A Cheshire police dog and his handler scooped a coveted crime fighting prize at a prestigious awards ceremony last week.
PC Chris McDonough, 31, and his three-year-old companion Police Dog Toro have formed an incredible partnership over the last two years they have worked together at the Alliance Policing dog section for Cheshire and North Wales, and to prove just what a brilliant team they are, the duo have received national recognition for their commitment to the job at the second annual Thin Blue Paw Awards.
The pair won the ‘Crime Fighting Duo Award’ at a glittering presentation ceremony held at Knebworth Park last Thursday.
The popular Crime Fighting Duo Award award celebrates a serving police dog and handler team who are constantly achieving outstanding operational results.
PD Toro and PC McDonough from Cheshire Police have been awarded our Crime Fighting Duo Award. This dream team have had many career highlights, including Toro detaining a prolific offender by his Crown Jewels.
The pair were nominated for the award by Chief Inspector Simon Newell for their excellent achievements over the last year – which have included finding missing people, runaway suspects, and stolen property, and for making more than 20 arrests.
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They also supported the firearms section in major call-outs, and kept world leaders safe at the 2021 G7 Summit in Cornwall.
“When I found out that we were getting the award, it was really humbling and overwhelming,” PC Chris McDonough said on receiving the award.
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“For once, I was speechless.
“It’s nice to just get nominated for an award and to have a little bit of recognition for the work that PD Toro and I are doing, so to find out that we had actually won was great – I was made up.”
Our crime fighting duos are top dog for the second time running in national awards!
Well done to PC Chris McDonough and his canine PD Toro on @ChNWPoliceDogs (a unit we share with @NWPolice) for this year’s win at the @ThinBluePaw awards.
Chief Inspector Newall added of the duo’s award-winning success: “The road to becoming a dog handler and getting your own crime fighting canine is an arduous one which takes dedication and skill.
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“PC Chris McDonough and PD Toro have done us proud, and their exploits highlight what the team are doing to keep residents in Cheshire and North Wales safe, often in difficult and sometimes dangerous circumstances.
“This award recognises PC McDonough’s handling abilities and tenacious PD Toro’s fantastic loyalty.
“Their partnership has gone from strength to strength, and they are now a formidable crime fighting duo with an incredible ‘rap sheet’.”
Peter Kay adds MORE hometown charity gigs in aid of Bolton Hospice
Danny Jones
Local comedy icon Peter Kay has added even more homecoming charity gigs, adding some extra shows at the historic Albert Halls.
You can guarantee these tickets will be snapped up quicker than you can say garlic bread.
Performing on behalf of his hometown’s Bolton Hospice, the Lancashire legend and stand-up veteran might be winding down his hugely successful career on stage, but not before raising as much money for charity as possible.
Confirmed on Monday, 13 July, a further four ‘Peter Kay: Better Late Than Never (Again!)’ dates have been tacked on the regional tour run – but there’s a catch.
Yes, in case you missed the initial announcement back in April, the 53-year-old from Farnworth is only catering to his native Boltonians.
With seats being made exclusive to those with specific postcodes only – after all, his previous record-breaking tour saw people all over the country treated to plenty of dates – this latest update gives them even more of a chance of getting tickets.
Speaking ahead of the sets scheduled for early next year, Peter says, “There was such a big demand for tickets for the shows that I really want to do more and give the people who missed out the chance to come along.”
If you want to check if you’re eligible to grab one, you can read more down below.
The Phoenix Nights and Max and Paddy creator goes on to add: “I’m putting on four more shows in the New Year and playing at the weekend means I can also perform matinees, as well as evening shows and increase funds for the hospice, which is what it’s all about.”
Kay has already raised huge sums for various charities throughout his career, and with all proceeds from these upcoming performances going to the organisation, these funds can make such a difference in so many lives.
Adding matinee and evening slots on Saturday and Sunday, 9-10 January 2027 (3:30 and 7:30pm), respectively, the quartet of additional comedy shows go on sale at 10am this Friday, 17 July.
A Wigan dad is searching for the ‘hero’ who helped calm his son’s panic attack while on a busy train
Emily Sergeant
A former rugby player from Wigan is searching for the ‘hero’ who came to his son’s aid when he was having a panic attack on a busy train.
Shaun Ainscough – a former rugby player who played for Wigan Warriors at the start of his career from 2009-10 – was on a packed train home from the match between his former team and St Helens at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Sunday 5 July when his son started having a panic attack.
The 11-year-old boy was crying, screaming, shaking, taking his clothes off, and begging to get off the hot train carriage that was full of people travelling home from the match.
“All the fans [on the train] were singing and we were having a laugh, although because we were all stood up, we literally couldn’t sit anywhere,” Shaun explained to the BBC in an interview.
Shaun says he then became overwhelmed with emotion himself as he saw his son in distress, to the point where he also started crying.
But then, a woman – whose name is still unknown – came to the rescue and spent the entire rest of the journey trying to calm the boy, reassuring him with words and using a handheld fan to calm him down.
Shaun has since put out a post on social media – which has been seen by thousands of people – asking for the woman to come forward, as the pair are desperate to thank her in person and ‘give her some flowers’.
“It might not have seemed like a big deal to her but the small act was massive and we just want to say thank you,” Shaun explained.
“She could read something over text, but in person means so much more, and maybe we could give her some flowers just to show how much we appreciated her that day.”
He concluded: “This hero came over and ended up being the strongest person on the train.”
Emily Sergeant -
29th September 2022 
