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Victim of food truck fire left living on ‘handouts’ and verge of eviction

Moston Suya's applications to trade have been rejected, leaving owner Lekan Kamson at 'breaking point'.

The Manc The Manc - 19th March 2021

A local business owner who had his food truck burned down in a ‘racist attack‘ has been left ‘living on handouts’ and at risk of homelessness.

Lekan Kamson Odesanya – known locally as David Kamson – is said to be at ‘breaking point’ after several of his applications to trade in a local car park were rejected.

The business owner had recently got back on his feet following a horrific act of arson last autumn which saw his ‘Moston Suya’ food van set alight.

Members of the community came together in a heartwarming display of support for Lekan, raising thousands of pounds for him to purchase a replacement truck.

But the chef has been unable to start afresh due to his trading applications being denied.

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A new fundraiser has now been launched to help Lekan pay his rent and bills.

More than 3,000 people have also signed a petition urging the council to “reconsider their rejection”.

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The GoFundMe page reads: “While we work through the complex process of navigating the unresponsive council and police, we simply want to make sure Lekan doesn’t die or hunger or become homeless.

“We are asking for modest donations which will only be used towards paying his rent, making sure he has electricity and water, [and] providing a decent amount of food each week.

“We hope and pray this will be short-lived and the council will allow him to trade again before long, which is all he wants.

“Any excess will only go towards legal fees for police and human rights appeal [and] mental health support for Lekan.”

The campaign is also asking Greater Manchester Police to reopen the investigation against the culprits behind the food truck arson in September as they have “not been brought to justice.”

Manchester City Council has been contacted for comment.

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Today is your last day to register to vote in Greater Manchester’s local and mayoral elections

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Today is your last day to register to vote in Greater Manchester’s local and mayoral elections, as the deadline ends at midnight tonight.

With less than a month to go until the big election day arrives, residents across the Greater Manchester region are being urged to make sure they’re registered to vote and have their voter photo ID ready, so that they’re able to head to the polls and have their say on who makes the important decisions that affect them.  

In order to vote in the local and mayoral elections on Thursday 2 May, Greater Manchester residents must register before midnight tonight (Tuesday 16 April).

It takes just five minutes to apply on the gov.uk website.

This year, residents across Greater Manchester will be voting in two elections, with residents in Salford voting in three elections.

These are for the Mayor of Greater Manchester Combined Authority – who is a major figure in the political life of the city-region, with unique powers and responsibilities – and for local Councillors, who are elected to represent their local area and residents, and get to contribute to the development of local policies too.

On top of this, Salford residents will also be voting for The Salford City Mayor too, who is Salford’s political, strategic, and community leader, and has overall responsibility for the delivery of all council services.

In case you aren’t quite up to speed, nominations for Mayor candidates closed on Friday 5 April, and that means there’s a total of six people standing in the third election for the Mayor of Greater Manchester – with current Mayor, Labour and Co-operative’s, Andy Burnham, being one of them.

The candidates nominated to stand in the election for the Mayor for Greater Manchester Combined Authority are:

  • Jake Austin (Liberal Democrats)
  • Dan Barker (Reform UK)
  • Nick Buckley (Independent)
  • Andy Burnham (Labour and Co-operative)
  • Laura Evans (The Conservative Party
  • Hannah Kathrine Spencer (Green Party)
Today is your last day to register to vote in Greater Manchester’s local and mayoral elections / Credit: Manchester City Council | gov.uk

As always, there are different ways to vote in the elections next month.

You can either do so at your local polling station, by post, or by proxy – which means appointing someone to vote on your behalf – with the deadline to apply for a postal vote in these elections being 5pm this Wednesday (17 April), and the deadline for applying for a proxy vote being 5pm on Wednesday 24 April.

As mentioned, residents will need to show a valid form of photo ID at the polling station, such as a passport, driving licence, some types of bus pass or proof of age card, or a free Voter Authority Certificate.

According to GMCA, every registered voter in Greater Manchester will have started to receive an election booklet explaining more about the election, and election addresses prepared by each of the candidates, in the post from yesterday (Monday 15 April), as required by law.

Read more:

More information about the elections taking place in Greater Manchester, including information about voter ID, registering to vote, and applying for a postal or proxy vote, can be found at www.gmelects.org.uk.

Featured Image – gov.uk

News

Manchester United, GMP, and the Council is clamping down on ‘illegal’ matchday parking at Old Trafford

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Manchester United has joined forces with police and the local Council to take action on a number of offences outside Old Trafford on match days.

This includes “illegal” parking, street trading, and so much more.

The football club teamed up with its partners, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and Trafford Council, for another day of action to clampdown on a wide range of offences taking place outside its home stadium ahead of the team’s hotly-anticipated Premier League match against fierce local rivals, Liverpool, on Sunday 7 April.

Police and officers from the Council’s Regulatory Services Team tackled a number of issues on the day of action.

These included what was described as ‘rogue trading’ and ‘illegal street trading’, taxis illegally plying for hire or causing obstructions, and illegal parking, as well as the monitoring of food hygiene at food stands outside the stadium.

As part of this particular day of action – which followed a similar event outside Old Trafford on 24 February, ahead of United’s game against Fulham – Council officers and GMP staff spoke to more than 100 licensed taxis and hackney carriage drivers about illegal parking and illegally plying for hire, and 19 Fixed Penalty Notices were handed out to vehicles parked illegally on a clearway outside the ground.

Licensing and trading standards officers, along with Manchester United’s brand protection team, also spoke with all of the licensed pitches and street traders/peddlers outside the stadium, and a total of 73 products were removed for breaking rules under the Trade Marks Act.

Further legal action is set to be taken against some traders who were committing offences and were obstructive towards Council officers who were trying to carry out their tasks, according to Trafford Council.

Manchester United, GMP, and Council to clampdown on ‘illegal’ matchday parking at Old Trafford / Credit: GMP Stretford

“Our partnership work with Trafford Council is vital in being able to tackle illegal street trading and parking issues,” a spokesperson for GMP said in a statement following the day of action.

“We will continue to work with our partners to ensure a safe matchday experience, both inside and out of the stadium, for all those attending the ground.”

Jim Liggett, who is the Director of Operations at Manchester United, also explained that the club was “pleased” to have been able to join forces with Trafford Council and GMP on their day of action to clampdown on “illegal behaviour” outside Old Trafford.

Read more:

He added: “We remain committed to supporting the local authorities as we seek to collectively reduce any impact matches at Old Trafford may have on the community around the stadium.”

Featured Image – Trafford Council

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