Greater Manchester is currently facing a significant rise in serious respiratory illnesses among children, a trend that has alarmed local campaigners and healthcare professionals. According to data obtained by campaign group Mums for Lungs, nearly 8,500 children were admitted to specialist paediatric respiratory services or seen as outpatients at Manchester University Foundation NHS Trust over the past two years. In the last 12 months alone, there has been an increase of 520 hospital admissions for children under 18 due to breathing difficulties.
Babies and toddlers appear to be particularly vulnerable. Liz Godfrey, who leads Mums for Lungs, highlighted concerns about air pollution levels in the area, noting that around 468,000 diesel cars and vans were operating on Manchester’s roads in 2023. Despite some indications that pollution levels may be dropping, she expressed doubts about the effectiveness of the current measures. “All the evidence – from illegal levels of pollution to children struggling to breathe in our hospitals – shows that it lacks ambition and won’t go nearly far enough to succeed in cutting illegal levels of pollution,” she said.
Mums for Lungs and other campaigners have called on local political leaders, including Mayor Andy Burnham, to take urgent action. Manchester had been instructed by the government to comply with air pollution laws by 2024, but the scrapping of a planned Clean Air Zone by the mayor last December has raised concerns. Alba De Toro Nozal shared a personal account of her son Elliot, who suffered severe viral-induced wheezing exacerbated by exposure to car fumes in south Manchester. She described multiple emergency hospital visits and admitted that Elliot struggled to breathe properly as a baby despite using inhalers.
In other news impacting the Greater Manchester region, Oasis fans have reportedly been hit by widespread ticket fraud following the band's reunion announcement. The band is scheduled to perform five nights at Heaton Park in Manchester in July. However, fans have lost an estimated £2 million to scammers, with one individual reportedly losing £1,700. Fraudsters have exploited unofficial social media groups, offering fake tickets at discounted prices and deceiving fans into sending bank transfers. Liz Ziegler, fraud prevention director at Lloyds Banking Group, emphasised the scale of the problem and called on social media platforms to take stronger action against scams.
Denton’s Victoria Park, known for the 2020 fire that destroyed its Grade-II listed bandstand, has struggled with ongoing antisocial behaviour and arson. Greater Manchester Police described the area as a “true success story” of neighbourhood policing following increased patrols, although some local residents remain cautious. One resident described the park as “menacing” and said it felt like going “into the lions’ pit,” indicating continued concerns despite improvements. The police chose the park as the venue to announce the recruitment of 176 new frontline officers.
Political tensions have also surfaced in Denton, where around 100 protesters gathered at Jubilee Square demanding the resignation of local MP Andrew Gwynne. The MP was suspended by the Labour Party following allegations of making anti-Semitic, sexist and racist comments in a private WhatsApp group. Although Gwynne issued an apology for his “badly misjudged comments”, demonstrators called for his removal from office, expressing a desire to vote him out in future elections.
Crimes against churches in Greater Manchester have also risen, with 642 offences reported between 2022 and 2024. These include 334 thefts, 212 cases of criminal damage, and 95 violent incidents, making the region the third worst affected in the country, after West Yorkshire and Kent, as reported by the Countryside Alliance. Many of the incidents involve arson and thefts, highlighting concerns for religious communities and their places of worship.
Access to NHS dental care remains an ongoing issue in the region. Recent analysis shows that 62 per cent of NHS dentists in Trafford are not currently accepting adult patients, compared to 29 per cent in neighbouring Wigan. Despite political promises to rebuild the local dental care system, patients continue to face difficulties obtaining timely NHS treatment.
Finally, the local weather forecast predicts sunny intervals on Friday, turning cloudy by lunchtime with temperatures reaching 16°C. Roadworks continue to affect travel, with the A572 St Helens Road southbound in Leigh closed until June 30.
Meanwhile, nostalgic memories of a long-lost children’s attraction surfaced as images of Stamford Park’s paddling pool and fountain, once a hub for summer family fun, were shared. The park, located on the border of Ashton-under-Lyne and Stalybridge, dates back to the Victorian era and has evolved over the decades to include a boating and fishing lake, though the original paddling pool no longer exists.
Source: Noah Wire Services