A young boy from Bolton has taken to social media to make an emotional plea asking others to stop abusing his Dad’s disability.
10-year-old Lucca Warwick and his father Dean Warwick often spend time riding their specially-adapted hand cycle bike together, but now Lucca has posted an emotional video urging people to leave them both alone after his Dad has experienced a recent rise in disability-related abuse.
Dean has limited mobility due to his conditions – which include Spina Bifida and Snapping Hip Syndrome – and often relies on sticks to walk short distances, wheelchairs, and his hand cycle bike.
The father-of-two has seen the abuse directed toward his disability increase since the start of lockdown.
A recent incident involving a van swerving straight towards him has left Dean without the confidence to ride alongside his son and has brought him to the decision to sell his bike.
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After finding out his Dad’s intention to sell his hand cycle bike, Lucca posted a video of him addressing the situation to video-sharing platform TikTok in an effort to end the abuse, show support and raise awareness for spinal disabilities.
The short video was also re-posted by Lucca’s mother onto Facebook last week.
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She stated that Dean is receiving disability-related abuse “on a daily basis at the moment” and crucially emphasised that “the pain isn’t just on the person you’re abusing because they’re disabled, but their children feel it as well when they witness it happening”.
When you find this on your sons TikTok ? the pain isn’t just on the person your abusing because they’re disabled but their children feel it as well when they witness it happening on a daily basis at the moment.
Speaking to the Bolton News about Lucca’s plea, Dean Warwick said: “He did it off his own back and you could see the pain in his eyes. I was out riding with him through Little Lever when this guy in a van just decided to swerve towards me, before driving away laughing.”
“It was really scary for him, he was behind me so for him it looked like someone was trying to run his dad over. He can’t understand why people would be like that, I’m not his disabled dad, I’m his dad, it hurts him to see things like this and it’s going to affect him in a big way.”
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“For him to take to his own TikTok it must be playing on his mind.”
On the topic of the rise in abusive comments, Dean added that: “It’s the first time I’ve ever experienced discrimination like that, I see it every day but not from a place of hatred like this.”
“Since we’ve been in lockdown, people have been more vindictive.”
“I’ve had two lads who walked past me whilst I was on my bike who said ‘can you not use a normal bike you effing mong’, and when I was coming out of a shop the other day a guy asked me if I was alright, which I thought was a genuine question, before he started swearing and told me I didn’t look it.”
“Once I’m in that bike I’m defenceless, and sometimes it’s not worth speaking up against the comments in case it makes things worse.”
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“There’s a massive ignorance, and it’s really bad at the moment, it’s coming from all different walks of life, not just teens but fully grown adults, you’d think they’d know better. I probably won’t sell the bike now, but I’ve got to find the confidence to get back out there.”
“I don’t think the abuse will ever go away, but it’s just about making sure people are more educated.”
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We rediscovered an old Boddingtons advert and now we’re gasping for ‘the cream of Manchester’
Danny Jones
If you’re from Greater Manchester, the name Boddingtons likely needs no introduction, but if you’re new to the area or part of the generation that’s young enough to have never clocked the legendary logo before, the ‘Cream of Manchester’ was known for making a good advert or two.
Answers on a postcard? Yes, we of course are referring to the classic ice cream van ad that featured a young Melanie Sykes serving an ice-cold pint of Boddingtons to a thirsty athlete, played by former EastEnders actor Ken George.
In fact, the recognisable TV presenter and British household name went on to feature in a few of them, including a contemporary recreation back in 2017, but it isn’t any of her appearances that recently re-captured our attention.
The old ‘Boddies’ ad that we stumbled across in 2025, more than 30 years on from when it originally aired, is the Gondola/’Just One Cornetto’ spoof filmed right here in the city centre along Manchester’s famous canal network.
Circa 1993. Recognise where it is?
Just as beautiful as Venice, if you ask us – and that’s just the pint…
As you can see, not only did the once beloved Boddingtons advert capture a glimpse of the River Irwell near the old Granada Studios and how Manchester’s waterways used to look back in the day, but it was also a pretty modern, ironic take for the time.
Inspired by arguably one of the most famous ads of all time, the Boddies marketing team and director Jeff Stark didn’t just imitate or poke fun at Wall’s Cornetto ice cream: they played on the genuine nickname and imagery drummed up by locals who drank it week in, week out.
The famous frothy white head and the ‘do you want a Flake with that?’ is the kind of joke you still hear to this day when someone overdoes it with a Guinness, but turning the glass into a golden ice cream was a bit of genius.
In fact, the old Boddies ad even helped launch the career of stingy ‘Gladys Althorpe’ herself, Anna Chancellor, who went on to appear in What A Girl Wants, Four Weddings and a Funeral, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and many more.
She and Sykes weren’t the only ones either; another admittedly sexually-charged campaign released roughly a year later featured another familiar face in Sarah Parish (Doctor Who, Trollied, The Wedding Date) – again, always ending with a stereotypically Manc, if not at least Northern, punchline.
It was smash hits like these that saw Boddingtons dubbed not only Manchester’s most famous beverage but ‘the Cream of Marketing‘ for a time as well.
The beer may not be as prominent as it once was, but its legacy as part of classic UK telly is up there with R Whites Lemonade, Dairy Milk, Compare The Meerkat, and so many more.
You can see a super-cut compilation of some of their retro ads HERE.
Oh yeah, and if watching all this has made you get a thirst on like it did us, you’ll be glad to hear that while it may be difficult to locate these days, there are still a few places you can find a pint of Boddies in and around the area.
Featured Images — advertarchive (screenshot via YouTube)
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Nearly 60% of Brits are too ‘uncomfortable’ to use the toilet at work, new survey finds
Emily Sergeant
The UK is currently in the middle of a toilet aversion epidemic, it would seem… or at least if the results of a new survey are anything to go by.
For some people, nipping to the loo at the work seems like a simple task as any, perhaps even a welcome break from the busyness or the monotony of their day-to-day duties, but for others it’s a much less pleasant experience – for a whole multitude of reasons, we might add.
Whether it be below-par facilites, a cleanliness choice, personal health reasons, or even something as simple as avoiding bathroom small talk with colleagues, a new survey by Victorian Plumbing has discovered that there is a widespread reluctance among UK employees to use workplace toilets – with more than half saying they find the experience ‘uncomfortable’.
The company’s new findings – taken from a survey of 1,000 Brits – uncovered that, overall, 57% feel uncomfortable using their workplace toilet.
Nearly 60% of Brits are too ‘uncomfortable’ to use the toilet at work / Credit: Point3D (via Unsplash)
As a result, two in five employees say they’ll only use their work bathroom when they are absolutely desperate to go, and more than one in 10 (13%) of employees admit that they avoid it at all costs, preferring to hold it in instead.
There was also some gender disparities in the results, as the study found that 26% of women admit they never use the workplace toilet for bowel movements, compared to just 9% of men, as for many women, it apparently comes down to the fear of being judged or feeling embarrassed (57%), encountering colleagues (55%), and being overheard (54%).
More than 4% of women said they’re more likely to use the toilet at work while on their period, however, and 18% cited that they have to due to medical conditions like endometriosis.
But do these actions have consequences? Of course they do.
Around one in 10 people will avoid going altogether / Credit: Victorian Plumbing
With the average employee spending more than 36 hours per week at work, according to recent statistics, avoiding the workplace toilet could likely cause some real damage, so it’s no surprise that 41% of Brits say holding it in during the work day causes them physical discomfort or pain.
A further 39% confessed that the habit leads to stress and anxiety, and three in 10 have found that it reduces their focus and productivity.
The results from the survey are what prompted Victorian Plumbing to create the ‘Superior Stalls Policy’, which aims to inspire employers to reconsider their workplace bathroom setups so employees are more comfortable.
“Brits feel far less comfortable using workplace toilets than their own at home, and this doesn’t sit right with us,” commented Alex Woods, who is a bathroom expert at Victorian Plumbing.
“Yes, there’s no place like your own toilet, but with the average Brit spending over 36 hours a week at work, everyone deserves to feel at ease – even in the loo.”
Featured Image – Possessed Photography (via Unsplash)
The Manc -
23rd July 2020 
