A gymnastics coach from Trafford has been jailed after being found guilty of non-recent rape and sexual assault against young girls he taught.
It comes after a woman bravely came forward to Greater Manchester Police (GMP) back in September 2020 to disclose the prolonged abuse she suffered at the hands of a sports coach during her youth – with the years of offending spanning from the late 1980s to the early 90s.
That coach was Michael Haynes, from the Urmston area of Trafford.
Mr Haynes, who is now 77 years old, appeared at Manchester Crown Court and was sentenced this week after a four-week trial.
During the trial, the court heard how in the late 80s, one of the victims – who was 11 at the time – joined Trafford School of Gymnastics, and it was here where Haynes first sexually assaulted her by inappropriately touching her through her clothing as he was appearing to ‘help’ her with stretching exercises.
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This progressed over time, and eventually turned from sexual touching to rape – with offences occurring in his vehicle whilst he was assisting the victim’s family to transport her to and from the gymnastics club.
Following these discoveries, then in December 2023, another woman learned that Haynes was to stand trial for sexual offences and bravely came forward to the police to report what happened to her when she was around 12 years old and had already been at the gymnastics school for years with Haynes.
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Michael Haynes / Credit: GMP
The court learned how Haynes began inappropriately asking her about relationships with other boys her age, before proceeding to touch her leg and sexually assault her.
“Michael Haynes violated boundaries I hadn’t yet learned how to name,” the first victim tragically explained in a victim impact statement.
“I didn’t understand what had happened, or how I felt about it. I just knew something had shifted in me. Something had been taken by someone I trusted, and I carried confusion and shame for many years. I still live with the effects of what happened, but I also live with pride in who I’ve become. All you have left now is shame.”
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Michael Haynes has been sentenced to 18 years in prison after he was found guilty of nine counts of rape and 11 counts of sexual assault against two girls.
Following the sentencing this week, Detective Inspector Rick Lees, of Trafford’s CID, said: “This was a harrowing investigation, and I would like to thank the survivors for their bravery in coming forward after all these years and reporting what happened to them.
“I cannot imagine the psychological effect that this abuse had on them over the years, and I hope today’s sentencing brings some form of closure and a sense of justice.”
Following the investigation, GMP said it believes there may be further victims of Haynes’ from the same time period who may have previously felt unable to come forward.
“We would like to take this opportunity to appeal to anyone who has been a victim of any form of sexual abuse, whether it be recent or non-recent to please get in touch with us, no matter how long ago it was, we will listen to you, and we can help,” DI Lees concluded.
Featured Image – GMP
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Manchester band Westside Cowboy release ‘thrilling’ debut album that critics are calling one of the year’s best
Emily Sergeant
One of the UK’s best rising bands have released their debut album today to glowing reviews from critics and fans alike.
Jimmy Bradbury, Reuben Haycocks, Aoife Anson O’Connell, and Paddy Murphy – better known together as Westside Cowboy – formed back in 2023 when they were students at the Royal Northern College of Music, so while they may not all be from Manchester, they definitely have the spirit of our city at the heart of everything they do.
After playing in different bands across the city throughout their student years, the four-piece joined forces to create Westside Cowboy – an indie rock collective credited with self-coining the genre of ‘Britainicana’.
Put simply, Britainicana is a cultural concept that mixes the hazy, mythic feel of American country and folk, with the sound of raw British punk, indie rock, and small-town life.
Westside Cowboy have released their debut album, It Goes On / Credit: Clementine Schniedermann (Press Shots – Supplied)
If that sounds like your cup of tea, then you’ll be pleased to know that Westside Cowboy have released their debut album, It Goes On, to the world today (21 August).
And the reception from critics, arguably, couldn’t be better.
Prior to the release of their debut album, the band had released two EPs, including So Much Country ‘Till We Get There in January earlier this year, and had started to make a name for themselves with their popular debut single ‘I’ve Never Met Anyone I Thought I Could Really Love (Until I Met You)’ in 2024.
They went onto make even further waves when they supported equally-rising American rock band Geese on their UK and Irish tour back in March – with many fans calling it one of the best support and main act combinations in some time.
Three singles from their debut album were shared with the world ahead of its release – ‘Kick Stones (The Boys)’ came first, followed by ‘Pin Up Boys’ and ‘Dobro’.
So, it’s fair to say the anticipation for album was high… and if the reviews are anything to go by (which we think they are), it looks like the band has very much delivered what they set out to achieve.
Westside Cowboy’s debut album It Goes On is now available to stream, or you can purchase a physical copy in a range of formats from their website here.
Take a listen👇
Featured Image – Press Shot (Supplied)
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UK set to be battered by storms as ‘unprecedented’ El Niño arrives this autumn
Emily Sergeant
The UK is being told to brace for a series of storms this autumn when the ‘unprecedented’ El Niño weather event arrives.
It’s already been a summer of extremes for the country, with multiple heatwaves over the past couple of months, but now it appears that autumn and winter are set to have some extremes of their own, as the Met Office is warning that this upcoming El Niño could be one of the most significant in recent memory.
El Niño is declared when sea temperatures in the tropical eastern Pacific rise 0.5°C above the long-term average, which therefore impacts global rainfall patterns and average temperatures.
The natural warming of sea temperatures is forecast to reach more than 3°C in the coming months, according to the Met Office, making this year’s weather event have the potential to be ‘the largest since the 19th century’.
The UK is set to be battered by storms as ‘unprecedented’ El Niño arrives this autumn / Credit: Johannes Plenio (via Unsplash)
El Niño will create a heightened risk of drought in the tropics, southern Africa, and north eastern Australia, but over in north western Europe – including the UK – it means we are likely to experience wetter and stormier conditions.
The UK, and of course Greater Manchester, is absolutely no stranger to a storm around this time of year, but forecasters say this could be an entirely different beast.
“We should be clear that this is an unprecedented event,” warned Professor Adam Scaife, who is the Head of Long Range Forecasting at the Met Office.
“I have never seen an El Nino signal this intense in our forecasts.”
Professor Scaife concluded: “A typical El Nino leads to an equatorial Pacific sea-surface temperature rise of between one to 2°C, with 2°C being a really big event. This implies that, if the forecast is accurate, and other forecast systems show similar extreme values, then 2026 will far exceed our recent experience of El Niño and its worldwide climate influences.’
Forecasters and officials, however, have warned that it could take months of sustained rainfall before rivers, reservoirs, and groundwaters are ‘completely replenished’ – which is when a drought can officially be declared as over.
It also warned drought conditions could persist into the new year as, despite El Niño, as current forecasts do not suggest this autumn will have the amount of rainfall needed to drive recovery.
Emily Sergeant -
30th May 2025 
