UK News

Police appeal for information as 12-year-old boy goes missing from home in Altrincham

Charlie O'Brien was last seen riding his bike in John Lee Park in the Trafford town.

The Manc The Manc - 21st June 2021

Greater Manchester Police have issued an appeal to the public for information to help to trace a missing boy from Altrincham.

Officers from GMP’s Trafford South team issued the plea on social media.

12-year-old Charlie O’Brien was last seen at around 4.20pm yesterday afternoon (20 June) in John Lee Park in Altrincham.

He was riding his black Carrera mountain bike at the time.

Charlie is descried as a 4’11 tall, medium build white male with brown hair, and was last seen wearing a white Adidas top, with white shorts and black Puma pumps.

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In the appeal posted to social media yesterday evening, officers said they are becoming “increasingly concerned” for Charlie’s welfare.

“We want to make sure he’s found safe and well”, officers added.

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Do you have any information on the whereabouts of Charlie O’Brien that may be of assistance?

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Charlie O’Brien should contact Greater Manchester Police immediately on 0161 856 7809 or 0161 856 9169 – quoting incident 2936 of 20/06/21.

Alternatively, details can be passed on anonymously via the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Featured Image – GMP Trafford South

UK News

Trains from Manchester ‘extremely limited’ amid record heatwave

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Trains from Manchester 'extremely limited' amid record heatwave

‘Extremely limited’ train services are running across the North West this week as the country melts in a record-breaking heatwave.

Northern has reached out to passengers to warn that a ‘significantly reduced’ number of trains are operating in and out of Manchester.

They’re urging people to avoid travelling at all unless your journey is ‘absolutely essential’.

And if you do have to travel, they’ve warned of ‘significantly longer waiting times, busy trains and short-notice cancellations’.

The disruption is set to continue all day today and into tomorrow, Friday 26 June, as temperatures up north are forecast to hit 34ºC and an Amber weather warning for extreme heat covers much of the country.

Northern has assured passengers that they ‘are doing everything we can to keep people moving as efficiently as possible’.

Passengers are encouraged to check their journey before setting off, carry water, and avoid peak times where possible.

If you chose not to take a planned journey, you can claim a full refund on your ticket, or travel on another day using Northern’s ticket easement.

Trains from Manchester 'extremely limited' amid record heatwave
Trains from Manchester ‘extremely limited’ amid record heatwave. Credit: Northern

You can see the full travel advice for Northern HERE.

Avanti has issued a similar message, reducing one train per hour on the London-Manchester route and offering refunds for tickets booked for Tuesday 23, Wednesday 24, Thursday 25 or Friday 26 June.

You can also use those tickets to travel flexibly any time up to and including Tuesday 30 June.

Northern said in a notice to passengers: “Due to the continued extreme heat, we have significantly reduced the number of trains running on routes in and out of Manchester, and services remain in high demand. This will now continue into Friday, 26 June.

“We strongly recommend customers consider whether their journey is necessary and if customers do choose to travel this week, they are advised to prepare for significantly longer waiting times, busy trains and short-notice cancellations.

“We would ask all customers to only travel if your journey is absolutely essential and to check your full journey before setting off.”

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Featured image: Northern

UK News

Here’s our petition for ‘Wonderwall’ to become England’s new football anthem

Danny Jones Danny Jones Oasis Wonderwall for new England football anthem petition

All things considered, England have made a great start to the 2026 World Cup, pitching themselves as one of the great entertainers this tournament, and the scenes of the supporters and players alike serenading an entire stadium with ‘Wonderwall’ after the full-time whistle gave us chills.

So why not time for a change?

After all, that feels a lot like what this World Cup squad is about: a new manager, new teammates, not clinging to the previous ways of playing – and perhaps it’s time to put ‘Sweet Caroline’ to one side.

Now, we’re by no means saying that we’re ‘done’ with the Neil Diamond anthem that has been reborn as a Three Lions anthem, but look at how good it was watching England belting out Oasis with the fans.

“Today is gonna be the day that England beat Croatia 4-2”, as BBC’s Match of the Day cleverly quipped.

Obviously, we’re biased as Mancs, but we also think there’s something special about having that particular track feel so good to hear again.

As much as we love Oasis, for a long time, it felt like we couldn’t enjoy arguably their biggest-ever single anywhere near as much as we once did.

We assume it’s something akin to hearing ‘Mr Brightside’ non-stop for what felt like millennia, and in truth, hearing those repetitions of “ba, ba, ba… SO GOOD, SO GOOD!” over and over again at sporting fixtures beyond just national team games has taken the magic out of it at times.

Perhaps it’s just a case of saturation in certain settings and songs simply being overplayed – FIFA’s co-hosts over in the US certainly helped see to that when it came to ‘Wonderwall’ for a long time.

On the other hand, it feels like we’ve now come full circle; singing those famous lyrics at the top of our lungs in a sea of Mancs and fans travelling from all over to Heaton Park for Live ’25 last year felt better than ever, and like we’d all remembered how great a tune it’s always been. So did this…

In fact, this felt so emotional that you’ve got people who aren’t even English praising both those on the pitch and up in the stands for the moment online.

Even the admittedly rather American Man vs Food himself, Adam Richman (though he does have British ancestry), felt compelled to write a moving response on social media: “Shut up. You’re the one that’s crying. Bravo, England.”

He’s far from the only one who was left bowled over by the atmosphere – us included.

What do you think? Is it time for a new go-to tournament anthem for the Three Lions moving forward?

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Featured Images — Oasis/ITV Sport (screenshots via YouTube)

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