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Here's the Mancunian Way for today:
Hello,
It’s community policing, but not as we know it.
While the traditional beat bobbies of Greater Manchester Police patrol the streets tackling robberies and assaults, Colin Ward and his team work with the victims reluctant to seek help.
They are sex workers, exploited children, domestic slaves. These victims of modern slavery and trafficking live mostly hidden lives - but they are among the most vulnerable in our society.
“I’ve seen someone living in a container in the back of a chicken factory. I’ve seen damp mattresses in the back of car washes," DV Ward says.
“I remember going to Romania and a victim had running water down the inside of the walls of the flat. I’ve seen people with no food who have just been thrown a crusty cob by the offender and that was their food for the day.
“You see that look of pain in their eyes often. But with the adults you can’t just say ‘come with me’. If they say no you’ve got to walk away sometimes. They haven’t got a pot to pee in, no clothing, they haven’t got anything at all.”
DC Ward is set to retire from the force this year and he’s been speaking to me about the highly complex, distressing cases he and his team face each day. He says understanding of slavery and trafficking in the U.K. has changed vastly - but there is still a long way to go.
From those trafficked into the country and exploited to work in prostitution to children exploited by drug dealers, the tentacles of these insidious crimes reach far and wide.
And they can affect anyone. Just last year, Olympian Sir Mo Farah revealed he was brought to the UK illegally as a child and forced to work as a domestic servant.
“It’s heartbreaking when you hear that victims don’t come forward to police because they think we’re just going to deal with them for immigration,” DC Ward says.
“It’s a massive barrier. These are human beings that could be members of your own family.”
He adds: “The criminals always find a little chink in the armour. Everyone is vulnerable in some way. It’s not hard often to find a way.”
You can read the full feature here.
An unavoidable mess
If you’ve been into town since the Christmas Markets were removed you may have noticed that Piccadilly Gardens is looking a little sparse.
The grass in the city centre spot has been badly worn down after thousands visited the attraction over the festive period, with some likening it to a 'mud bath' and war trenches.
Reporter James Holt asked councillor Pat Karney about it and was told it would be re-turfed as soon as possible.
“Piccadilly Gardens is in its post-Christmas conditions. It's an unavoidable mess after thousands attended the Christmas celebrations. It is all temporary until we get Albert Square back in use for the markets,” the veteran councillor said.
"We will be re-turfing it as soon as possible before it is used for St Patrick's and St George's day celebrations next."
EmBARKing on a new journey
So it looks like it’s happening - the decision to allow pet dogs on Metrolink trams is set to be made permanent following a successful trial.
Councillors will make a final decision on Friday with Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) bosses recommending the move.
It's been welcomed by Andy Burnham, who committed to the change in his manifesto. The mayor says it’s ‘yet another step forward’ to providing a ‘truly inclusive public transport network’ as Greater Manchester builds towards the Bee Network.
As Joseph Timan reports, a Metrolink and Rail Sub-Committee report describes responses to the pilot as 'largely positive' - though there were some concerns over attacks, allergies and use of carriage space.
TfGM bosses concluded that these concerns can be mitigated through rule changes, the publication of guidance and passenger reminders. The new rules restrict the number of dogs to two per passenger and require that they are 'properly controlled', on a lead and wear a muzzle if necessary.
Almost 80 per cent who took part in an online survey agreed the pilot should continue. Of those who do not own a dog, half were in favour while the most frequent travellers tended to be less in favour, although still mostly agreed.
TfGM received 27 phone calls from people opposing the pilot as well as 25 emails which were 'largely negative'. One person reported having their trousers chewed by a dog, however, officers were unable to obtain further details.
‘We won’t bother again’
Manchester Council has apologised after wrongly fining 'more than 100' cars on New Year’s Day.
The ‘error’ with on-street parking payment machines led to some motorists being handed tickets, as Ethan Davies reports.
Elise Couper, who parked on King Street to go for a meal on New Year’s Day afternoon, tired to pay for her stay but says the machine said: ‘No charge parking period’. As such, she was surprised when she returned to her vehicle and found a ticket.
“Every car in that area had a ticket on. They must have ticketed over a hundred cars. It was not only myself, it felt like every car in Manchester city centre,” she says.
“I don’t usually come to Manchester. We won’t bother again. It’s annoying.”
The council says any motorists affected can appeal and get their fine cancelled.
Still here, mate?
It’s well past twelfth night, but the big Santa was still up in Manchester over the weekend. The extremely large Father Christmas remained in front of Central Library, as the Sunday Times’ David Collins pointed out.
I know there have been delays with the post recently but if Santa's still got parcels to deliver at this time of year things have gone badly wrong.
It’s understood Santa is due to be taken down today.
'I was like, why not?'
If you over-indulged during the holidays, the very notion of another segment of Chocolate Orange, a triangle of Toblerone, or a final wafer thin mint may make you feel physically sick. Not so for Katina DeJarnett, who flew over to Manchester from Washington to try Slattery's famous Chocolate Challenge.
The 5ft 2ins YouTuber and bodybuilder films herself battling huge portions for her Katina Eats Kilos channel.
And during a visit to the Whitefield cafe, she managed to polish off two portions of 'The Chocolate Challenge' - which consists of American-style fudge cake, chocolate ice cream, fresh cream, chocolate pots filled with liquid chocolate sauce and hot chocolate.
Katina ate the lot in an impressive 25 minutes and 19 seconds.
She told reporter James Holt that Slattery's is ‘really like Wonka's chocolate factory, as you can watch them make the chocolate’.
"I actually walked in and was only going to do the single portion,” she says. “Then the waitress came up and asked me, do you want to do two of these? And I kind of was like, how did she kind of know to ask me that? Because I hadn't pulled my camera out yet or have any of the gear set up.
"I was like, why not? Let's do two. I know it can be done. I've seen it be done before. I'm glad I did two of them because when it came out, it looked so spectacular. There were sparklers going off, two big piles of cakes and two big ice creams.”
Weather etc
- Tuesday: Yellow weather warning of rain. 12C.
- Road closures: A577 Atherton Road, in Hindley, closed due to roadworks between Morris Street and Platt Lane / Lord Street until 5pm January 29.
- M56 Eastbound exit slip road to the A34 closed due to roadworks at A34 Kingsway. until 5pm on February 5.
- Trivia question: Which artist curated an exhibition of works by members of the public at Manchester Art Gallery in 2021?
Manchester headlines
Poster: An artificial grass company forced to take down an 'inappropriate' billboard by The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has returned with a new poster poking fun at the ‘offended’. Oldham-based Great Grass MCR Ltd had to take down a billboard when the ASA ruled it 'objectified and stereotyped women as sexual objects'. The poster, situated on a busy junction in Hollinwood, featured a picture of a woman in a thong and a headline stating the company were 'Artificial Grarse Experts'. "Perfect 365 days a year...Get laid by the best," it read. The ASA’s found the poster was ‘irresponsible and likely to cause serious offence'. The company has now replaced it with a new billboard ‘apologising’ to ‘the offended 4’ and adding: “You found it offensive, we all found it funny”. It offers people to quote ‘not offended’ to receive 10 per cent off their next order.
Assault: A man has been stabbed at the Market Street Metrolink stop in Manchester city centre. Police were scrambled to the stop at around 4.20pm on Sunday to reports of a 'serious assault'. A 34-year-old man suffered a stab wound, police say. His injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
Expanding: Major expansion plans have been revealed by the owner of Mission Mars, after the company posted record Christmas sales. The Manchester-headquartered company hopes to open four new Rudy’s Pizza and one new Albert’s Schloss this year after seeing its sales rise to £16m in the 13 weeks to January 1, 2023. The company, which is backed by private equity firm BGF, also owns Manchester's Albert Hall and has sites in Sheffield, Warrington, London, Liverpool, Birmingham and Leeds. More here.
Closing: Ramsbottom restaurant Levanter has been forced to close its bar and dining room, citing the ongoing cost of living crisis. Its main restaurant premises will remain open, but owners are planning to downsize their operation until the summer. In a tweet to followers, owners Joe and Fiona Botham said: “We've had to take the hard decision to hibernate the Smithy St side of Ramsbottom - the Bar & the Comedor Dining Room, for the foreseeable future. We're hopeful this will just be for the quieter Winter months & we can fire it up again once the warmer weather kicks in for Spring/Summer & demand for the outside tables on Square St kicks in too.” More here.
Defiant
This picture from the archives shows one of Manchester city centre's busiest streets as it looked in the summer of 1983.
With the old Debenhams building on the left and what was a travel agency on the right, you can see a defiant political message emblazoned across the boarded up street.
Worth a read
Stephen Agnew was just ten years old when he got into trouble at home and school and found himself estranged from his family and living in a tent. Three decades on and he’s celebrating his first year in his own flat.
Stephen spent his childhood in 1980s Cheetham Hill and recalls prejudice against the Irish community that left him feeling bullied and isolated.
"It was scary to be on the streets, you don't know what is what or how big the world really is," he said. "You have to battle the wind, rain, the weather and you have to battle with other people too," he said.
"I didn't feel lonely or unloved because I had other homeless people around me, some were teens and some were in their twenties and it felt like a community."
Stephen has been speaking to Louisa Gregson about his years sleeping rough and how he turned his life around. You can read the full feature here.
That's all for today
Thanks for joining me. If you have stories you would like us to look into, email beth.abbit@menmedia.co.uk.
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The answer to today's trivia question is: Grayson Perry.
