A high school in Bolton is one of five to have been called out by Northern rail for having the most fare-dodging students.
Turton School in Bromley Cross, joins several other high schools in Cheshire, Merseyside, and West Yorkshire in being “put on report” by the region’s rail operator due to there being a high number of students caught evading fares on certain journeys.
Wilmslow High School and Wade Deacon High School in Cheshire, Rainhill High School in Merseyside, and Honley High School in West Yorkshire were the other schools rounding out the top five.
Northern explained that a large majority of the fare-evading incidents take place when students are travelling relatively short distances between rural and suburban stations, which are usually not barrier-controlled, and given the high number of students on-board and the limited journey duration, conductors cannot always carry out a full ticket inspection.
This then leads to students deciding to “risk it” without a ticket, Northern claims.
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Northern said students hop on the train at Hall i’ th’ Wood without a ticket and travel one stop to Bromley Cross station – which is right outside Turton School.
Turton School in Bolton features on Northern’s top five list / Credit: Google Maps
The train operator says it’s now working with Turton School and all the other schools on the list to urge parents to buy the existing Educational Season Tickets when schools return in September – which are heavily-discounted up to 75% off – rather than give their child money for the fare.
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Students given rail fares daily are instead deciding to pocket the cash, and choosing to risk travelling without a ticket, Northern says.
Commenting on its decision to name the top five fare-dodging schools, Mark Powles – Commercial and Customer Director at Northern – said: “Everyone has a responsibility to buy a ticket before they travel.
Students from 5 secondary schools in Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside have been highlighted as the worst fare evaders in the area.
We're now working with the schools to help urge parents to use the 75% educational discount already available to avoid penalty fares. pic.twitter.com/LUdC5ncZWQ
“But unfortunately, some students think that rule doesn’t apply to them – and routinely fare evade on our services.
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“It’s important they know that fare evading is a criminal act, and in the future they could end up with a criminal record for the sake of paying the heavily-discounted student fare.
“With the end of the school year almost upon us, we are urging parents from September not to give their child money with the hope they will buy a ticket, but to save money by ensuring their child has a ticket by buying it for a cheaper rate in advance.”
Featured Image – Northern
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Home Bargains has announced a special two-day closure of all UK stores
Emily Sergeant
Home Bargains has, once again, announced it’ll be closing all its UK stores on both Boxing Day and New Year’s Day this year.
And it’s to make sure staff get a ‘well deserved break’.
After what has been yet another busy year for the retail industry, many workers have been left feeling like they could do with a little extra time off, which is why Home Bargains is following on with what has become a now-annual tradition by shutting up shop on two bank holidays.
All of our stores will be closing for Boxing Day & New Years Day.
Announcing the move in a post on social media, the discount retailer confirmed: “All of our stores will be closing for Boxing Day and New Years Day. We would like to thank all our colleagues for how hard you have worked this past year, and want you to relax and enjoy the Christmas break with your loved ones.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time the retailer has kept its doors shut on bank holidays.
Many shoppers will recall it has made the same decision to give hardworking staff a break every year since 2019.
Explaining a little more about the decision taken to close all its stores, Home Bargains said: “As a family-run business, we know the importance of being together at Christmas with those we care about most, now more than ever.
“This is our way of saying thank you to our colleagues for their continued hard work and dedication.”
Featured Image – Geograph
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Two Greggs in Manchester will be serving their breakfast menu in the evening next week
Emily Sergeant
Who says breakfast has to end at 11am?
In news that’s set to be music to the ears of breakfast lovers in Manchester, Greggs is giving them exactly what they want.
We all know that brunch is a ‘thing’ by now, so now it’s time for brinner to make a name for itself instead, as Greggs has teamed up with Heinz to bring its much-loved breakfast menu back for tea time, kicking off from 4pm onwards.
The move comes as a new survey has found that the majority of Mancs (69%) admit to enjoying eating breakfast food in the evening, saying it’s ‘convenient and comforting’ – even ranking breakfast as a ‘more important’ meal than tea, as well (38% vs 36%).
Two Greggs in Manchester will be serving their breakfast menu in the evening next week / Credit: Greggs (Supplied)
Greggs says it has ‘lost count’ of the amount of customers that have tried to order breakfast items after the usual cut-off time, especially in Greater Manchester.
But luckily for those breakfast-loving Mancs, they can finally get their favourite breakfast and sauce pairing long after the morning rush is over next… but only at two Greggs branches, and only for a very limited time.
On Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 October, the Heinz x Greggs Brinner collab will be available at Greggs St Mary’s Gate and Greggs Oxford Road, from 4-7pm only.
“We’ve lost count of the number of customers who have tried their luck ordering breakfast after 11am, so when Heinz came to us with the idea of making Brinner a reality, it felt like the perfect excuse to give the people what they want,” explained Zoe Harris, who is the Customer Director at Greggs.
“And let’s be honest, a Greggs Bacon Roll just wouldn’t be the same without a squeeze of Heinz Tomato Ketchup.”
Emily Sergeant -
18th July 2022 
