A round-up of news from around the North West
Volunteer drummers have been banned from wearing military uniform at a protest march over Army cuts.
More than 400 veterans will march on Parliament tomorrow (THURS) to demonstrate against government plans to axe the Lancashire-based 2nd Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.
The protest comes ahead of a key debate in the House of Commons. But the 15-strong Fusiliers Association Corps of Drums have been told they can’t lead the parade in their red tunics, black trousers, and headpieces, because they are funded by the Army.
Ex-Fusilier Dennis Laverick, 64, from Bury, said: “It is outrageous and petty – some of them are young lads and girls. None of them are serving soldiers.
“The MOD has said that they are not allowed to wear the busby headpiece with the red and white hackle or the uniform because they are funded by the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.
“A few are ex-soldiers but they are civilians and volunteers. They have taken time off to come to London and regularly do all sorts of charity functions. It’s just not on and we are now considering what they should wear.”
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A PCSO has been hailed a hero after pulling a woman to safety from the edge of a motorway bridge.
Steve Wood, 25, grabbed the woman after she climbed over railings on the bridge above the M60.
Dozens of officers had been scrambled to find the woman after being warned she intended to take her own life.
And PCSO Wood was first on the scene – after beating traffic and racing through red lights on his bike.
He dragged the 29-year-old woman to safety, and restrained her until other officers arrived.
The woman was taken to North Manchester General and detained under the Mental Health Act.
Sgt Tom Bowes from Harpurhey neighbourhood policing said: “PCSO Wood’s quick thinking and skilful communication prevented any serious harm coming to the female or the public.
“The female was unharmed and is currently at hospital undergoing assessment.”
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The family of a boy left with devastating brain damage after being treated in hospital for a routine condition have received a £10 million payout – the biggest in British history.
Zach Petrou was a healthy seven month old baby when he was taken to Stepping Hill hospital in Stockport with the viral infection Croup in 1994.
His condition deteriorated and he had emergency treatment before being transferred to a second hospital.
But when he was taken off a ventilator there, Zach was found to be severely brain damaged.
His parents Margaret and Andros, from Tameside, believe he was deprived of oxygen during his treatment at Stepping Hill and that caused his injuries.
Despite being warned by experts that they were unlikely to win, they embarked on a marathon legal battle to secure his future.
Now, 18 years on, health chiefs have agreed the settlement - thought to be the biggest ever in the UK. Stepping Hill has not admitted liability but has agreed to pay an eight figure sum to Zach’s family, to help pay for his care.
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Extra ambulances could be stationed in Manchester city centre during a mass student bar crawl.
Ambulance bosses are currently in talks over the Carnage UK event, which is due to take place on Sunday in bars around Deansgate Locks. Up to 2,000 students are expected to attend, but city centre chiefs and charities condemned the event and warned over excessive alcohol use.
Carnage UK, which organises student pub crawls across the country, has refuted that the ‘pimps n hoes’ themed bar crawl will encourage binge drinking.
For a £10 ticket, university students are given a free T-shirt which allows them entry to six city centre bars between 9pm and 4am.
Police will draft in dozens of extra officers for the event.
The North West Ambulance Service said it was only made aware of the event on Monday. A spokesman said: “An event of this nature can put additional pressure on a busy service.”
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Furious Manchester City fans have blasted the club after dozens of tickets for a sold-out match went on sale online at higher prices.
More than 25 seats in the same section of the Etihad Stadium were made available for the Spurs match by online firm viagogo.
Fans say tickets with a face value of £45 were being offered for £51 plus a £12.24 booking fee. Buyers also need a £10 City membership card. The Blues signed a partnership with the firm earlier this year saying it would allow fans to sell tickets to other supporters. But most of the tickets available for the Spurs clash on the website are in the same section of the Colin Bell Stand – leading some supporters to claim the club had sold a block of seats to viagogo in a bid to profit. A City spokesman said as part of their contract with viagogo the website received a small ticket allocation which they are entitled to sell at face value.
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Police have slammed teenagers who played ‘chicken’ with a train – forcing the driver to slam on his brakes.
The youngsters rushed across the tracks at Stalybridge station just as the train was arriving.
They hauled themselves back on to the platform as the driver performed an emergency stop.
The four youths brazenly then tried to get on board and when they were refused entry, grabbed the outside of the train to try to force it to a halt.
Police have now released a string of CCTV images in an attempt to track down the teenagers. The incident took place just after 6.30pm on September 22.
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A mum who was diagnosed with breast cancer while pregnant is giving hope to other women after giving birth to a healthy baby boy.
Mair Wallroth was given the devastating news that a lump in her breast was cancerous when she was 23 weeks’ pregnant.
But thanks to the care and support she received from a team at Tameside Hospital, the 41-year-old gave birth to 7lb Merlin Ray while halfway through her treatment.
Mair, who is also mum to Martha May, aged three, initially thought the lump in her breast was a blocked milk duct until her obstetrician said she should get it checked out.
She said: “I went to the one-stop breast clinic at Tameside and it was diagnosed there and then that I had a 6.5cm tumour.
“It was just shocking, everything happened so quickly and there almost wasn’t enough time to think about it. At that point, I thought ‘what is this going to do to my unborn baby?’.
“The type of chemotherapy that I had doesn’t really harm unborn babies and I was encouraged to go to full term with my pregnancy. “
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A sex beast who terrorised children for decades was told he had stolen his victims’ innocence as he was caged for the third time.
Evil Colin Cooper was jailed for 18 years last year for horrendous offences against eight youngsters.
The court heard he subjected vulnerable young children to the most ‘depraved’ abuse at addresses in Wythenshawe and Hattersley.
One of his victims was forced to eat raw meat from a pig’s head when he begged to leave Cooper’s house of horrors.
After Cooper’s case was reported in the local press last year, more victims came forward to police.
Cooper has now admitted 21 sex offences against children as young as six on the day his latest trial was due to begin at Manchester Crown Court.
He pleaded guilty only after learning that his sentence would not exceed the one he is already serving.
He has now been jailed for 14 years, but it will run concurrently with last year’s sentence.
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A man was hit with a glass bottle in the foyer of his apartment block as he returned after a night out in Manchester city centre.
The 33-year-old, his girlfriend and another friend were walking along Princess Street at around 4am when they noticed a gang of teenagers standing outside their apartment building.
As they approached, one of the group made a crude remark to the victim’s girlfriend.
He asked them to move away and walked into the foyer, but as he attempted to close the foyer door a beer bottle was thrown hitting him under the eye.
The 10-strong gang, made up of males and females, then fled.
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The judge who led the inquiry into Hyde serial killer Harold Shipman is to head a top BBC probe stemming from the Jimmy Savile sex abuse allegations.
Dame Janet Smith will lead an independent review into the culture and practices of the BBC during the years that Savile worked at the corporation.
Manchester-born Dame Janet’s review will examine whether the BBC’s child protection and ‘whistleblowing’ policies are up to the job.
It will include evidence from people who have made allegations about being sexually abused by Savile on BBC premises or while on location for the corporation. And it will hear from those who claim they raised concerns either formally or informally about his activities. Dame Janet will also look at ‘the extent to which BBC personnel were or ought to have been aware of unlawful and/or inappropriate conduct by Jimmy Savile on BBC premises or on location for the BBC’.
Her review will examine whether BBC culture enabled ‘the sexual abuse of children to continue unchecked’. Dame Janet will be helped by an expert in child safeguards. But the inquiry will not begin until police indicate they are happy for it to go ahead.
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A shadow cabinet minister has criticised proposals that could see salaries of MPs hiked to up to £92,000.
Andy Burnham, the MP for Leigh, said it would be wrong for politicians to take home higher pay packets following the damage done by the expenses scandal three years ago.
“ I am more than happy with the salary I receive for the work that I do and I’m certainly not looking for a pay rise but it’s the responsibility of IPSA to make sure that the rate of pay for MPs in the long term is set at the right level. I would take whatever was considered to be the appropriate salary for an MP. “
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A woman has died after falling 30ft from a bridge.
The incident happened at Chestergate in Stockport town centre yesterday afternoon.
Emergency services were called to the street at 2.20pm and found the woman had been fatally injured.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
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The consultation talks on the £290m Manchester Airport Relief Road are set to begin.
The proposed 10km dual-carriageway to the south of Stockport has been planned for three decades.
The road would link the A6 at Hazel Grove to the A555 at Bramhall and Handforth, and the airport.
It is predicted the dual carriageway could take half the traffic off the A6, which is one of the region’s busiest roads.
Residents, businesses and motorists are invited to have their say on the proposals during a consultation process, which begins on Monday.
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