The RSPCA is looking for volunteers to lend a hand in looking after its cats, rabbits, and more across Greater Manchester.
If you’ve ever wished that cuddling and caring for animals could be a hobby for you, then that could actually be a reality in 2022, as now that a new year is here, a number of volunteer roles have become available at the Manchester and Salford branch of the RSPCA.
In 2021 alone, the team had 624 animals admitted into their care, and saw 503 animals rehomed – 259 cats, 117 rabbits, and 127 smalls.
And you could be a valuable part of that rehoming process this year.
While the Eccles Road-based centre – which opened its doors back in July 2019 – may be a local branch of the RSPCA, it is also a separately-registered charity too – which means that it is required to raise all of its own funds to operate, and also relies on the help of volunteers for things such as cleaning and spending some quality time with the rescued animals to socialise them, so that once they get adopted, they’ll be more familiar with human company.
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So, if you’ve got a bit of free time on your hands, and you’re looking to do a good deed, then these roles would be perfect for animal lovers.
No matter whether you’re looking to help out during the week or at weekends, or whether you’re flexible with your time and commitments, or you have a full time job, there’ll be an opportunity to suit you.
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Volunteers will undertake comprehensive training.
The RSPCA is looking for volunteers to lend a hand across Greater Manchester this year / Credit: RSPCA Manchester & Salford
An advertisement for the volunteer positions by RSPCA Manchester & Salford reads: “Join our wonderful team of volunteers at our small animal centre in Salford.
“We are looking for folks who can commit to a weekly slot (a couple of roles are available fortnightly) for at least the next three months, and this is because a lot of time is taken training volunteers and so temporary placements are not manageable for us.”
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For “insurance reasons”, RSPCA Manchester & Salford says it is looking for volunteers who are over 18 years of age, and and if you have any cats/dogs/rabbits or ferrets in your home, then they would need to be up to date with their vaccinations
This is said to be “for everyone’s safety”.
The roles on offer are:
Cattery Cleaning: 8:30am/9am start on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, either weekly or fortnightly.
Small Animal Room Cleaning: Start between 8:30am – 10am on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays.
Cat Socialising: Anytime from 1pm until 4pm on Mondays – Fridays.
Rabbit Socialising: Anytime from 12:30pm until 4pm, seven days a week.
Volunteers will undertake comprehensive training for the variety of roles on offer / Credit: RSPCA Manchester & Salford
Fancy it then?
If you would like to join the volunteer team at RSPCA Manchester & Salford and help the animals, then you can email [email protected] for more information.
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Donations to RSPCA Manchester & Salford can be made here, and you can find more information about the centre here.
Featured Image – RSPCA
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Stockport County defender Brad Hills ruled out for the rest of the season
Danny Jones
In a big blow to their promotion push, Stockport County have been hit with a major injury and loss to their first-team squad, as defender Brad Hills has been ruled out for what looks to be the remainder of the season and then some.
Not what Hatters will want to hear with crunch-time in and around the playoffs now well underway.
Having emerged as even more of a starring centre-back this year, following his initial loan spell with the club during the previous campaign, Brad Hills has arguably been one of Stockport’s best and most reliable players in 2025/26 thus far – but not County will have to do without him.
Although the exact severity is yet to be fully revealed, the former Norwich City youth academy graduate is said to have hurt his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
Confirming the news on social media, the Greater Manchester side stated: “We regret to inform supporters that Brad Hills sustained an ACL injury in Saturday’s draw at Luton Town that will rule him out for the foreseeable future.
“Our full focus is on supporting Brad throughout his recovery – we know he’ll come back stronger”
For anyone unaware, ACL tears/ruptures are among some of the worst injuries in football, and depending on the extent of the damage, it can take anywhere between six months and a full year to bounce back.
Safe to say, therefore, that supporters have been left gutted by the update, with one commenting, “Awful, awful news”; another simply wrote, “FFS”.
After typing a very long expletive following the show news, fan podcast The Scarf Bergara Wore wrote: “Wishing Bradley Hills a speedy recovery – come back stronger!
Since becoming a permanent signing back in August, he’s earned multiple man-of-the-match awards in blue and white, not to mention contributed to a decent number of clean sheets. He’ll be a big miss in their backline.
While it’s no doubt a big setback as the League One team looks to get promoted into the Championship, the absence could see manager Dave Challinor reshuffle the pack and perhaps even the formation for the remaining fixtures.
One option is Louie Barry, who – depending on the setup – could finally be set for a return to the pitch after he was signed on a third loan deal this past January, but is still continuing his own rehab following a knee operation.
Put it this way, with not many games left, lots of County fans are probably wishing that the pending and potential further changes in the EFL could have come sooner…
Embrace announce intimate live show in beloved Bury music venue
Danny Jones
British alternative veterans Embrace have announced another intimate show here in Greater Manchester, only this time it’s over in Bury at a stunning small-cap arts venue.
It’s not often you get to see such a long-standing band play outside of the city centre so far into their career, especially in gorgeous grassroots spaces like this one.
A fellow Northern outfit, they’ve often been lumped in with that ‘post-Britpop’ era of music, and plenty throw around the so-called ‘dad rock’ label, but honestly, we couldn’t care either way: they remain among the UK’s perennially underappreciated underdogs that never get old, as far as we’re concerned.
Revealing a handful of new live dates for their album launch this summer, they’ll be making just two appearances in the North West on the run.
Writing in the post, the group said: “We’ve lined up a run of exclusive UK dates in venues that are some of the smallest we’ve played in years. It’s going to be special, but capacity is extremely limited.”
As you can see, besides the Jacaranda Baltic in Liverpool, the only other place in this region where they’re set to play for this mini tour is The Met over in Bury.
One of the most beautiful gig spots, not just in the town but in all the 10 boroughs, for our money, the room only holds around 400 standing and roughly 250 seats.
For seasoned artists like this lot, who are more used to playing big festival stages and big domestic headline tours – which they’re also doing later this year – it’s sure to be a special night.
Toasting the release of their ninth studio LP, Avalanche, this spin-off on the tried and tested in-store format wouldn’t be possible without the help of local record store, Wax and Beans, who are promoting and hosting the show.
But we can’t lie, there’s something about the idea of seeing them decades on from when they first tightly-packed out crowds of this size.
If you want to be part of the Embrace album launch tour, you can get ready to grab your tickets at 10am this Friday, 27 March, right HERE. And speaking of great record shops…
Emily Sergeant -
17th January 2022 
