A 13-year-old girl has been involved in a random attack while walking along Stour Road in Astley this past weekend.
Her father is now appealing to the public for information after the girl was punched in the face during the unprovoked incident, which occurred early in the evening last Saturday.
She was said to have been approached by the man, who let his dog pull towards her, despite her walking into the road to avoid them, and as she carried on past and turned to go up a ginnel leading to Helston Way, he turned around and ran after her, pulling her by her hair and punching her in the face.
Just moments earlier, the girl had been on the phone to her mum, telling her she was almost home after walking the short distance from a friend’s house, and her mum could even hear the shouts from the incident.
The girl – who is a black belt in jiu jitsu – managed to fight him off however.
A video of the incident has been widely shared on social media after the girl’s dad, who wishes to remain anonymous, managed to track down CCTV footage.
The footage shows the offender walking his black dog – thought to be a pug or a French bulldog – in the direction of Chancery Close.
He is wearing an orange zip-up top, and what look like jogging bottoms.
Google Maps
Like most parents with teenage children, the girl’s parents had only recently been allowing her some extra freedom to walk alone, and they believe it’s thanks to her martial arts training that she was able to fight the attacker off.
The girl’s father said the attack has now made them extra cautious.
Relaying the incident, the dad-of-one said: “She’s understandably shaken and she’s been a bit subdued since it happened. It’s frightened her quite a bit. Her mum was waiting on the doorstep as she was nearly home and just after she put the phone down, my wife heard everything down the street.”
He continued: “He never said a word to her when his dog pulled towards her”
“She didn’t think anything of it, I think she had been looking at the dog more than anything. She was nearly home and the next thing he’s pulled her hair, tried to drag her to the floor and punched her in the face.
“She’s used to being punched in jiu jitsu so she fought back and managed to get away.
“She’s not badly bruised, he punched her cheek, but it’s lucky that she knows how to defend herself and she defended herself very well, using her skills to get out of the situation.”
“She only goes out with a few close friends from school and we usually pick them up [but] it’s only since COVID we’ve said she can walk home as we can’t have them in the car. She didn’t have far to walk at all from her friends,
“But we won’t be letting her do it alone now.”
Google Maps
Confirming the incident, a spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said: “Police were called to a report of assault. A girl aged 13 was walking along a ginnel linking Helston Way and Stour Road when she was assaulted by a man who was walking a dog.
“Enquiries are ongoing to trace the offender [but] no arrests have currently been made.
“Police are aware of a video purporting to show the lead up to the assault.”
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The incident happened at around 6.30pm on Saturday 28th November. The man was bald or with short hair, and is thought to have been around 40 years old.
After the assault, he ran back out of the alley in the direction of Glastonbury Road.
Anyone with information should call police on 0161 856 7124 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
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British rock and mod icon Paul Weller stars in advert for new Oasis x Bohemians football kit
Danny Jones
The music and football shirt crossovers just keep coming thick and fast – and that’s just Oasis alone, as Bohemians FC have released a new collaboration with the legendary Britpop band, looping in none other than Paul Weller for the grand unveiling.
Bohemians share a strong connection with the Gallagher brothers due to their Irish roots, as do Manchester and the ‘Emerald Isle’ in general.
However, it doesn’t get much bigger than Oasis and with the Live ’25 reunion shows now just days away (we can hardly believe it either), Bohemians have decided to hop on the bandwagon too and steal some of that ‘band with the three stripes’ buzz for themselves.
Not to be too keen, but can we have 10 of them, please?…
Is this another instant hit? We’d say so, yeah.
Shot by Jamie Goldrick to the sound of cult favourite Definitely Maybe track, ‘Married with Children’, the Oasis x Bohemians kit reveal video was filmed at Cross Guns Snooker Hall: the oldest snooker club in Dublin City, which still remains an important community cornerstone.
As well as starring UK rock and mod culture icon, Paul Weller, perhaps the best bit about the FAI Cup shirt and this whole partnership is the charitable element behind it.
Just like with their Fontaines shirt, which helped supply medical aid across Palestine, the limited edition jersey will help generate crucial money for two key causes.
The first of which is the domestic non-profit organisation, Music Generation Ireland, the country’s national music education programme, which helps children and young people access vocal and instrumental tuition locally.
Secondly, funds will also be diverted to the Irish Community Care Manchester, located along Stockport Road in Levenshulme – further strengthening the mutual support between us Mancs and our cousins across the water.
You can get a close look at the Oasis x Bohemians kit design down below.
A closer look at our 2025 FAI Cup Shirt, a very special partnership with Oasis.
— Bohemian Football Club (@bfcdublin) July 1, 2025
The special edition and highly exclusive shirt is already available, with stock already disappearing rapidly thanks to Bohs die-hards, Oasis fans and footy kit connosieurs alike.
With the Burnage boys getting their seismic comeback shows underway with two nights at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff this Friday and Saturday (4-5 July), before heading for a double bill at Croke Park in Dublin this August, the excitement across the globe is already palpable.
Every single teaser trailer and social media post sends fans bananas, and god knows what the scenes are going to be like when they finally head to Heaton Park for the run of five homecoming nights.
Featured Images — Bohemians FC (press images/screenshots via YouTube)
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Jason Manford has final word on ‘naughty’ rule that sparked unexpected Village Hotel experience
Danny Jones
Local comedian Jason Manford has shared “the last I’ll say on the matter between The People vs The Village Hotel”, after expressing his disappointment over a rule that saw him have a somewhat unexpected experience at one of their locations.
The Salford-born and Stockport-based stand-up was forced to share his room with another individual at The Village in Bournemouth after being told the hotel was fully booked.
Manford‘s room had essentially been resold, which led him to stay in a double with his friend and colleague; however, as explained in multiple videos, not everyone was fortunate enough to secure a last-minute solution.
Still, on the upside, at least they didn’t have to share a bed…
As detailed in the first of three posts seen above, Manford and co. arrived at the hotel late (as is typically the case with any touring comedian, especially a headliner) following his gig at the Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre on Sunday, 29 June.
The 44-year-old is currently on his ‘A Manford All Seasons’ tour, which saw a flurry of new dates added back in November, and got underway back in February.
Although he assured that the staff did their job and were “lovely” through the whole ordeal, he reiterated that he found the little-known rule “very naughty” and “not on”.
He also mentioned that a doctor who arrived shortly after them at the hotel reception, sadly, had to be turned away from the Bournemouth branch.
Manford went on to add that the hotel manager did apologise for the situation, but as he notes in the clips, the worry is that it could cause even bigger dilemmas if it were a wedding, someone with kids, “or a million different situations that you could have been in which are much more serious than [his].”
Essentially, the duo were just lucky they turned up when they did and said as much.
Despite noting that he’d heard of airlines opting for similar policies in the past, he confessed he’d never come across such a rule in more than “25 years of touring” as a comic.
Echoing his frustration, surprise and concern, musician Georgina Jackson said in the comments: “That is so bad! As a touring lone female musician who uses hotels a lot, what are we expected to do? But the fact is… they don’t really care…
“Thanks for highlighting it, as they might actually start caring when the bookings drop off! And, I imagine the hotel/town was busy with your audience!! How blinking ironic!!”
The hotel group has since asked the Salfordian funny man to take the very public complaints down, but Manford has refused despite them requesting quite “politely”, insisting that he believes more people need to know about obscure and largely unknown rules like these.
You can see the most recent and final statement on the whole Jason Manford-Village Hotel situation in full down below.
The Manc -
1st December 2020 
