Welcome to the Manchester Evening News breaking news service.
We’ll be making sure that you are the first to know what’s happening across the Greater Manchester region.
Throughout the day we will be bringing you constant updates on news across the area.
We’ll also be bringing you crime, travel, health, sport, politics and education stories from the M.E.N team.
And the CityLife journalists are working hard to bring you the best reviews, celebrity gossip and information on going out in the city.
Some of the stories from overnight include reports of a teenager being rushed to hospital after he was pulled from a canal in Middleton.
We’ll bring you an update on the boy’s condition as soon as possible.
We also have all the latest from the Soccer Aid 2016 match featuring Louis Tomlinson, Nial Horan and Paddy McGuinness.
Firefighters were forced to gatecrash a romantic wedding day after the building fire alarm sounded.
At the moment everything seems to be running smoothly on the Metrolink.
If there’s something you’ve noticed and want us to check out then feel free to get in touch - call us on 0161 211 2323 or tweet @MENnewsdesk
Key Events
Didsbury car fire
A bit more on the car fire on Barlow Moor Road.
Firefighters were called to the road near the junction with Oaker Avenue, in West Didsbury just after 4:30pm.
We’ve been told no one was injured.
A spokesperson for the fire service said: “Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus used a hose reel to put the fire out.”
The road remains closed between Princess Road and Elizabeth Slinger Road near to the Southern Cemetery with motorists warned to expect delays
Car fire in south Manchester
We’re getting reports of a car fire on Barlow Moor Road in Didsbury.
Just checking it out now and I’ll update you asap
M56 re-opens
Slightly off our patch but the full closure of the M56 near Runcorn has meant long delays for lots of drivers in the region this afternoon.
Good news is, it is now re-opening with motorists urged to get back in their vehicles so barriers can be lifted.
Delays are expected for a while though and you can updates here.
Oldham line re-opens
All Metrolink lines are now up and running again however commuters are being still warned to expect some delays
Crash on the M60
Two lanes have been closed due to an accident on the M60 clockwise between junction 16 Pendlebury and junction 17 Prestwich.
There is queuing traffic and congestion back to the Trafford Centre junction, J10.
The two outside lanes are closed in the roadworks area.
Rochdale via Oldham line suspended
A points failure at Derker station is causing some problems to the Rochdale via Oldham line
All services are currently suspended on the line while engineers fix the problem.
Trams are running between Oldham Mumps and Ashton.
Passengers can also use their tickets on the 58, 59, 82, 83, 181 and 182 bus services.
Fire at city centre Nando's branch
There appears to be a fire ongoing at a Nando’s restaurant on Oxford Road
Fire crews are currently at the scene.
News
A callous, designer-clad puppy farmer with six aliases made more than half a MILLION pounds selling dogs, some of which were severely-ill and dying
Former escort Grace Banks - caught out in part due to her distinctive groomed eyebrows, pouting lips and Mercedes Benz - sold sick pets to unsuspecting families for up to £600.
But despite profiting by £505,000 from her criminal enterprise, Banks will have to repay less than £9,000 after a judge heard the rest was not yet ‘recoverable’. Police could seize more from her in the future if they can identify other cash or assets in her possession.
Tim Burgess book
Tim Burgess has left a signed copy of his latest book in a Chorlton bookshop
Tim Book Two tells of his lifelong passion for vinyl and the shops that sell them.
It’s set for release on July 21 - but you can get your hands on one RIGHT NOW, because Burgess has droplifted a copy to Chorlton Books, which he has signed and bundled up with one of his Tune Maps - a replica of Harry Beck’s iconic London Underground map with all the lines representing one of their albums.
Collision on M6
One lane is closed on the M6 following a collision involving two cars
Drivers heading between junction 18, Holmes Chapel, and junction 19, Knutsford, have been affected.
Metrolink passengers stranded
Did you struggle to get home last night?
Families claim they were left stranded in the city centre after Metrolink services and replacement buses failed to show up.
There was a double whammy of events in Manchester on Sunday evening with Coldplay performing at the Etihad and the annual Soccer Aid event at Old Trafford.
Transport for Greater Manchester said they would provide extra trams for people travelling to and from both events until late into the evening.
But passengers claim they were unable to get home when the events finished after tram services did not show up.
Gary Bardsley, 56, was attending Soccer Aid with his 13-year-old daughter and left early to catch a Rochdale tram home to Derker station before 11pm.
Metrolink
Everything continues to be running smoothly on the trams today
Good news for those making the most of the half term holidays.
Chris Martin visits The Christie
Coldplay star Chris Martin takes a tour of The Christie
The 39-year-old paid a visit to the cancer hospital on Sunday ahead of his band’s second open-air gig at Manchester’s Etihad stadium.
He toured the state-of-the-art site, met with staff and patients, signing CDs and autographs much to their delight.
Chris then thanked the doctors and nurses for the great work they do.
Teenager fighting for life after almost drowning in canal
A teenage boy is fighting for his life in hospital after almost drowning in the Rochdale Canal
Emergency services were called to the scene , near Boarshaw Clough Way, Middleton , after the 13-year-old fell into the water at around 8pm on Sunday night.
Police said he was playing with friends in and around the water.
His mates desperately tried to help him and it is understood a member of the public dived into the canal to pull out the struggling boy.
The teenager suffered a cardiac arrest and was given CPR at the scene.
He was then taken to hospital for further treatment and remains in a critical condition, officers said.
Woman arrested for drink driving
A woman has been arrested on suspicion of drink driving after a car crashed into parked vehicles and landed on its roof
Police were called to reports of people trapped inside a red VW Fox on Castle Hill Road, Hindley, at 4am on Sunday.
But by the time they arrived a woman and a man had managed to get out of the car.
Officers said that a woman was breathalysed and found to be more than three times the legal drinking limit.
News
World Cup final shirt worn by Sir Geoff Hurst could fetch £500,000
The football shirt worn by Sir Geoff Hurst in the 1966 World Cup final is expected to fetch up to half a million pounds at auction.
Born in Ashton-under-Lyne, Sir Geoff became the first and only player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final during England’s historic 4-2 triumph over West Germany at Wembley.
The auction on July 12 will come almost 50 years to the day of the game - England’s greatest footballing triumph.
Rolls Royce worth £200k seized by GMP
A Rolls Royce worth £200,000 was seized by police after the driver was caught with no insurance
Police stopped the driver on St Peter’s Way, Bolton, after it was seen tailgating, flashing other vehicles to move out of the way and generally driving aggressively.
But the driver did not notice the unmarked police vehicle travelling behind them and the vehicle was pulled over shortly after midnight on Sunday.
Greater Manchester Police traffic officers discovered the driver did not have any insurance.
A statement from a GMP spokesman said officers seized the vehicle.
An investigation has now launched into why the driver in the car was behind the wheel.
All lanes on M62 reopen
All lanes have now reopened at junction 20 on the motorway
It is understood it will take sometime for delays to clear.
Crime
Imagine coming back home from a holiday and finding this...
A family returned from a weekend break to find that burglars had set fire to their house.
Martyn Standage, 60, was on a break with his wife and daughter when he got a call from a neighbour to say their detached bungalow was ablaze.
The blaze in the early hours of Saturday tore through the home on Inchfield Close in Norden - leaving it a charred shell and nearly all their possessions have been destroyed.
Police and fire services are investigating the blaze but it is believed it was started deliberately by intruders.
Three fire crews were sent to the fire shortly before 3:30am in the early hours of Saturday after it was spotted by neighbours.
National headlines
Here are some of the national news headlines from this morning
Health - MESMERISING MOBILES’ PUTTING CHILDREN AT RISK, STUDY WARNS - Distracted parents are putting their children at risk by being obsessed with mobile phones, a senior paediatrician has warned. People are running the risk of being involved in a “nasty accident” if they refuse to curb their smartphone addiction, said Dr Rahul Chodarhi.
Politics - CAMERON BLASTS BREXIT ‘ECONOMIC CON-TRICK’ IN CROSS-PARTY ATTACK - David Cameron will join forces with leading figures from the left to accuse members of his own Cabinet of conning the British public. The Prime Minister, backed by Labour’s Harriet Harman, Liberal Democrat Tim Farron and the Greens’ Natalie Bennett, will ramp up the pressure on the Leave camp by calling for it to spell out an economic plan for the UK if it quits the bloc.
City - FOOTBALL ‘FEELGOOD FACTOR’ EXPECTED TO BOOST ECONOMY - The European Championships are expected to deliver a timely boost to the UK economy as the football “feelgood factor” drives up consumer spending, a report said. Despite never having won the championships, England’s involvement in previous tournaments has led to a sharp rise in spending, which has bolstered retailers and helped the wider economy, according to research by Lloyds Bank.
Everything clear now on M62
We’re getting reports junction 20 is now all clear on the M62
Drivers are still being warned of remaining traffic.
Major delays on M62
Transport for Greater Manchester are now urging drivers to avoid heading towards junction 20, due to the long delays
Hotter than Madrid
Sizzling Manchester is set to be hotter than Madrid today after a weekend of glorious sunshine
And with temperatures poised to peak at 26C this afternoon, the Met Office has predicted that the city could be the warmest in the country.
Forecasters recorded the hottest day of the year so far in Porthmadog, north Wales, on Sunday, where the mercury topped a balmy 27.8C, which is just over 82F.
The Met Office said Manchester’s Monday would bring plenty of sunshine and become ‘very warm’ for many.
There’s just a five per cent chance of rain, with very little wind leading to humid conditions.
