Greater Manchester Police have issued a plea for people to drive safely after six people died on local roads in one weekend.
Chief Superintedent Mark Dexter said that it had been a ‘terrible’ weekend and urged people to think carefully before getting behind the wheel this Christmas.
There were six fatal collisions in the region between Friday and early Monday morning, one of which led to the death of a 10-year-old child.
A man in his 20s has been arrested in a separate incident where a woman, believed to be in her 60s, was killed in a collision in Rochdale.
The man presented himself at a police station in Bury and was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.
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There was a further fatality on Monday morning involving a cyclist on Centenary Way.
Officers from GMP’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit are investigating the incidents.
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Dexter, of the Specialist Operations Unit that oversees road policing, said: “This weekend has been a terrible one for so many people after a number of serious incidents on our roads in the week before Christmas.
“Between Friday and the early hours of Monday, our officers responded to six fatalities across Greater Manchester – including 10 year old child. Our thoughts are clearly with the families and friends of those that have died this weekend
“That’s six families that our officers had to give this most traumatic news to, and seven families who will be lost without a loved one just days before Christmas – a time of year that should be full of joy.
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“All of these incidents remain subject to ongoing investigations, and we have a specialist officers dedicated to supporting the families of all those that tragically lost their lives this weekend.
“One fatality on the roads of Greater Manchester is one too many, and I urge people getting behind the wheel this week to think about each of those six families and how your actions could result in another family having to suffer.
“If you have any information about any of the incidents over the weekend, then please call our Serious Collision Investigation Unit on 0161 856 4741. Thank you.”
Each of the six families who have received the traumatic news are being supported by specially-trained officers.
Featured image: Unsplash
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Police appeal after thieves steal 800 barrels of Guinness from HGVs in Cheshire
Emily Sergeant
Police in Cheshire are appealing for information after more than 800 barrels of Guinness were stolen.
Cheshire Police explained that, at around 7:45pm on Monday 31 August, a lorry entered an industrial estate in the Aston Lane area of Runcorn. The lorry is then connected to a HGV trailer containing barrels of Guinness, before leaving the site at 7:55pm and driving in the direction of the Mersey Gateway.
Then, at 9:12pm, a second lorry arrived at the same site in a different lorry and connected it to another trailer containing barrels of Guinness. The lorry left the site at around 9:30pm, in the direction of Rainhill and Watkinson Way.
The estimated total value of all the items stolen is approximately £205,000, police confirmed.
According to police, the trailers are described as white Tri-Axle Curtain side trailers with GXO company branding on curtains and rear doors.
The trailers also have unique ID numbers on their rear doors in the top left corner – with the numbers of stolen trucks being DL736 or DL542.
Both HGVs were believed to have been driven by men. The first man is described as white with a short dark beard and wearing a beanie hat, and the second believed to be wearing a cap.
Officers are now appealing to anyone with any information, or dashcam and video footage taken from around the time of the incident, to come forward.
“It is famously said that ‘Guinness is good for you’, but that is only the case when it has been bought and paid for,” commented Detective Sergeant McClatchy, from Cheshire Police.
“It is with this in mind that we have wasted no time in launching enquires to identify those responsible for the theft of £115,000 worth Guinness and the two trailers that housed the barrels.
“We will settle for nothing less than the full recovery of all the items stolen.”
Anyone with any information is asked to contact Cheshire Police via its website, or by calling 101 and using incident reference number IML-2408641.
Featured Image – Volker Repke (via Unsplash)
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Police seize convoy of supercars after reports of dangerous driving on M62 near Rochdale
Emily Sergeant
A convoy of supercars has been seized by police following reports of dangerous driving on the M66 and M62 near Rochdale.
On Wednesday, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) says its dedicated Roads Policing Unit (RPU) were made aware that a group of individuals driving high-powered vehicles – such as Lamborghinis and Mercedes G-Wagons – were ‘driving dangerously’ at speed, weaving across lanes, wheel spinning, and slowing down to speeds of around 17mph on the motorway.
After finding the convoy of vehicles on the M62, police were able to stop two of Lamborghinis as they were coming off the motorway.
Officers then used specialist tactics to bring the remaining vehicles to a stop in Rochdale.
As a result of police intervention, GMP was able to seize five Lamborghinis and a Mercedes G-Wagon under Section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002, and on top of this, the drivers of the offending vehicles were prosecuted for a number of driving offences.
Police have seized a convoy of supercars after reports of dangerous driving on the M62 near Rochdale / Credit: GMP | Wikimedia Commons
Chief Inspector Danny Kabal, from GMP’s Transport Policing and Crime command, said the force takes road safety ‘very seriously’.
“We will not tolerate careless, inconsiderate, anti-social or dangerous driving on our roads,” he began.
“Recent changes to Section 59 of the Police Reform Act now enables us to seize vehicles without having to issue a warning first. As we intensify our road safety operations and enforcement campaigns, we will use this legislative change as part of our daily business.
“People who think it is acceptable to use our roads as a racetrack need to pay attention to this result and take it as a warning – they will have their vehicles seized and they will be prosecuted, and where proportionate to do so, they will also be arrested.”
Daisy Jackson -
20th December 2021 
