Fire crews in Greater Manchester are warning bars and restaurants to be careful after footage emerged of party decorations catching fire above customers’ heads.
In a similar incident to the New Year’s Eve blaze at One Eight Six in Manchester city centre, the CCTV shows a celebratory sparkler in a cake setting the decorations alight.
In just seconds, the entire ceiling is ablaze, with terrified customers scrambling for the exit.
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue service released the video in a bid to raise awareness and prevent any similar incidents at hospitality venues in the city-region.
Don’t let this happen to your customers in your bar or restaurant
Indoor fireworks next to flammable decorations = 🔥🔥🔥
— Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (@manchesterfire) October 3, 2022
The shocking incident occurred in a shisha bar in Rusholme, in May this year.
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Fortunately, no one was seriously injured, but several people were taken to hospital with suspected burns.
In both this instance and in the One Eight Six incident, the cause of the blaze was determined as being ‘indoor fireworks igniting decorations, which then burned rapidly allowing the fire to spread’.
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GMFRS is now working with licensing teams from the 10 councils in Greater Manchester to offer free information and advice sessions to owners and managers of cafes, bars, pubs and restaurants in advance of the Halloween, World Cup and the Christmas party season.
The fire tore through the bar in Rusholme in seconds. Credit: GMFRS
Leon Parkes, GMFRS’s director of prevention and protection, said: “Hospitality venues have a responsibility to keep their customers and staff safe and at Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service we want to help businesses to understand their legal responsibilities and take action to protect their property, staff and customers from fire.
“We have seen a couple of instances in the past year in Manchester where fires have broken out in venues caused by indoor fireworks setting light to decorations.
“While fortunately fires don’t occur very often, the impact of a fire can be devastating and many businesses don’t recover.
“Pubs, bars and other venues will be very, very busy during October, November and December. It’s important that staff prepare by getting trained in what they need to do and that they don’t inadvertently create a fire risk.
“We know that the last two years have been really difficult for hospitality businesses and hopefully the forthcoming World Cup and Christmas period will be a boost for them. We gave out fire safety advice in May last year as Covid-19 restrictions eased and we are now working with our partners to help hospitality businesses be safe and stay safe.”
NHS says it’s battling with ‘worst case scenario’ as flu cases surge nationwide
Emily Sergeant
Flu hospitalisations have surged by more than half in just one week, plunging the NHS into the ‘worst case scenario’.
Shocking new figures have revealed that an nn average of 2,660 patients per day were in a hospital bed with flu last week, which is the highest-ever for this time of year and up 55% up on last week – which, when put into perspective, means there are enough flu patients each day to fill more than three whole hospital trusts.
NHS bosses have warned that the total has already increased sharply since the week covered by the data, and at this time, there is thought to be no ‘peak’ in sight.
These new figures come as demand for A&Es and ambulance services are already soaring.
The number of patients in hospital with flu has risen by over 50% in the last week, reaching a record number for this time of year – and numbers continue to grow.
New monthly figures showed that A&E attendances were a record for November at 2.35 million and more than 30,000 higher than November 2024, while there were 48,814 more ambulance incidents compared to last year.
The record-breaking demand also comes just ahead of thousands of resident doctors going on strike this week from 17-22 December – with ‘major disruption’ expected for patients ahead of Christmas.
The public are advised to attend any planned appointments scheduled during the strikes, unless they have been contacted to reschedule.
Primary and urgent and emergency care services will continue to be available for those who need them, during the industrial action.
NHS says it’s battling with the ‘worst case scenario’ as flu cases surge nationwide / Credit: Pxhere
The public should use 111 online as their first port of call for urgent but not life-threatening issues so that they can be directed to the best place for their needs, while patients who need emergency medical care should continue to use 999 or come forward to A&E as normal.
“With record demand for A&E and ambulances and an impending resident doctors strike, this unprecedented wave of super flu is leaving the NHS facing a worst-case scenario for this time of year – with staff being pushed to the limit to keep providing the best possible care for patients,” commented Professor Meghana Pandit, who is the NHS National Medical Director.
“Even worse, it continues to rise and the peak is not in sight yet, so the NHS faces an extremely challenging few weeks ahead.
“We have prepared earlier for winter than ever before, and stress-tested services to ensure people have a range of ways to get the help they need and avoid needing to go to A&E.”
Health Secretary Wes Streeting described the flu surge as a ‘tidal wave’.
“We are working with the NHS to make sure it is able to cope with this as best as possible,” he concluded.
Featured Image – Stephen Andrews (via Unsplash)
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Erling Haaland dresses up as Santa and hands out Christmas presents in Greater Manchester
Danny Jones
Manchester City star Erling Haaland has doubled as Father Christmas in his latest YouTube stunt, dressing up as Santa and handing out presents to local kids in the new episode.
We’re starting to think he might be one of the most likeable footballers on the planet right now.
The Norwegian footballer recently surpassed Alan Shearer’s ‘fastest to 100 goals record’ in the Premier League and has been well and truly back to his best as Man City continue to rediscover their form, but the big blonde number nine has been delighting both on and off the pitch of late.
For starters, even before any of the season’s givings began, we got the giggle just from our first glimpse of the thumbnail.
Yes, Haaland definitely has a habit of leaning into the humorous side of his celebrity status, having already dressed up as the Joker for Halloween in one of the first episodes published on his still relatively new YouTube channel.
However, the 25-year-old got up to some more heartwarming activities this time around, swapping the face paint, green wig and stripey suit for a red coat, hat, some little glasses and a big white beard.
With the video itself showing him getting into character and loading his car with a sack full of presents, he then goes on to visit multiple houses to dish out the surprise gifts.
While the title and description state that he drove around the streets of 0161, it’s hard to tell where exactly he went, but we’d guess it was more around Alderley Edge and/or the Cheshire side of the Greater Manchester borders.
One particular interaction between the disguised Blue and a young Red certainly produced a harmless little bit of comedy…
Either way, on the whole, this particular instalment was more wholesome than it was funny, and it’s always nice to see sports personalities and famous people spreading kindness.
Obviously, not everyone can afford to be as generous as a Premier League and world-famous international athlete, but it’s nevertheless a nice touch.
Daisy Jackson -
4th October 2022 
