Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has confirmed that two arrests have been made after teenager was stabbed at a park in Old Trafford over the weekend.
The arrests comes after police were called to reports of an assault in Seymour Park in Trafford at around 5:10pm on Saturday 18 June 2022, and a 13-year-old boy was found by officers with stab injuries.
He was treated by the emergency services at the scene, and was then rushed to hospital, where he currently remains in a stable condition.
A 13-year-old male and a 14-year-old male have been arrested on suspicion of assault, GMP has since confirmed.
Giving an update on the incident, Inspector Matthew Harvey, of GMP’s Trafford district, said: “Officers have moved swiftly to make an arrest and the suspect is being questioned in custody [and] our enquiries are continuing.”
ADVERTISEMENT
He added that there will be “extra officers in the area”.
“Knife crime can have devastating consequences and the public want to see police officers challenging those causing the issues,” he continued.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I want to reassure the community that we are continuing to work closely with our partner agencies to ensure we keep Trafford, and the wider Greater Manchester community, safe and free from harm.”
GMP later confirmed that on Sunday 19 June 2022, officers were authorised to use Section 60 stop and search powers in Seymour Park and the surrounding area – including Ayres Road, Humphrey Road, Northumberland Road, and Seymour Grove.
As part of our #ForeverAmnesty campaign to 'bin the knife' we remind the public that there is at least one amnesty bin at a police station in each Greater Manchester district.
Chief Inspector Shoheb Chowdhury, from Greater Manchester Police (GMP), added that: “We absolutely understand the impact events [like these] can have on our communities and simply won’t tolerate it.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Members of the public can expect to see extra officers in the area and there is a possibility that they themselves could be stopped and searched.
“We thank them in advance for their cooperation.”
Members of the public who suspect someone is carrying a weapon or is involved in criminal behaviour are being to report it to GMP or to contact the independent charity, Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
GMP has also reinforced the importance of its #ForeverAmnesty campaign to ‘bin the knife’, and has reminded the public that there is at least one amnesty bin at a police station in each Greater Manchester district.
ADVERTISEMENT
There are 13 amnesty bins permanently located across Greater Manchester where you can anonymously deposit a knife.
You can find out more and source your nearest amnesty bin here.
Featured Image – Google Maps
News
Body of woman found in River Mersey last year finally identified after ‘extensive’ investigation
Emily Sergeant
The body of woman who was found in the River Mersey last year has finally been identified.
Following what has been described as an ‘extensive investigation’ by Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) Major Incident Team to determine the identity of the body, which was sadly discovered in the river adjacent to Chorlton Water Park on 21 March 2024, the family of the victim has now been informed and supported by specialist officers.
The victim has been formally named as 38-year-old Laura Stanley, who was originally from Derbyshire but was living in Stockport.
After the body was discovered, and ‘exhaustive and determined’ investigation by GMP officers began to identify here, including detailed checks of both national and international databases.
The Major Incident Team (MIT) also closely worked in collaboration with specialist forensic service providers to create an anthropological profile, which eventually culminated in the creation of a facial reconstruction image.
Following several media appeals, a relative of Laura contacted officers and then a DNA match was confirmed through a familial link.
“Laura was a kind and gentle person with a great sense of fun and adventure,” Laura’s family said in a heartbreaking tribute to her.
“She was generous, thoughtful, caring and always keen to volunteer within the community. Laura was a proud and loving mum and she will be greatly missed by her girls and all of her friends and family who loved her dearly.”
The River Mersey, across from Chorlton Water Park, where Laura’s body was discovered / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
While Laura has now been identified, police say further investigations will take place to understand her last movements, the events that led to her death, and her discovery in the river.
Additionally, as is standard practice, GMP’s Professional Standards Directorate is also reviewing a previous missing report relating to Laura in the time before the discovery of her body, which will determine prior contact relating to Laura, and whether the appropriate measures were enacted.
#UPDATE | A woman who was discovered in the River Mersey last year has been identified following an extensive investigation by officers in GMP’s Major Incident Team.
Thank you to those of you who have shared our appeals over the last year.
Anyone who knew Laura and thinks they may be able to assist with the investigation is asked to contact police by calling 101, or by using the Live Chat Service at gmp.police.uk, quoting log number 1191 of 21 March 2024.
Alternatively, you can contact the Major Incident Team Syndicate 3 directly on 0161 856 9479, or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
It is currently believed that Laura was last seen around January 2024.
Featured Image – GMP
News
More than 70,000 home buyers set to pay thousands after missing stamp duty relief deadline
Emily Sergeant
More than 70,000 home buyers across England are estimated to have missed the stamp duty relief deadline.
This sadly means they’ll be required to fork out thousands of pounds extra.
In case you hadn’t heard, up until yesterday (31 March 2025), anyone who was moving and had bought a home in the past was not required to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax, better-known as just stamp duty, on the portion of the property price up to £250,000.
But from today (1 April), this threshold has now fallen back to £125,000, which unfortunately means that property purchasers are facing an extra £2,500 in moving costs, on average.
While the end of the stamp duty relief will mostly affect those Greater Manchester buyers who had already previously purchased properties, first time buyers are sadly not exempt from the deadline changes too, as their current stamp duty threshold of £425,000 has now fallen back to £300,000 as of today.
Person holding the keys to a new house in their hand / Credit: Maria Ziegler (via Unsplash)
Given that the average property price for a first time buyer-type home is currently around £227,965, according to Rightmove, the new £300,000 threshold may hit those purchasing properties in more expensive areas – particularly the South East.
A third of those estimated 70,000 home buyers who have missed the deadline are thought to be first time buyers.
Leading property platform Rightmove published an analysis in February into just how much of an impact the end of the stamp duty relief would have on home buyers, all while calling on the UK Government to announce a short extension to the deadline to help people in the middle of the property purchasing process avoid potentially thousands of pounds in extra moving costs.
But despite these calls from industry leaders, there was no extension to the deadline announced in the last week’s latest Spring Statement.
“It’s extremely disappointing that the Government has not used the Spring Statement as an opportunity to extend the impending stamp duty deadline for those currently going through the home-moving process,” commented Rightmove’s property expert Colleen Babcock.
“We estimate over 70,000 people are going to miss the deadline and complete in April instead, and a third of those are first time buyers.”