News

Police disperse ‘large scale fight’ in Piccadilly Gardens where children pelted officers with missiles

"This kind of anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated."

The Manc The Manc - 17th January 2022

Greater Manchester Police revealed it dispersed a “large scale fight” involving more than 100 young people in Manchester city centre last Friday.

Giving further insight into the nature of the event, GMP explained in a statement that officers were called to the city centre hub of Piccadilly Gardens at 5pm last night (Friday 14 January), where there had been reports by members of the public of a disturbance involving a large number of young people.

When officers arrived at the scene, they found that a group of around 100 young people – mostly school children – were fighting.

GMP said that during the incident, a number of missiles were thrown at officers, and that some specialist police equipment had also been damaged beyond repair.

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A 16-year-old was arrested on suspicion of affray, and has been released under investigation.

Following the event, GMP confirmed that from 5:30pm on Friday 14 January, a Section 35 Dispersal Order was put in place on Piccadilly Gardens and the surrounding area for 48 hours – which has now been lifted after it ended at the same time yesterday evening (Sunday 16 January).

This order allowed officers the power to “direct anyone within that public place to leave”.

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Photo and video footage from the scene as it happened has been widely shared on social media over the weekend.

“This kind of anti-social behaviour, which caused a huge amount of disruption for members of the public trying to get home on a Friday, as well as businesses, will not be tolerated,” said Superintendent Helen Critchley from GMP’s City of Manchester District.

“I acknowledge that a lot of those involved are young, and may have been easily swept up in what was happening, however due to the disruption caused, we will be working to identify all those involved using CCTV as well as officer’s body worn video footage, and hold them accountable.

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“It’s worth noting that a number of those involved were wearing school uniform at the time.”

GMP is urging anyone who know may have seen anything that could help with its enquiries, or potentially have CCTV or DashCam footage of the area at the time, to get in touch quoting log number 2054 of 14/01/22.

You can do so either via LiveChat on the GMP website, or call 101.

Alternatively, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

Featured Image – Google Maps

News

Look around brand new Coronation Street set as ITV unveils Weatherfield Precinct

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson

The Coronation Street set has had a massive expansion, with a new Weatherfield Precinct unveiled today.

The location has often been name-checked in the popular soap, but for the first time, cast members will be able to film scenes there.

The set won’t hit our screens until 13 January – but The Manc headed down for a little sneak peek.

The two-storey Weatherfield Precinct set is built around a children’s play park, with a row of shops carefully constructed by the Coronation Street set designers.

There’s everything from a charity shop to a Chinese takeaway to a dessert bar.

Above the shops sits a row of maisonettes with a balcony running in front.

Credit: The Manc Group

There’s incredible attention to detail throughout, from the litter on the floor (which includes a packet of a fictitious crisp brand) to the fake sausage rolls in the bakery windows to the washing lines nailed to the walls.

Everything has been deliberately weathered and aged, so it looks like it’s been there for decades rather than carefully built in 2022.

The new Weatherfield Precinct set was unveiled today by members of the cast including Jack P Shepherd, Sally Dynevor, Antony Cotton, Jimmi Harkishin, Daniel Brocklebank, Channique Sterling-Brown, Elle Mulvaney, Tanisha Gorey, James Craven and Colson Smith.

Weatherfield Precinct being unveiled by Coronation Street cast
Coronation Street cast opening Weatherfield Precinct. Credit: ITV Plc

It’s been added as an extension to the existing iconic set, which spans 7.7 acres near MediaCityUK.

Producer Iain MacLeod said: “Hats off to our design and construction teams who have conjured a totally convincing new precinct for our drama! They took their inspiration from Salford’s many real-world, late 20th century shopping areas and what they have created is a brilliant, characterful space to tell a diverse range of stories.

“Expect to see teens hanging out at the dessert shop, families enjoying the play area and, after dark, a rogues’ gallery, up to shady business in the ginnels. I am really excited by the arrival on screen of this much
discussed but never seen corner of the Weatherfield universe.”

Head of design Rosie Mullins explained the process: “Back in 2013 Coronation Street moved into its new home at Media City. With this move came exciting potential to continue to develop and expand our Weatherfield Community onsite.

“The first expansion came in the form of Victoria Street and Weatherfield Police Station builds back in 2018.

“In February 2021 I set about the first pencil drawings for a very exciting new exterior build – Weatherfield Precinct. We have often heard about this precinct and although we have filmed over the years at a range of shopping locations, we had never established our own Weatherfield Precinct.

“It had always intrigued me – what would it look like and who would we find there? The opportunity to bring to life a colourful and grittier area of Weatherfield was so exciting!

“Weatherfield Precinct was inspired by the 1960s shopping precincts that we see across many areas of the UK. In designing this the team gathered hundreds of images with a particular focus given to those in our local Manchester and Salford area. I wanted there to be aspects of the Precinct that people from all walks of life identify with and recognise. I wanted it to reflect how communities develop but aspects of them can also feel like stepping back in time.

“In this Precinct we find an array of businesses, a playground, residential flats, a small ginnel, Weatherfield community hub and a very colourful community recycling centre.

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“Working with Iain on what the writing team needs from the Precinct has meant that we have managed to pack so much into this new set! I cannot wait to see the arrival onscreen of Sweety Nuff dessert & milkshake shop, Gregory Pope Foundation Charity Shop, Rutlands bakery, Pound Outlet and Bargainanza Pawnbrokers.

“The most incredible part of this has been watching this build rise from a small car park with a mass of ugly steel, concrete and timber to the beautifully constructed, characterful 1960s 2 storey precinct that we see today.

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“This build has been one of the most enjoyable builds that we have undertaken and showcases the many behind the scenes talents that the programme has to offer. I am incredibly proud of the detail, the quality of the build and for what it offers for future storytelling for the show. I am also so very proud of how it was brought to life by our in-house talented Design Team.”

Featured image: The Manc Grop

News

Man uncovers long lost photos in charity shop depicting historic suffragette march

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

Whilst digging away in a charity shop, a man has uncovered a set of old Victorian era glass slides depicting what appears to be Women’s Sunday – a suffragette march held in London, organised by Moss Side’s own Emmeline Pankhurst’s Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU).

Amongst a heap of slides that appear to be taken sometime around the early 1900s, one depicts a large group featuring women in the signature stripy hats worn by the protest group.

What’s more their new owner, Ray Newman, has even suggested that one of the photos may depict Emmeline Pankhurst herself.

Writing on Twitter, he shared a thread of the images with his followers: adding short commentary to each one.

One the photo in question, he comments: “If you zoom in on the woman in dark clothing seen looking towards the camera from between two PCs she looks like Emmeline Pankhurst, or am I fooling myself?”

Image: Ray Newman via Twitter
Image: Ray Newman via Twitter

Others have chimed in with suggestions as to the date of the photograph, with one writing: “The boater straw hats plus mutton sleeves equals c.1910.”

Given that the Women’s Sunday protest was held just two years prior to this in 1908, it does seem possible that this incredibly old photograph has captured one of the biggest moments in the suffragette’s history.

The event, organised by Pankhurst’s WSPU, featured the organisation’s colours (purple, white and green) for the first time in public. In days leading up to the event, over 10,000 scarves in the colours were sold at two shillings and elevenpence each, whilst men donned ties in solidarity.

Held to persuade the then Liberal government to support votes for women, the march is thought to have been the largest demonstration to be held until then in the country – drawing around 30,000 women marched to Hyde Park in seven processions.

Image: Palette㎙ 
Image: Palette㎙ 

Of course, the photos not being dated or marked in any way, it is hard to know if these really are images of Emmeline Pankhurst and the historic march but there are quite a few people online speculating that it could well be.

Several have pointed to the seemingly large police presence (and one person claims to have counted eleven officers), suggesting that that could indeed point to it being a photograph of a large suffragette protest.

Read more: The forgotten Manchester suffragist who inspired a teenage Emmeline Pankhurst

Elsewhere amongst the collection of photos, images show a stately home, school or institution with flamingos outside, what appears to be a boy scout troop or group of cadets armed with rifles, boaters on the water at Alexandra Park, and a number of people posing in period dress.

Writing above a picture that depicts an old British high street, Ray comments on how the glass slides are tricky to scan adding that he had to “do it with my phone against a bright white screen.”

He continues: “This is a high street… somewhere… c.1910, I’d guess. I can see a sign for an inn with an ‘excellent motor garage’ but can’t work out any more than that.”

Above another, he said: “A stately home, school or institution. There are statues of flamingos on the left. Definitely haunted. (House and slide.)”

Read more: These are the top 20 things Manchester has gifted the world

Offering a fascinating look into a lost world, some of the images are over 100 years old and taken when photography was something of a new art form. Unlike today, when everyone has a camera in their pocket, to own a camera was something of a rarity – making these images even more intriguing.

If you would like to see the full thread of pictures uncovered by Ray, you can do so by clicking here.

Feature image – Ray Newman

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