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The Manchester kid who has become Marcus Rashford’s hero

Manchester United's star striker now has his own hero: 8-year-old Stanley who collected food for children less fortunate than himself.

The Manc The Manc - 5th November 2020

Marcus Rashford has been called a role model for his work feeding hungry children during the pandemic.

But now, the Manchester United star has his own hero: Eight-year-old Stanley Heaton.

Inspired by the footballer’s work battling child poverty, Stanley decided to try and collect food and toys for children who needed them most.

He’s ended up with hundreds of items.

Rashford paid tribute to Stanley on social media this week – sharing a video of the lad stood in a living room packed with donations from neighbours.

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The tweet is captioned: “Stanley, you are my hero.”

Stanley began his own little campaign by writing letters to people in the local area – asking them to donate whatever they could to help other kids less fortunate than himself.

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Talking to That’s TV Manchester, Stanley said: “The reason why I did this was because I’d seen Marcus Rashford on the tele saying he wanted school dinners to be free and I agree with that. But lots of people weren’t letting him… weren’t supporting that.

“So, I said to my mum: ‘What can we do about it?’

“I came up with an idea and said: ‘Can we write a letter to the neighbours to see if they’d donate any food?'”

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Rashford – whose work has seen him decorated with numerous awards, an honorary degree from the University of Manchester, and an MBE from the Queen – launched a fresh campaign in October asking for more government help.

The petition accrued one million signatures in just two weeks, calling on leaders to provide meals and activities during all holidays; increase the value of Healthy Start vouchers to at least £4.25 per week, and expand free school meals to all under 16s.

The petition was voted down in the House of Commons, but Rashford insisted he would continue fighting – having already convinced the government to extend free school meals across summer after initial rejection.

Now, the footballer also has Stanley in his corner…

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Eight arrested and £20k cash seized during early-morning police drug raids in Rochdale

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Police have seized £20,000 cash and a large quantity of drugs during early-morning drug raids in Rochdale this week.

Eight people have also been arrested, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has confirmed.

The significant seizes and arrests come after detectives from GMP’s Serious Organised Crime Group executed 11 warrants at addresses across Rochdale and Lancashire yesterday morning (17 April), that were believed to be connected to a large-scale drugs conspiracy.

As well as raiding a number of residential properties, several warrants were also executed at premises that police believed to be ‘stash houses’.

A search of all premises raided lead to several mobile phones, quantities of cocaine, and cannabis plants all being seized, as well as an estimated £20,000 in cash.

Eight people have been arrested and £20k cash has been seized during early-morning police raids in Rochdale / Credit: GMP

Following the raids, a total of eight people, who are between the ages of 27 and 56, have all been arrested on conspiracy to supply drugs, it has been confirmed, and they currently remain in police custody for questioning.

These are the latest arrests in what is part of GMP’s ongoing investigations into the criminal use of encrypted mobile phones.

Back in 2020, as a result of the NCA take down of Encrochat – which is the encrypted messaging platform once used by criminals across the globe – GMP was handed hundreds and thousands of messages from the once-secure platform, and it gave detectives “insight into the criminal underworld which had never been seen before”.

Over the last few years, GMP says it has been “systematically” working its way through these messages to attribute them to criminals across Greater Manchester and the North West.

“We have seen great huge successes to date,” GMP has admitted.

Speaking following the early-morning raids in Rochdale and Lancashire yesterday, Detective Sergeant Rich McCorry, from GMP’s Serious Organised Crime Group, said in a statement: “The ability for criminals to benefit from the proceeds of drugs is a key driver for organised crime, and we have specialist detectives working tirelessly to eliminate the key players from criminal networks across the region.

“[Yesterday’s] action is a result of months of hard work by detectives, whose proactive investigations into the drugs trade in Manchester has led them through these doors today.

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“We will continue to employ every possible tactic to target and disrupt organised crime groups, and ensure they are brought to justice.”

Featured Image – GMP

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Mother of Manchester Arena attack victim to walk to Downing Street to demand new security law

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

The mother of a Manchester Arena attack victim is to walk from Manchester to Downing Street to demand a new security law.

Figen Murray OBE, whose son, Martyn Hett, was one of the 22 victims that sadly lost their life during the Manchester Arena attack in 2017, has been tirelessly campaigning for the introduction of new legislation that tightens security protocols at public venues across the UK for several years now – but this will be her biggest challenge yet.

On 7 May, she plans to set off from the place where Martyn died in Manchester city centre, and walk all the way to Downing Street.

Her expected arrival in London on 22 May will be both the seventh anniversary of the horrific attack, and of her son’s death.

The legislation Ms Murray is campaigning for the introduction of is known as ‘Martyn’s Law’, and it will require premises to fulfil what the Government has called “necessary but proportionate” steps, according to their capacity, to help keep the general public safe.

The law was approved in September 2022, but is still yet to be formally introduced.

A consultation was launched back in February to help work out the best way to introduce the law nationwide, and the public was invited to have their say on the proposals which sought to “scale-up preparedness for terrorist attacks” and make sure the public is protected – but this consultation closed on 18 March, and the results are said to be being considered by the Government, according to BBC reports.

Ms Murray is expected to be joined by Brendan Cox – the widower of MP Jo Cox, who was murdered in 2016 – and Nick Aldworth, who is a former national counter-terrorism coordinator, on her march to Downing Street.

Figen Murray’s son, Martyn Hett, who lost his life during the Manchester Arena attack in 2017 / Credit: gov.uk

She will also pay her respects at the sites of a number of terror attacks along the way on her 200-mile journey.

Reflecting on it being almost five years on from the Government’s original commitment to ‘Martyn’s Law’ ahead of her walk to London, Ms Murray says she believes the fact that the draft legislation still hasn’t been tabled is “putting our country at risk”.

“No parent should have to experience the pain and loss I’ve felt,” Ms Murray told the BBC.

“I truly believe we have an opportunity to make public spaces safer and more secure by introducing Martyn’s Law.”

Following the closing of the public consultation on ‘Martyn’s Law’ last month, a Home Office spokesperson thanked Ms Murray for her “tireless support in the development of this vital reform”.

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The spokesperson’s statement continues: “We are reviewing the findings [of the public consultation] to ensure all feedback is fully considered, and working to finalise the legislation with a view to introducing it as soon as parliamentary time allows.”

Featured Image – Figen Murray / BBC

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