The Mancunian Way: “Champions Again”

Hello,

They did it again. Manchester City is the Premier League champion for an unprecedented fourth consecutive year. Standing outside the Etihad Stadium yesterday, the joy on the faces of the Blues supporters was contagious.

On my way back into town I passed the bars around New Islington Marina and Ancoats which were full of City fans celebrating in the sun. It was a happy sight, but it was hard not to feel a little envious.

My team is Bury – a club that could not have had more contrasting fortunes to City over the last five years. For the Blues who were there the day we beat them 1-0 at Maine Road in 1998, moments like yesterday must have seemed a million miles away.

Ahead of the game I spoke to Paul Chapman – a 1968 Blue and one of many who remember the dark days when being a City supporter was a laughing stock.

Despite seeing his club win the league in recent years, it was clear that Paul doesn’t take days like yesterday for granted. He, like many City fans his age, knows how lucky he is to be living through this period of dominance.

While the city’s success may not last forever, the memories made along the way certainly will.

In today’s newsletter, we’ll also discuss a gruesome discovery made in a children’s toy store. An MEN investigation has revealed how easy it is for people to get their hands on potentially lethal knives and crossbows.

Our reporters were able to buy a pistol crossbow, capable of firing sharp aluminum bolts at high speed, from a toy shop in Bury and a machete from a gift shop in Stockport.

While it is not illegal for shops to sell such items to people over the age of 18, it raises concerns about how easily they are available.

It comes after the high-profile attacks raised concerns that existing laws on dangerous weapons such as knives and crossbows may not be fit for purpose.

A horrifying discovery

“In a children’s toy store, a group of children are admiring a display of children’s toys.

“A few feet away, behind a locked glass-fronted cabinet, is a more disturbing display. The collection of airsoft guns, knives, bats, balaclava and smoke bombs hidden behind Prince Toys is in stark contrast to the fluffy toys in the next aisle.”

We went to visit the shop, in the heart of Bury’s busy Mill Gate shopping centre, after receiving a tip from a concerned reader about the items on sale there. MEN was able to purchase a £45 pistol crossbow which came complete with three aluminum bolts. With just one pull of the trigger, it is capable of firing at a velocity of 165 feet per second – the equivalent of about 112 miles per hour.

Meanwhile in Stockport we managed to buy a 13″ blade from Kitraco on Little Underbank. Asked how much it would cost, the shopkeeper replied: “I usually sell them for £89, but for you, £50.” You can read the full findings from the survey here.

Ghost town

For decades, the Strangeways area has been famous for being the ‘Counterfeit Capital of Europe’. Great Ducie Street, Bury New Road and the side streets that lurked in the shadow of HMP Manchester’s watchtower would see hundreds of people hurry along carrier bags full of fake goods.

But while the area was a hive of activity, a criminal undercurrent lurked beneath the surface. Violence, exploitation, money laundering, drug dealing and intimidation were thought to have become too common on ‘Counterfeit Street’, prompting a police operation to get rid of the criminals.

These days, the area resembles a ghost town. Although it may be more peaceful, legitimate shop and takeaway owners say they have suffered a major impact from the lack of past trade. “Now we’re thinking we might close,” Naresh Chadda, who has run Jean Image for 35 years, told our reporter Stephen Topping.

Hospital drama

Bricks strewn behind metal fences, helmeted men pulling out wooden beams, bulldozers moving into a hospital building. Destroying an outpatient department may make no sense to anyone who has found themselves in A&E for hours, on a waiting list for months or unable to get an NHS doctor’s appointment.

But Stockport’s Stepping Hill Hospital has been crying out for money to fix its crumbling infrastructure for years. In just four months, the hospital saw the condemnation of one of its main outpatient buildings, followed by two “unexpected and unrelated” ceiling collapses in its radiology department and its critical care unit.

These incidents have led to a severe drop in outpatient appointment capacity, and the hospital’s intensive care unit has been out of action for several days.

The bulldozers moved into the outpatients building last week. And hospital chiefs warn that the disruption and now highly visible deterioration of its old buildings will continue. Health reporter Helena Vesty has the full story of what’s happening at Stepping Hill.

The teacher’s process

It was a court case that gripped the nation. Dramatic evidence and testimony was read by hundreds of thousands of people as teacher Rebecca Joynes went on trial at Manchester Crown Court accused of having sex with two pupils she taught at a school in Greater Manchester.

On Friday, the 30-year-old was found guilty of six counts of sexual activity with a child, including two counts of sexual activity with a child while in a position of trust.

Joynes was front and center of a media firestorm. But at the center of the case are two innocent boys. Read more here.

Weather etc

Tuesday: Cloudy turning to light showers by late morning. 18C.

Road works: One lane has been closed due to roadworks on the A57 Regent Road Westbound at Oldfield Road in Salford.

Manchester headlines

Arrest by stabbing: A teenager has been arrested after a man was left fighting for his life following a stabbing in Longsight. The attack happened on Slade Lane at around 6.15pm on Friday. The victim – a man in his 20s – was stabbed in the chest. He was rushed to hospital in a critical condition but is now “stable”. A 17-year-old was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. Read more.

Killing the Nursery: A daycare worker who swaddled a baby girl and tied her face down on a bean bag before ignoring her cries for an hour and a half has been found guilty of manslaughter. Kate Roughley, 37, showed “hostility” towards nine-month-old Genevieve Meehan, who was in her care at Tiny Toes Nursery in Stockport in the days leading up to her death. Read more here.

Arena Attack Memorial: A spectacular drone will be on display at events commemorating the 22 innocent people killed in the Manchester Arena bombing. Wednesday will mark the seventh anniversary of the atrocity, which took place on May 22, 2017. The concept is being created by Andrew Roussos, the father of eight-year-old Saffie-Rose Roussos, the youngest victim of the attack, with support. to Andy Burnham. The exact nature of the display is being kept under wraps. Read more.

Worth reading

Tyson Fury lost to Oleksandr Usyk in his bid to become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world on Saturday night. It’s been a wild ride to the top of the boxing world for the Manchester-born fighter and his clan.

There were breakups, controversies and a lot of drama. Damon Wilkinson has taken a look back at some of the Fury family’s most incredible moments away from the ring.