Recognise this man?Here at Confidential we get inundated with reports, releases and updates from Greater Manchester Police all week long. To put them all up would not only be a logistical nightmare requiring a dedicated news desk of at least 15 interns, but may also make you weep just a little inside. So here's a few:
Friday 16 August: Man Pushed Down The Stairs In City Centre Bar
Police have released these grainy images of a man wanted in connection with an assault at the Orchid Lounge on Portland Street.
Orchid Lounge assaultAt around 4am on Sunday 2 June, the 38-year-old victim was leaving the bar when another man blocked his passage and then pushed him down the stairs.
Anyone with information should call police on 0161 856 3016 or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Thursday 15 August: Friends Rescue Young Girl From Canal In Salford
At around 4.45pm on Saturday 10 August a group of teenagers were swimming in a canal near Media City when a 15-year-old girl swam out too far and got into difficulty. Her friends came to the rescue and managed to pull her out of the water.
Luckily, an off-duty fire officer was passing by and administered first aid and stayed with her until officers arrived.
Chief Inspector Steve Howard said: “This young girl was very lucky that her friends were able to come to her rescue and help her out of the water.
“This is one of a number of similar incidents over the last few months and I want to take the opportunity to urge parents to reiterate the dangers of swimming in open water and emphasise that it can potentially cost lives.”
Wednesday 14 August: Couple Charged After Girl Found Severely Malnourished
Grant Buckley, 31, and Sarah Attwood, 29, of Roch Valley Way, Rochdale, have been charged after a 10-year-old girl was found severely malnourished and dehydrated.
Police launched an investigation in April 2013 after the girl was admitted to hospital for gross nutritional deficiencies, a distended abdomen and chronic ulcers.
The pair have both been charged with causing and allowing a child to suffer serious physical harm and will appear in Bury Magistrates Court on Friday 23 August.
Wednesday 14 August: Steals On Wheels
At around 3.20pm on 1 August thieves stole a meals-on-wheels hospital van from outside Bealey Hospital in Radcliffe.
The driver was walking towards the hospital on Dumers Lane to pick up empty meal trays when he was suddenly pushed to the ground and heard the engines of his NHS Volkswagen Caddy starting up. He ran to block the path of the van but it swerved around the man and sped off.
The vehicle travelled to Coronation Road in Radcliffe before being abandoned. It is not clear what the thieves were after, but some reports suggest that they were addicted to lukewarm tinned macaroni cheese.
One of the offenders was a white man of slim build, around 6ft tall with mousey blond short hair. It is believed that the men arrived in an old style white/silver Mercedes C Class, possibly a 98 model.
Anyone with information is asked to call police on 0161 856 8204 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Bealey Community Hospital
Tuesday 13 August: Vulnerable 15-year-old Girl Raped In Hyde
UPDATE: William Lenihan, born 15/5/83, of Mottram Road, Hyde, has been charged with rape. He was due to appear Tameside Magistrates Court on 15 August 2013.
Police are appealing for information after a vulnerable girl was plied with alcohol and raped at a bedsit in Hyde.
Rape suspectThe incident took place between 4.15pm and 9.15pm on 26 July, the girl had been walking along Mottram Road when she came across the offender near a motorway bridge crossing the M67.
After he engaged the girl in conversation he persuaded her to go back to his bedsit where he supplied the teenage girl with alcohol before raping here.
The man is described as white, mid 20s, thin build with very short blonde hair and tattoos on the inside of his forearm and a picture on his upper arm.
Detective Inspector Damian Simpson, from GMP’s Serious Sexual Offences Unit said: “I want everyone to have a good look at the pictures and contact us if you recognise him.
“Since this happened we have been working round the clock but have now taken the decision to go public as we need your help.”
Anyone with information or who thinks they know the identity of the man in the still images should contact the Serious Sexual Offences Unit on 0161 856 1812.
Tuesday 13 August: Serial Arsonist Targets Chorlton
Between 9pm and 10.15pm on Sunday 11 August, multiple wheelie bins and ‘For Sale’ signs were set on fire on Manley Road, Brantingham Road and Egerton Road North.
Luckily, nobody was hurt and none of the fires spread to nearby houses.
A 34-year-old man has been arrested by Police on suspicion of arson.
Detective Sergeant Gareth Davies, based at West Didsbury Police Station, said: “On the face of it this might not seem like the most serious crime, however to deliberately set fire to wheelie bins is incredibly reckless and potentially life-threatening.
“We did make a quick arrest on this and I want to reassure residents that we take this kind of offence very seriously.”
Anyone with information should contact Police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Wheelie bin fire
Monday 12 August: Thief Threatens Security Guard With Knife
Police have released an efit of a man that is wanted in connection with a string of thefts and for threatening a security guard with a knife in Stretford.
EfitAt around 3.30pm on Wednesday 3 July, a man walked into Stretford shopping mall’s Peacocks and stole clothing before walking into B&M Bargains and putting an iron into his bag.
When approached by a security guard the thief grabbed a knife from a kitchen display and threatened the guard with it before he ran off across Chester Road onto Lacey Street.
The man is described as black, early 20s, 6ft tall, of slim build with short black hair, clean shaven and an earring in his left ear. He wore a beige hoody, black tshirt, dark jeans and black canvas trainers with white soles.
Police are asking that anyone who recognises the man from the efit to get in touch on 0161 856 7655.
Saturday 10 August: Hammer Attack And Shots Fired In Tyldesley
UPDATE: A 20-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, section 18 assault and criminal damage. He has been bailed until 21 October 2013 alongside another 20-year-old man who had been arrested previously.
At around 3pm on Saturday 10 August, three men approached a 24-year-old woman on Rutland Road, Tyldesley, and asked her where a man lived. When she said she didn’t know she was hit over the head with a hammer.
The men then left the woman and walked to a house on Rutland Road where a shot was fired through the ground floor window, luckily nobody was by the window at the time. The men also used the hammer to damage a car parked outside.
The men then got into an old and dark Audi car, where another man was waiting, and drove off on Shakerley Road towards Tyldesley Road.
Police are appealing for anyone with information to call them at Leigh on 0161 856 7225 or anonymously via Crimestoppers.
Rutland Road, Tyldesley
Saturday 10 August: Man Dies After Falling Down Bus Stairs
A 46-year-old man has died in Stockport after falling down the stairs of a double-decker 383 Stagecoach bus on Friday at around 5.30pm.
The man, who had to walk with the aid of a crutch, was following his partner up the stairs of the bus when the bus began to move and he fell back down the stairs, sustaining head injuries.
The man was taken to hospital but later died.
Police are appealing for witnesses who were travelling on the 383 from Stockport to Marple Bridge at that time to get in touch on 0161 856 4742.
