Police are vowing to leave “no stone unturned” as they attempt to find those involved in recent large-scale disturbances in Manchester city centre.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP), Manchester City Council, and other partner organisations have joined forces in a bid to “identify and apprehend” the people involved in a number of instances in the Market Street and Piccadilly Gardens areas of the city centre over this past weekend.
Officials have claimed this “kind of behaviour will simply not be tolerated” in Manchester.
It comes after last Friday (21 July), GMP were called to two incidents in the city centre – the first involving “a large group of youths” who were congregating in the Market Street/Piccadilly Gardens area just after 3pm, and the second being after officers became aware of video footage circulating on social media of “several people fighting” on Market Street.
#UPDATE | GMP and partners join forces to leave "no stone unturned" to identify and apprehend people involved in large scale disturbances in the city centre
— Greater Manchester Police (@gmpolice) July 25, 2023
Three arrests were made on suspicion of public order offences after the first incident, and an adult male was arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and affray following the second.
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All those arrested have been released on bail pending further investigations, GMP confirmed.
That’s not all though, as on Monday night (24 July), police were once again called to the city centre following reports of large groups of youths “causing public disorder” – which led to four police officers being assaulted, and subsequently another four people, aged between 16 to 18-years-old, being arrested on suspicion of affray.
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Investigations are currently ongoing to establish whether the three incidents are linked, GMP has revealed, and is working with the Council to “ensure every attempt is made” to identify the instigators of the disturbances.
Police will leave ‘no stone unturned’ to find youths involved in large-scale city centre disturbances / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
“We are working closely with our partners to ensure that no stone is left unturned,” Chief Inspector of Neighbourhoods in the City Centre, Stephen Wiggins, assured the public.
“Our investigations are gathering at pace and we will be making more arrests.
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“As part of our large-scale investigation, we have also been undertaking extensive CCTV enquiries and acting on intelligence we have received from members of the public. Officers are being deployed in and around the area in significant numbers to provide reassurance to the local community.”
Several arrests have been made and investigations are ongoing / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Deputy Leader of Manchester City Council, Cllr Luthfur Rahman, says he is committed to making sure “these two unrelated incidents do not reflect Manchester city centre”.
“Together with the police we are sending out a message that we utterly condemn violent or disruptive behaviour in our city.
“We won’t allow these rare incidents to create negative perceptions about our city.
Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons
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Major pop star crowns humble rice and three cafe as ‘Jewel of Manchester’ ahead of sold-out gig
Thomas Melia
A beloved city centre takeaway has been given the title of ‘Jewel of Manchester’ by chart-topping UK singer Sam Smith.
Known for hits like ‘Stay With Me’, ‘I’m Not The Only One’ and more recently ‘Unholy’, UK pop-ballad act Sam Smith also likes to drop a food review every once in a while.
Currently on the road with a run of shows in Manchester and London for their ‘To Be Free’ live shows, Sam Smith is stopping off at some of our city’s much-loved spots.
On their food-reviewing account titled ‘Sam Served’, where they adopt the aptly-fitting nickname ‘Ham Smith’, Sam has visited restaurants across the globe – and most recently turned their attention to Manchester’s own This & That.
Smith decided to pop in and grab a cheeky rice and three from long-standing backstreet food business This & That, and it certainly went down a treat.
After sampling their amazing selection of meat, vegetable and vegan curries, the musician crowned this family-run Indian takeaway a ‘Jewel of Manchester’.
The hitmaker described this Northern Quarter Indian eatery as ‘Everything food should be’ and definitely enjoyed all the curries on offer ‘leaving belly and heart full’.
This & That prides itself on affordable and comforting food with its ‘Rice and Three Curries’ starting from just £6 – not bad for a city centre foodie spot.
Sam has racked up an impressive 490k followers via their ‘Sam Served’ profile, with famous faces like Lily Allen, Denise Welch and CMAT all wanting to know the superstar’s foodie thoughts.
After enjoying a curry or three, Sam Smith also made sure to feed their soul to by venturing down to Afflecks and getting lost in the music at Mars Tapes.
Recognised as one of the UK’s only cassette and tape shops, Mars Tapes lets you flick through their crates of physical media and even preview tracks before you buy with its dedicated listening areas.
It’s safe to say that Smith has ‘Latched’ onto Manchester’s independent business scene and we’re here for it.
The London-born artist has just released their latest album Hazel Eyes and is currently amid a UK residency tour with two dates in Manchester’s Albert Hall and eight shows set for London Coliseum.
24-hour bus services are now running across all Greater Manchester boroughs
Emily Sergeant
24-hour bus services are now running across all boroughs in Greater Manchester.
You may remember that back in March, it was announced that every borough of Greater Manchester was set to get a night bus service in what is hoped to be a ‘boost’ to the night-time economy… and now it’s official, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has launched those 24-hour buses this month, along with a series of other measures.
Oldham, Stockport, Tameside, and Trafford now join the rest of Greater Manchester in having 24-hour bus services, meaning every part of the region will have a night bus operating Thursday through to Sunday.
It’s expected that these new services will help around 625,400 people working in the night-time economy across Greater Manchester, as well as those out enjoying the region’s nightlife, TfGM has said.
The routes which will run around the clock from Thursday until Sunday are:
50 (Salford – Manchester)
216 (Tameside – Manchester)
263 (Trafford – Manchester)
192 (Stockport – Manchester)
83 (Oldham – Manchester)
All Greater Manchester boroughs now have 24-hour bus services / Credit: TfGM
They launch alongside the most significant service changes to the Bee Network since the completion of bus franchising last year – including other new bus routes, and more frequent services across Greater Manchester.
“We want everyone to be able to enjoy everything Greater Manchester offers, without the worry of how to get there and get home,” commented Greater Manchester Mayor, Bev Craig.
“By growing the Bee Network, we’re making it easier than ever for people to use the bus, day and night.
“Our night buses are already providing a lifeline to some of the hundreds of thousands of people who are growing our night-time economy and working in essential public services.”
“Whether people are heading home from a night at the theatre or starting the early shift at a hospital, they can now get on board the night bus as a safe and affordable way to travel.”
Further improvements will delivered from January 2027, and a full breakdown by borough can be found on the Bee Network website here.
Emily Sergeant -
26th July 2023 
