Andrew Bardsley

Lead detective DI Paul Davies recounts how Greater Manchester Police investigated the murder of Thomas Campbell, who was ambushed at his home in Mossley. Coleen Campbell was convicted of manslaughter for helping plot the killing with John Belfield, who was later extradited from South America and convicted of murder; Reece Steven and Steven Cleworth were also convicted for their roles. One suspected participant remains at large, while Campbell’s family fear Coleen Campbell could be released early under proposed prison-overcrowding measures.

Ruben Candiza, Valdo De-Almeida, Marco Veiga and Emerson Teta pleaded guilty to manslaughter for their roles in the death of 16-year-old Alexander John Soyoye in Moston on November 5, 2020. Soyoye was killed during a revenge attack linked to clashes between the M40 gang and Representing the Danger after a relative of an M40 member was stabbed in Piccadilly Gardens. Prosecutors said the four defendants were not directly involved in the physical attack but provided assistance or encouragement; they were acquitted of murder and are due to be sentenced on August 20. Six other men were previously convicted of murder and given life sentences, while Mohammed Al-Jaf was convicted of manslaughter.

Courtney Ambrose Lee was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of seven years and 229 days, for violently attacking two women in separate incidents in London and Salford. He assaulted and restrained a former partner and later subjected another woman to a prolonged knife attack that caused life-threatening injuries. The judge said Lee posed a continuing and serious danger; Lee was acquitted of attempted murder but pleaded guilty to lesser charges relating to the attacks and received an additional consecutive 18-month sentence for breaching a previous suspended sentence.

Firefighters responded to a major blaze at an industrial building on Chew Valley Road in Greenfield, Saddleworth, after being called shortly after 7:45 a.m. on August 16. Ten fire engines and specialist appliances attended, while heavy smoke prompted officials to advise residents to close windows and doors and avoid the area. Approximately 45 homes on Knoll Close and Wellington Road were evacuated as a precaution, a local centre provided support, and the nearby Tesco store temporarily closed before reopening. Fire crews remained at the scene through the afternoon.

A 24-year-old man died at the scene after suffering serious stab wounds on Chapel Street in Levenshulme, south Manchester, at around 7:06pm. Greater Manchester Police arrested a 27-year-old man on suspicion of murder and said the incident appeared to be isolated, with no wider threat to the public. A major forensic operation, including searches of Chapel Street Park and surrounding areas, continued as police appealed for CCTV, doorbell, mobile phone and dashcam footage. Local Labour councillors expressed condolences and urged residents to assist the investigation.

A male motorist suffered life-changing injuries and remains in hospital after a collision on Lightbowne Road in Moston, Manchester, on August 15. Greater Manchester Police closed the road, launched an investigation through its Serious Collision Investigation Unit and said no arrests had been made. Images showed a severely damaged car and a large emergency-services presence near FC United of Manchester’s Broadhurst Park stadium.

A 61-year-old woman was found dead at a home on Winterford Road in Mossley after emergency services responded to a welfare concern. A 60-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder and later released on bail pending further inquiries. Neighbours described the large emergency response and their shock, while police said there was no wider risk to the public.

Greater Manchester Police imposed a 24-hour Section 60 order in Stretford after several men allegedly chased and attempted to attack another man, with at least one reportedly carrying a machete. The victim escaped without injury, no arrests had been made, and enquiries were continuing. The order gives officers enhanced stop-and-search powers and allows them to require the removal of face coverings, while additional patrols were planned and the authorisation could be extended if necessary.

A 19-year-old man died after getting into difficulty in the water at Grasmere in the Lake District on August 8, despite efforts by members of the public to help him reach shore. Emergency services, including an air ambulance, attended and he was taken to hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. Cumbria Police said the death was not being treated as suspicious and appealed for witnesses to help establish what happened.

A six-month-old pregnant cat named Luthien was found in a Manchester flat with most of her fur forcibly plucked out by her owner. RSPCA inspector Jess Araujo described the abuse as among the worst she had witnessed, saying the cat had been restrained and subjected to repeated, painful fur-plucking. Rescued in June 2024, Luthien received veterinary care, gave birth to four kittens and was later rehomed with Kathy Miller in Staffordshire. Her former owner admitted an animal-welfare offence, received a 12-month ban on keeping animals, and was ordered to pay a £40 fine and £100 in costs. The RSPCA also reported a 64% rise in cruelty calls compared with the same period in 2021.

Andrew Davies, the serial rapist known as the “Coronation Street rapist,” died from brain cancer at HMP Moorland on 28 February 2026, aged 69. A Prisons and Probation Ombudsman investigation found that his clinical care was of a reasonable standard and equivalent to care available in the community, while identifying no non-clinical concerns. An inquest on 8 April 2026 concluded that he died from natural causes. Davies had received multiple life sentences for raping women across northern England and was briefly released in 2023 before being recalled to prison for breaching his licence conditions.

The University of Manchester has reached financial close on a £530 million redevelopment of its 24-acre Fallowfield campus. The project will create 3,300 student rooms across five neighbourhoods and more than 20 residential blocks, alongside social, study, music and wellbeing facilities. Equitix, GRAHAM and Rothesay are partnering with the university, with construction expected to begin in 2027, the first 1,000 rooms opening in 2028 and the full scheme completing by 2030. University leaders describe the development as a highly sustainable investment, while Pensions Minister Torsten Bell presented it as an example of institutional funding supporting long-term infrastructure.

Two prison officers at HMP Buckley Hall, Jai Gascoyne and Elle Walton, were sentenced to 16 and 13 months in prison respectively after admitting inappropriate relationships with brothers Dil and Haq Nawaz, inmates serving lengthy sentences for distributing crack cocaine and heroin. Evidence included Valentine's and Moonpig cards, matching jewellery, messages discussing love and marriage, and items recovered from the officers’ vehicles and the prisoners’ cells. The relationships were not sexual and no drugs or contraband were smuggled, but prosecutors said the officers had breached the trust placed in them and deliberately concealed their conduct. The Nawaz brothers pleaded guilty to offences connected to the officers’ misconduct and had one year added to their existing sentences.

Prison officers Jai Gascoyne and Elle Walton were sentenced to 16 months and 13 months in prison respectively after admitting inappropriate relationships with jailed drug dealers Dil Nawaz and Haq Nawaz at HMP Buckley Hall. Investigators found Valentine’s cards, matching jewellery, frequent illicit phone contacts and payments from associates, although prosecutors accepted that the relationships were not sexual and no contraband was smuggled. The Nawaz brothers, who were already serving lengthy sentences for a Lancashire class A drug conspiracy, received an additional year each after pleading guilty to assisting misconduct in public office and possessing prohibited prison items. The judge said deterrent sentences were necessary because the officers had severely breached the trust placed in them and undermined prison security.

Anthony Junior Murray, 25, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 18 years for murdering 23-year-old Joe Burton at Murray's flat in Bury shortly before midnight on New Year's Eve. The men argued after drinking and reportedly using drugs, with tensions centred partly on Murray's dogs, before Murray stabbed Burton once in the back. The attack was recorded by a pet-monitoring camera, and a jury rejected Murray's claim of self-defence. Burton's mother, Janette Keyworth, described the devastating impact on the family and Burton's young daughter, while Greater Manchester Police said Murray had attempted to mislead investigators.

Anthony Junior Murray was sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum term of 18 years, for stabbing his sister’s boyfriend, Joe Burton, in the back during a New Year’s Eve argument at Murray’s flat in Bury. The killing was captured by a pet camera, while Murray’s initial claims that someone else was responsible were contradicted by the evidence. A jury rejected his self-defence argument and convicted him by an 11-to-1 majority. Burton died shortly after the attack, and police said the investigation had secured justice, although the sentence cannot compensate his family for the loss.

Moven Kajese pleaded guilty to attempting to murder his former partner during a sustained attack at her home in Ashton-under-Lyne. After controlling and threatening behaviour, he stabbed the woman, kicked and stamped on her head, and continued attacking her with scissors until police arrived. The victim said the officers’ rapid response saved her life. Kajese was sentenced as a dangerous offender to an extended 16-year sentence, serving two-thirds in prison followed by five years on licence, and was given an indefinite restraining order.

Brothers Carl and Josh Threadgill were jailed after customs officers found them carrying more than 72 kilograms of cannabis in suitcases on a flight from Thailand to Manchester. The drugs had an estimated UK wholesale value of about £220,000. Both pleaded guilty to fraudulent evasion of the prohibition on importing cannabis, despite claiming they had been threatened or motivated by financial pressures. Manchester Crown Court sentenced Carl, 36, to 26 months and Josh, 33, to 24 months, with both expected to serve up to 40% of their terms. The sentencing judge said imprisonment was necessary to deter other smugglers, while the National Crime Agency reported a sharp rise in cannabis seizures since Thailand legalized the drug.

Mohammad Bashir, a Manchester-born man with no previous criminal record, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 17 years after pleading guilty to preparing a terrorist act. He and Jihad Al-Shamie researched and conducted reconnaissance of the UK Defence Academy at Shrivenham, which they believed had links to the Israeli military, and police described them as equal partners with deep-rooted antisemitic and extremist beliefs. Bashir was not linked to Al-Shamie's later Heaton Park synagogue attack and police found no evidence that he knew about it in advance. Greater Manchester Police acknowledged that failing to examine phones seized from Al-Shamie before the synagogue attack was a missed opportunity, prompting an apology and ongoing independent reviews.

The Manchester Evening News reviews several recent Greater Manchester cases involving teenagers convicted of murder or manslaughter after victims were stabbed. Lee Williams received a life sentence with a minimum term of 21 years and 74 days for murdering Vernard Murray, while John Harte and Riley McDermott were sentenced for manslaughter. In the killing of 15-year-old Mohanad Goobe, two boys received youth life sentences and a third was convicted of manslaughter. Another teenager received at least 11 years and 10 months for murdering 14-year-old Ibrahima Seck, while two others were convicted of manslaughter. Abbas Hussain was convicted of manslaughter over the death of Mohammed Isa Afzal. The cases prompted relatives to condemn knife crime and question its perceived normalisation among young people.

A Manchester Evening News roundup details convictions and prison sentences handed down in Greater Manchester courts. Cases include life sentences for Mohammad Bashir, who plotted a terrorist attack with Jihad Al-Shamie, and Terrence King, who was convicted of murdering teenager Devon Simmonds-Caines by driving into him. Other cases involve child sexual abuse, historic abuse by former Boys' Brigade leader Stewart Knowles and Andrew Lord, armed robbery, knife crime, burglary, and possession of terrorist material. Sentences ranged from two years to life imprisonment.

A victim described the long-term psychological and personal effects of sexual abuse committed by former Boys' Brigade captain Stewart Knowles and Andrew Lord when he was a child. Knowles was convicted of 18 sexual offences and sentenced to 16 years in prison, while Lord was convicted of four offences and sentenced to seven years at Manchester Crown Court. Greater Manchester Police praised the survivor for coming forward and said it would continue supporting abuse survivors and pursuing offenders.

John Phelps, 42, was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted shoplifting, breaching a Criminal Behaviour Order and threatening a person with an offensive weapon. He had been challenged by staff and members of the public outside a shop on Tonge Moor Road in Bolton on 27 April 2026, after which he produced a Stanley knife from his bag. Greater Manchester Police released footage of the incident following his conviction.

Muhammad Zakir Arif, from Bury, was sentenced to three years in prison after admitting four offences involving terrorist documents and three offences involving prohibited mobile phones in prison. Police accessed his iCloud account with help from partners in the United States after he refused to provide his phone PIN, uncovering Islamic State propaganda, bomb-making instructions and guidance on arson and lone-wolf attacks. WhatsApp messages also showed that he had expressed a desire to travel abroad to carry out a terrorist attack, although his family tried to dissuade him. The court imposed a special custodial sentence, requiring him to serve two-thirds of the term followed by a year of supervision.

A Manchester man, Mohammad Bashir, pleaded guilty to preparing a terrorist act after plotting an attack on the Defence Academy in Oxfordshire with Jihad Al‑Shamie, who later killed two people in a knife attack at Heaton Park synagogue. Evidence including messages, searches, and reconnaissance showed the pair shared extremist ideology and planned violence. Al‑Shamie went on to carry out the 2025 synagogue attack before being shot dead by police. Bashir was arrested after returning from Pakistan, with prosecutors presenting extensive digital and CCTV evidence linking him to the planning. Defence arguments claimed Bashir distanced himself from Al‑Shamie and experienced a change of heart. Sentencing is scheduled for the following day.