Tameside community ‘stands together in face of hate’ after racist vandal continues to target Denton
Racist graffiti has appeared across Denton in recent weeks - being sprayed on a defibrillator in the town centre, a car, and signposts and benches in Hulmes Wood Nature Reserve.
A defibrillator in the town centre was one of several spots daubed in racist graffiti in Denton in recent weeks
The Tameside community has joined together as part of a united front against ‘the face of hate’as one town continues to be vandalised with toxic messages.
Over the past few weeks, racist graffiti has appeared in various spots across Denton – being sprayed on a defibrillator in the town centre, a car, and signposts and benches in Hulmes Wood Nature Reserve.
Images of the defacement have been posted to social media – prompting outrage across Tameside and instigating a police investigation.
It is not yet known who is behind the hate messages – which may have been scrawled by the same perpetrator.
Local officers have urged the culprit to turn themselves in.
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Chief Inspector Lee Broadstock stated: “I’m asking you, no requesting you, to hand yourself into the police, so we can understand why you did what you did and you can understand the disgust and outrage at what you have caused.
“If you do not hand yourself in, be rest assured that we will find you.”
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He added: “In Tameside we have no place for hate.
“I have a request to the residents of Denton and Tameside who have shown their outrage at these actions, please come forward if you have information about the perpetrator – let’s come together and unite against hate crime.”
No one should face hate, violence or abuse because of who they are, who they love, where they’re from, what they look like or what they believe.
— Chief Inspector Lee Broadstock (@InspBroadstock) February 15, 2021
Members of the local community have also spoken up about the graffiti, sharing words of inclusivity and togetherness to spread the message: ‘Hate crime has no place in Tameside’.
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Steve Marsland, Headteacher at Russell Scott Primary School in Denton, lauded the spirit of the “strong and proud town” and urged others to “call hate out to isolate and vaccinate another virus”.
He added: “Racism is taught….it’s a grown-ups illness cured through education and on the lap of their parents.
“I’ve spent a lifetime teaching children to be brave and bold, to question, to learn and to show tolerance where achievement is not determined by colour.
“Whoever is spreading racist hate across our town has been poorly educated and has become sick.”
Revd Philip J Cooper, Minister of Fairfield Moravian Church & Ecumenical Officer for the Moravian Church in Great Britain & Ireland, stated: “Racism grows out of ignorance and fear.
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“It seeks to unfairly and unjustly blame certain sections of our society for problems that they are not responsible for at all.
He added: “The diversity of our culture in Tameside is to be celebrated and that diversity enriches us all.”
Support is available for victims of hate via www.letsendhatecrime.com.
Contact crime stoppers to give information anonymously on 0800 555 111.
News
New endometriosis pill helping hundreds of women with ‘debilitating’ condition to be made available on NHS
Emily Sergeant
A groundbreaking new pill to help women with a ‘debilitating’ condition is set to be made available on the NHS.
The new daily pill for endometriosis – which has been approved for use on the NHS in England by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) – is called linzagolix, and will be available for those who have had previous treatment for endometriosis, working to manage any symptoms they may be experiencing.
Around 1.5 million women in the UK are thought to be currently living with endometriosis.
Endometriosis can cause chronic pain, heavy periods, and extreme tiredness when tissue similar to the womb lining grows elsewhere in the body.
A new daily pill for endometriosis has been approved for use on the NHS, and could help over a thousand women in England every year manage the symptoms of the debilitating condition.
As mentioned, linzagolix will be available specifically for patients whose previous medical or surgical treatments for endometriosis have been unsuccessful, and will be given alongside ‘add-back’ hormone therapy – which involves using low-dose hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to prevent menopause-like symptoms and bone loss.
This is the second take-at-home treatment to be approved to treat endometriosis on the NHS, and it’s thought that more than 1,000 women will benefit.
In clinical trials, linzagolix was shown to be successful in reducing painful periods and non-menstrual pelvic pain, compared with placebo, hence why it has been approved on the NHS by NICE.
“This is welcome news for women with endometriosis who haven’t found relief from previous therapies or surgery,” commented Dr Sue Mann, who is the National Clinical Director in Women’s Health for NHS England.
“It’s another treatment option which will help women take control of their health and better manage the symptoms of this often painful and debilitating condition.
“This is a testament to our ongoing commitment to improving treatment, care and quality of life for women.”
Featured Image – Heute
News
Wigan woman jailed after hitting pedestrian in Fiat 500 while driving high on nitrous oxide ‘balloons’
Emily Sergeant
A young woman from Wigan has been handed jail time after hitting a pedestrian while driving high on nitrous oxide.
Louisa Tunstall was driving a white Fiat 500 towards the East Lancashire Road in Wigan at around 7pm on Friday 24 May 2024 – a time when traffic conditions were said to be ‘quiet’ – but Tunstall was under the influence of a now-banned drug, nitrous oxide, at the time of the incident, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed.
While driving under the influence, 19-year-old Tunstall veered to the left onto the pavement and collided with a 51-year-old woman pedestrian.
After striking the woman, the car then overturned and, in the process, caused serious life-changing injuries.
When questioned by police, Tunstall stated that she ‘took her eyes off the road’ to retrieve something in the footwell before knowing the car had flipped, but she also confirmed that she had just been out to purchase nitrous oxide to use that evening.
After obtaining witness accounts, investigating officers were able to track down nearby CCTV footable which showed Tunstall inhaling nitrous oxide through a balloon whilst driving, seconds before the collision occurred.
#JAILED | It's not a laughing matter when you get behind the wheel under the influence of drugs.
Now Louisa Tunstall has to spend over a year behind bars after inhaling nitrous oxide and causing serious injury in #Wigan last year.
— Greater Manchester Police (@gmpolice) May 14, 2025
Further investigation by GMP’s Forensic Vehicle Examination Unit examined the Fiat 500 and confirmed that no defects were found on the car to contribute towards the collision.
Still to this day, the victim says she is trying to recover from the injuries sustained to her leg that will prevent her from continuing life as she did before.
“The incident is still very raw when I think about it,” the victim explained in her impact statement released by GMP. “I become upset when I think at everything which has been taken away from me and the ongoing affect it has had and continues to have on my daily life.”
GMP says it’s seeing the use of nitrous oxide being a factor in incidents they attend increasing year on year.
Nitrous oxide, also known as ‘laughing gas’, is reported to produce euphoria, relaxation, dizziness, giggling or laughing fits, impaired judgement, and occasionally dissociation and hallucinations – which GMP says affects reaction time and and is ‘likely lead to impairment’ in driving performance, particularly when faced with an unexpected or hazardous situation.
Tunstall appeared at Bolton Crown Court this week, and has been sentenced to one year and eight months imprisonment for having possession of a Class C drug, driving under the influence of drugs, and causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
Alongside being jailed, she was also disqualified from driving for two years and eight months, and has been ordered to take an extended test when she is released.
The Manc -
23rd February 2021 
