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Emily Sergeant -
10th April 2020
Emily Sergeant -
10th April 2020 News
Paedophile cousins jailed for combined 58 years after sexually exploiting teen girls in Bury
Emily Sergeant
A duo of paedophile cousins have been handed lengthy jail sentences for non-recent child sexual exploitation.
Manzorr Hussain and Imtiaz Ali, from Bury and Radcliffe respectively, appeared at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court this week, where they were subsequently jailed for the systematic grooming and sexual abuse of teenage girls in Bury during the late 1990s.
Hussain and Ali particularly targeted ‘vulnerable’ girls, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) explained as the two men were sentenced.
They groomed the victims by offering them alcohol, drugs, money, and lifts in their cars before subjecting them to repeated sexual abuse in homes, vehicles, and other locations in Bury and parts of Wales in the 1990s.
The abuse was orchestrated and sustained, with victims often being made to feel indebted to the men. In some cases, they were threatened or coerced into sexual acts.
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At the time, both men ran market stalls, which is how they first met some of the girls.
#JAILED | Thanks to the bravery of the victims coming forward, two paedophiles have today been jailed for a combined 58 years for the systematic grooming and sexual abuse of vulnerable teenage girls in Bury during the late 1990s pic.twitter.com/lYsh2lXl7G
— Greater Manchester Police (@gmpolice) December 8, 2025
Following the trial, Hussain was jailed for 30 years after being found guilty of seven counts of rape and six counts of indecent assault, while Ali was jailed for 28 years after being found guilty of five counts of rape, five counts of indecent assault, and one count of an attempted indecent assault.
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Chief Inspector Ian Partington, who was the senior investigating officer in this case, described Hussain and Ali as being ‘sexual predators’.
Claire Brinton, Specialist Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), added: “These sentences reflect the severity of the appalling crimes committed by Manzorr Hussain and Imtiaz Ali, who deliberately targeted, groomed and systematically abused five vulnerable children, treating them as objects for their own sexual gratification.
“The defendants showed no remorse for their actions, which have had a lasting and profound impact on the victims’ lives.
“These women have carried the trauma of this abuse for more than two decades. I would like to thank them again for coming forward, speaking so bravely about what happened to them, and seeing this case through to its conclusion.
Read more:
- ‘Disgraceful’ Manchester sex offender jailed after messaging several young girls under 16
- Stockport paedophile who abused teen girls in early 2000s handed five extra years in prison
- Trafford gymnastics coach jailed for 18 years after raping and sexually assaulting young girls
“I hope these sentences provide some sense of justice and closure for the victims and demonstrate that no matter how much time has passed, those who commit such heinous crimes against children will be held accountable.”
Featured Image – GMP
News
Greater Manchester town named one of Britain’s ‘happiest’ places to live in 2026
Emily Sergeant
The top 10 happiest places to live in Great Britain for 2026 have been named, and the north is well represented.
Just as it has done for the last 13 years now, Rightmove has published its annual ‘Happy at Home’ index, which explores exactly what it is that makes people feel content about where they live, and highlights the happiest places nationwide ahead of the new year.
This year, thousands of residents across more than 200 locations told the leading property listing platform what they love (or don’t love) about their community – from the friendliness of their neighbours, to job opportunities, access to green spaces, and so much more.
The survey also outlines the differences in happiness in rural, urban, and suburban environments, as well as the way our sense of ‘home happiness’ changes as we age.
And among the top 10 happiest places to live, Rightmove has selected five northern towns for the list, including two here in the North West – and, crucially, one in Greater Manchester.
Altrincham was named the sixth happiest place to live in Britain.
The Trafford town often gets its name thrown around in conversations like this, and with the variety of homes available, plenty of good local schools, great access to green space, and an ever-expanding retail environment and dining scene in the town centre – including the popular Altrincham Market, and the Stamford Quarter – it’s really not hard to see why.
Rightmove said that the average house price in Altrincham in 2025 was £643,244 and the average rental price (per calendar month) was £2,698, which does put the town up there with most most expensive in our region, it has to be said.
Elsewhere on the top 10 list, it was the popular Yorkshire town of Skipton that took the crown as Britain’s happiest place to live.
Macclesfield in Cheshire was the other North West inclusion at number seven, and then the other northern towns ranked in the top 10 are Harrogate at four and Hexham, in Northumberland, at number 10.
When it comes to the wider rankings, and the North West ranking as a whole, no other Greater Manchester town made it into the region’s top five, however Stockport did find itself in the North West’s top 10 in the sixth spot.
A sense of belonging and wellbeing, and how the environment shapes daily life were highlighted as major influencing factors on the top 10.
But Rightmove did admit that this year’s survey showed there are many different layers that combine to influence what is or isn’t a happy and fulfilling lifestyle.
Read more:
- Britain’s top five neighbour ‘red flags’ revealed in an eye-opening new survey
- Behind the doors of the eclectic £1.75m Victorian villa on the market in a leafy Manchester suburb
- This stunning manor house surrounded by countryside is on the market for £1.6m… and it’s only in Stockport
“Interestingly, this year’s survey shows that our happiness with where we live often grows with age,” Rightmove said of this year’s Index.
“Residents aged 18-24 were the least likely to say they felt happy where they live. Happiness then increases through the age brackets, with those aged 65 and over being the most likely to feel happy with where they live.”
Featured Image – Roger Kidd (via Wikimedia Commons)
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