A police statement and update has been issued following an incident at Manchester Central Mosque earlier this week.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed that officers were called at around 8:40pm on Tuesday evening (24 February 2026) to reports of concern from security staff at the mosque about a white man in a high-vis jacket carrying ‘a bag with an axe inside’.
The man in question had reportedly claimed to be in the mosque to do work on the building, but staff had no knowledge of this, and so they acted on their suspicions and called police.
There was no suggestion that the man made any threats or confronted members of the congregation, according to GMP, however the force says it understands the alarm that this ‘suspicious and concerning’ behaviour caused for the public.
“We quickly responded to the scene where we searched the suspect, arrested him, and seized weapons – including an axe, a knife and class B drugs,” Assistant Chief Constable, John Webster, said in his statement.
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The police have issued their latest statement following a ‘concerning’ incident at Manchester Central Mosque / Credit: GMP
Although at this point his identity remains unconfirmed, GMP has revealed that the suspect is a white man in his 50s, who has been arrested on suspicion of possessing an offensive weapon and class B drugs, and detectives are yet to decipher what the circumstances or intent, if any, are around this incident.
ACC Webster continued: “I know this uncertainty can cause concern, but it is key that we have the time to question the suspect and speak to as many witnesses as possible to understand the nature of this incident. To ensure we are appropriately exploring every line of enquiry, we are working with detectives from Counter Terrorism Policing North West, but it has not been declared a terrorist incident.
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“We are taking this very seriously and have increased patrols around mosques at what we know is a really important time for Muslim communities as they come together during Ramadan.”
Officers say they are reviewing ‘all available CCTV and body-worn video footage’ / Credit: GMP
On top of this, police say they are also reviewing ‘all available CCTV and body-worn video footage’ in an attempt to identify a second man who was reported as acting suspiciously in the mosque at the same time as the suspect, and are calling on the Greater Manchester public for help.
The man is described as black, approximately in his late 40s, with an athletic build and short stubbled facial hair, and was wearing a grey hoody with the hood up, a navy blue jacket with that hood also up, blue tracksuit bottoms, and white trainers at the time.
Can you help identify this man? An image is expected to be released soon, but in the meantime, anyone with any information is urged to contact police, quoting incident 3279 of 24 February 2026, or you can also call 101 or use the LiveChat function on the GMP website.
Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Featured Image – GMP
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Six teenage boys arrested following stabbing of 13-year-old in Rochdale town centre
Emily Sergeant
Six teenage boys have been arrested following the stabbing of a 13-year-old in Rochdale town centre over the weekend.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) explained that officers were called out to reports of a ‘serious assault’ near the Riverside Shopping Centre in central Rochdale on Saturday (29 August), and when they arrived on the scene, they found that a 13-year-old boy had been stabbed.
The young boy currently remains in hospital receiving treatment, while a police investigation into the incident is open and ongoing.
Two teenage boys were first arrested on suspicion of assault and possession of a bladed article on the same day the incident occurred (29 August), but have since been released on bail.
Officers then made four further arrests yesterday (31 August), again all teenage boys who were arrested on suspicion of assault and possession of a bladed article, with enquires ongoing.
A Section 60 and 60AA ‘stop and search’ authority was introduced in Rochdale town centre following the recent incidents in area and following reports of youths carrying weapons in the locality, and this has now been extended to 3pm today (Tuesday 1 September).
“This was a serious and sustained attack that could have had far more tragic consequences,” explained Detective Superintendent, Richard Hunt .”Our team of experienced detectives is working around the clock to understand exactly what happened, identify all those involved, and secure the strongest possible evidence.
“We will relentlessly pursue every lead available to us and will leave no stone unturned in bringing all those responsible before the courts.
“Community safety remains our absolute priority, and we are committed to ensuring those who seek to bring violence onto our streets are held fully accountable for their actions.”
Can you help? Anyone who witnessed the incident, was in the town centre at the time, or has any mobile phone, CCTV, or dashcam footage, is urged to come forward and speak to police on 101, quoting log 2750 of 29/08/2026, or using the LiveChat function on the GMP website.
Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Featured Image – GMP
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High School Musical at Lowry, Salford – a night spent reliving our childhood | Review
Amy Williams
What a night spent reliving our childhood.
Now, I don’t want to exaggerate or seem biased, considering this is one of my favourite film trilogies of all time, but this could be the best stage show I’ve seen in a long while.
We all know how High School Musical goes, right? Set at East High, we follow Troy and Gabriella (the star basketball player, and the geeky new girl) who meet over New Year, and then become ‘star-crossed lovers’ when back at school as they’re part of two different ‘cliques’.
The duo mess with the ‘Status Quo’ when they audition for the school musical. But will they stick to what they know? Or become stars of the stage? I’m sure you know the ending.
High School Musical is currently on stage at Lowry, Salford / Credit: Matt Crockett (Supplied)
From the costumes and the characters, to the memorable songs (there’s actually 52 songs in this production, including a mega mix at the end), they’ve kept right to the script of the films – and that’s exactly what we wanted to see.
Of course, the biggest throwback of them all is Kaycee Stroh – who originally featured as Martha Cox in the film trilogy – taking the role as Ms Darbus, and she was just as incredible as we expected her to be. And to see her do the iconic dance in the finale was unbelievable, 13-year-old Amy was screaming.
Also featuring Jason Donovan as Coach Bolton, Tobias Turley as Troy, Leonor Correia as Gabriella, Caitlin Tipping Sharpay, and Luke Bayer as Ryan, it was a proper impressive cast all round.
It’s a night to properly relive your mid-00s childhood / Credit: Matt Crockett (Supplied)
There was crowd interaction right from the off, as they taught the crowd a cheerleading routine to be included later in the show, plus for the finale, they had the lyrics on the big screen too so everyone could sing-along.
If we could go and see this show every single night, we would – it is absolutely brilliant.
Emily Sergeant -
26th February 2026 
