, or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
More than 70,000 home buyers across England are estimated to have missed the stamp duty relief deadline.
This sadly means they’ll be required to fork out thousands of pounds extra.
In case you hadn’t heard, up until yesterday (31 March 2025), anyone who was moving and had bought a home in the past was not required to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax, better-known as just stamp duty, on the portion of the property price up to £250,000.
But from today (1 April), this threshold has now fallen back to £125,000, which unfortunately means that property purchasers are facing an extra £2,500 in moving costs, on average.
While the end of the stamp duty relief will mostly affect those Greater Manchester buyers who had already previously purchased properties, first time buyers are sadly not exempt from the deadline changes too, as their current stamp duty threshold of £425,000 has now fallen back to £300,000 as of today.
Person holding the keys to a new house in their hand / Credit: Maria Ziegler (via Unsplash)
Given that the average property price for a first time buyer-type home is currently around £227,965, according to Rightmove, the new £300,000 threshold may hit those purchasing properties in more expensive areas – particularly the South East.
A third of those estimated 70,000 home buyers who have missed the deadline are thought to be first time buyers.
Leading property platform Rightmove published an analysis in February into just how much of an impact the end of the stamp duty relief would have on home buyers, all while calling on the UK Government to announce a short extension to the deadline to help people in the middle of the property purchasing process avoid potentially thousands of pounds in extra moving costs.
But despite these calls from industry leaders, there was no extension to the deadline announced in the last week’s latest Spring Statement.
“It’s extremely disappointing that the Government has not used the Spring Statement as an opportunity to extend the impending stamp duty deadline for those currently going through the home-moving process,” commented Rightmove’s property expert Colleen Babcock.
“We estimate over 70,000 people are going to miss the deadline and complete in April instead, and a third of those are first time buyers.”
Emily Sergeant -
30th March 2023 
