Greater Manchester Police has released an e-fit image of a man they want to speak to after a woman was “dragged across the road” in Newton Heath.
The 19-year-old woman was waiting at a bus stop on Oldham Road at around midnight on Tuesday 7 September when the man approached her and started talking to her, before restraining her as a bus approached them.
Police said the man told the victim “I’ve got a knife”, and then dragged her across the road in the frightening incident.
A passer-by in a vehicle stopped to help the woman, before the man ran away.
Detectives are now urging anyone who witnessed the incident – which happened near the junction with Dean Lane – to come forward.
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They are also asking anyone who recognises the man in the e-fit image to get in touch.
The man is described as being white, around 5ft 8in tall and of a slim build. He is thought to be in his 40s, with dark eyes and dark shoulder length hair and was wearing a blue jumper at the time.
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Detectives are now urging anyone who witnessed the incident to come forward with information / Credit: Google Maps
During the conversation, the man said he lives in the Chadderton area of Oldham and had spent the day working on roofs.
Detective Inspector Louise Edwards, of GMP’s City of Manchester division, said: “This was a frightening incident and we are supporting the woman whilst doing everything we can to identify and locate the man [so] I would like to use this opportunity to thank the member of the public who bravely intervened.
“The investigation team has searched the area and are trawling CCTV, whilst working alongside the bus companies.
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“We are now appealing for anyone who travelled along Oldham Road late last night to contact us [and] we are particularly interested in hearing from anyone with dash cam footage.”
Anyone with information, or anyone who recognises the man in the picture, should contact police on 0161 856 1146 of 07/09/21 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Featured Image – Greater Manchester Police
News
Two men jailed after series of Porsche thefts across Greater Manchester totalling £1m
Emily Sergeant
Two men have been handed prison sentences following a series of Porsche thefts across Greater Manchester.
An investigation into the actions of Eidmantas Sadauskas and Vytautas Ceponis, both of no fixed abode, by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) began back in January of this year.
Described as being ‘sophisticated’ operation, the pair used equipment and tools to disable the vehicle security alarms and gain access to them, before they would then clone the vehicles, using different registration plates to allow them to slip under the radar.
In total, 25 Porsches – estimated, in total, as being approximately £1 million – were linked to the theft series and identified as having been taken by Sadauskas and Ceponis.
The thefts occurred across Greater Manchester – including in Salford, Bury, Trafford, Manchester, and Stockport – and it’s believed they were being stolen to be sold on for illegal gain.
The thefts occurred between January and October 2025, according to police, before the investigation began.
A comprehensive investigation Stockport’s Neighbourhood Crime Team (NCT) found that Sadauskas and Ceponis were mapped out as being in the areas of the crimes as they occurred, and the vehicles involved in the thefts were additionally identified as being linked to them.
The pair subsequently pleaded guilty to conspiring to steal motor vehicles at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court in late November, before their sentencing last Friday.
Ceponis was jailed for four years for conspiring to steal motor vehicles, while Sadauskas was jailed for four-and-a-half years for conspiring to steal motor vehicles.
Several of the Porsches have since been recovered, and police say work remains ongoing to locate the outstanding vehicles and reunite them with their owners.
“No one should have their property taken from them,” commented PC Chris Hopkins, from GMP’s Stockport NCT. “As officers in the Neighourhood Crime Team, we work proactively to tackle these sorts of offences and punish those responsible.
“We have recovered several of the stolen vehicles and will continue to do so while Sadauskas and Ceponis are behind bars.”
Featured Image – GMP
News
Fans are preparing to pay tribute to Mani from The Stone Roses ahead of his funeral service
Danny Jones
Stone Roses fans and Greater Manchester locals alike are getting ready to pay their respects to the late, great, Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield, following his tragic passing last month.
As well as details surrounding his funeral being announced earlier this week, the iconic Manc musician’s cause of death has also finally been revealed.
While Hatton’s service featured a high-profile cortège which started all the way from his hometown of Hyde, past multiple landmarks and ending at the Etihad Stadium, those local to Mani’s family home on the edge of Stockport are also being welcomed to help send him off.
It's the funeral of Mani of the Stone Roses on the 22nd. He lived locally. This poster is asking people to line the route of his funeral cortege to "show that he truly was adored". pic.twitter.com/X0DYHl10Hp
He had been struggling with emphysema for some time; he was declared dead at his home in the suburb of Heaton Moor, and is said to have died peacefully in his sleep.
As you can see from the posters put in various places around the area, residents wishing to pay their own tributes to Mani before his private funeral service at Manchester Cathedral are encouraged to line the long street leading down from St Paul’s and Heaton Moor United Church as he heads towards the city.
Departing Parsonage Road from 10am on Monday, 22 December, before turning right onto Heaton Moor Rd, then Wellington and eventually on to the Cathedral, you can expect plenty of people to show up.
One of those people will be his former bandmate and another influential guitarist, John Squire, who is one of many famous musical names to have honoured him in their own way over the last few weeks.
Other members of The Stone Roses, as well as Primal Scream (who he joined in 1996), are expected to join the close family and friends at the service itself.
Nevertheless, we have no doubt that plenty will be observing the funeral in their own way.
So, for those of you also looking to honour him, you know what to do; and to quote the poster itself, “together we can show this local legend and his family that he was truly adored.”
The Manc -
8th September 2021 
