Out of England’s nine regions, the North West has claimed the most medals and medalists so far in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
It may have been postponed for a year due to the pandemic, but after nearly two weeks of inspiring and record-breaking sporting action, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics is proving to be a pretty successful Games for Great Britain.
Team GB are currently sitting in 5th place on the international medals table.
As of the end of day 11 of competition on 3 August – already having been dubbed as ‘Super Tuesday’ – 55 English Olympians have come out of at least one event with a place on the podium, and that figure has already climbed as day 12 kicks off.
But the region that has the most to shout about so far is the North West, with 13 out of the 48 Tokyo 2020 athletes born there claiming medals, and when we drill it down even further into counties and city regions, Greater Manchester is the most common place where this year’s medallists were born.
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How brilliant is this?
13 out of the 48 Tokyo 2020 athletes born in the North West have claimed medals so far / Credit: Twitter (@TeamGB) Bolton’s Jason Kenny’s silver medal win yesterday made him Britain’s joint most-decorated Olympian / Credit: Twitter (@TeamGB)
These include Bury swimmer and double gold medallist James Guy, triathlete Georgia Taylor-Brown, BMX cyclist Charlotte Worthington, sailor Stuart Bithell, rower Josh Bugajski, cyclist Jason Kenny, and the most recent medallist – Keely Hodgkinson.
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That’s not the only achievement for the North West at Tokyo 2020 so far either, as in the overall awards too, the region is storming ahead with 17, aided in part by the heroics of multi-medallists Guy, Taylor-Brown, and Cheshire swimmer Luke Greenbank.
Other successful northern counties and regions with multiple medalists so far include Yorkshire and The Humber – West Yorkshire, in particular – and Cheshire.
What an achievement – and with four days of action left, it’s only set to better.
Body found at Bolton restaurant and suspected cannabis farm days after fire
Daisy Jackson
A body has been found at the site of a fire in Bolton, days after a blaze ripped through a restaurant.
It’s believed that the fire started on the first floor of the property, with early inquiries suggesting it may have been used as a cannabis farm.
Human remains were found at the premises on Bolton Road in Farnworth.
A criminal investigation is now underway and Greater Manchester Police are appealing for information and footage relating to the incident.
Emergency services had first been called to the area at around 1pm on Monday 27 November, to reports of a fire.
Earlier today, Saturday 2 December, a body was found during a search of the restaurant building, days after the fire.
Detective Chief Inspector Andrew Naismith of GMP Major Incident Team said: “Work is ongoing to identify the deceased and we are committed to ensuring the potential family members are fully supported and informed of updates in this investigation.
“The loss of life is a tragedy and I understand the upset this news will cause in the local community. I can assure you on behalf of the investigation team that we are determined to get to the bottom of what has occurred and establish the circumstances surrounding the fire.
“I can confirm this fire is being treated as suspicious and if there is any criminal responsibility, it will be brought to light and dealt with appropriately. We are particularly interested to hear from anyone who knows how this building was being used in the lead up to 27 November 2023.
“I would also like to appeal to anyone with information about the fire itself – including if you have any footage (such as CCTV, mobile or dashcam) – to contact GMP’s Major Incident Team.”
You can make a report by calling 0161 856 1995 quoting log number 1485 of 27/11/2023 or via the reporting function on GMP’s website: www.gmp.police.uk
Alternatively, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Tameside police officers hailed ‘absolute heroes’ after saving the life of a seven-year-old girl
Emily Sergeant
Two Tameside police officers have been hailed as “absolute heroes” after saving the life of a seven-year-old little girl.
It comes after emergency services were called to an address in the Greater Manchester borough of Tameside earlier this week (29 November), and found a young girl who was struggling to breath and coughing up blood after choking on a sweet.
Police Constables Aaron Kincaid and James Blundell, from Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) Tameside division, were first on the scene.
To the huge relief of the girl’s parents, who were said to be “understandably distressed” and concerned for her welfare, PC Kincaid jumped straight into action and was able to utilise his first aid training to full effect by going on to successfully dislodge the sweet from the youngster’s throat, and then helping to calm her down before the paramedics arrived.
Whilst PC Kincaid looked after the little girl, PC Blundell did “everything he could” to help the parents remain calm.
Paramedics then took over once they arrived, and the young girl was taken to hospital as a precaution.
#NEWS | Tameside officers praised for saving the life of a 7-year-old girl who was choking.
The officers used their first aid training to dislodge the sweet, whilst helping the young girl and parents remain calm until paramedics arrived.
Reflecting on the incident, and hailing his officers “absolute heroes”, Superintendent Mike Walsh, from GMP’s Tameside district, said: “PCs Aaron Kincaid and James Blundell acted without hesitation during the incident, and took control of the situation that they were faced with.
“They deserve every credit for staying calm under extreme pressure and for working together as a team and utilising their training to lifesaving effect, and I’m sure the girl’s parents and family will consider them to be absolute heroes.”
“We’re both glad that we were in the right place at the right time,” PC Kincaid added.
“I have a daughter the same age as the little girl who needed our help, and I cannot tell you how much of a relief it was when she started breathing normally and said she was okay after I had managed to dislodge the sweet.
“The little girl gave me a thank you hug before she went to hospital, but I couldn’t have done what I did without PC Blundell’s assistance, so it was a real team effort.”
Emily Sergeant -
4th August 2021 
