City news in 250 words: Thursday 16 June

A 20% RISE in calls to the Manchester and Salford Samaritans branch in the last year, has been linked to job worries and the threat of unemployment. The branch took 18,346 calls in 2009. This rose to 22,033 in 2010. The office on Oxford Road has become a 24-hour operation with 140 volunteers to meet the demand. Maureen Mundey, director of this branch, said: “Unemployment, or the threat of it, can result in anxiety or depression ...which can increase the likelihood that someone will think life is not worth living.” They are desperately seeking volunteers.

STEPPING HILL HOSPITAL, Stockport, has been criticised by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for feeding some elderly patients in a “chaotic, noisy and disorganised environment.” Inspectors expressed “moderate concern” as one patient lost 12lbs in seventeen days. However the majority of patients said they were treated with respect and praised staff highly.

A MAN is in a critical condition at Salford Royal Hospital after being involved in a hit-and-run incident on junction seventeen of the M60, Whitefield. Around 3am, the 42-year-old left his grey Ford Puma, which was parked up on the hard shoulder and was hit by an unknown vehicle. All three lanes have now been fully reopened.

A MOTHER with six months to live is currently writing a ‘mummy’s manual’ for her three-year-old daughter, to help her carry on with life when she is gone. Christabel Lowe, 27, was told in March she had untreatable cancer and began writing guides for daughter Jasmin.

This week in 1996: the IRA detonated a bomb in Manchester. There were no fatalities but 200+ injured with damage estimated at £700 million.

You can be amazed by other facts like this at @revealmcr