Dan Dougherty

Greater Manchester Mayor Bev Craig announced that an independent inquiry into a major rail outage had been fast-tracked after a power-supply failure at a Network Rail communications centre disrupted signalling across the North West. The incident caused widespread cancellations affecting multiple operators and thousands of passengers and businesses. Craig said Network Rail and the rail minister must improve contingency planning and passenger support.

Greater Manchester Police are appealing for information to help locate 18-year-old Lebron Blake from Oldham, who is wanted on recall to prison. He is known to have links to Oldham, Bury and Rochdale, and police ask anyone with information to contact GMP or Crimestoppers.

Protesters gathered at Heywood Civic Centre to oppose plans for a nearby HMO, expressing concerns it could house illegal immigrants despite no evidence supporting the claim. Led by Jamie Thomason, the event drew several dozen attendees carrying flags and banners and included speeches from figures linked to right‑wing groups. After concerns about the original location, the protest proceeded peacefully before concluding with a march through Heywood.

Emergency services responded to a four‑vehicle collision on the eastbound M62 between junctions 18 and 19, where one person was taken to hospital and others were treated at the scene. Fire crews, police and ambulance teams worked together to secure the area, with the incident causing partial lane closures and delays for several hours while recovery and road repairs were carried out.