City news in 250 words: Tuesday 23 March

FITNESS TESTS are to become complusory for Greater Manchester residents who are off work claiming sickness benefits.130,000 people will be sent to their GPs for the tests as part of plans to cut the region's £1.4bn sickness bill. Tasks will include climbing stairs and picking up objects from the floor. Those who are deemed fit for work face losing up to £30 from their weekly benefits.

PIZZA DELIGHT in Salford has been given a bill of over £14,000 after failing to act upon orders from Salford council's environmental health team. The mice-infested pizza takeway business was found guilty of failing to keep the premises clean, failing to control pests, having no adequate facilities for cleaning and drying hands or food hygiene procedures in place.

A FUEL PROTEST is being planned for May 1 by bikers in the region. Thousands of drivers will form a go-slow convoy along the M62 in protest against the increasing cost of fuel. Riders will meet at 9am on May 1 at Hartshead Moor Services before joining a second convoy at Birch Services. They plan to take up all lanes at speeds no greater than 25mph.

AN ANTI-SOCIAL BEGGAR has been given a CRASBO by Magistrates. Laurence Callaghan, 45, has been given the anti-social behaviour order which follows a criminal conviction, after plaguing shopkeepers, students and residents in Withington and West Didsbury. Callaghan was frequently caught begging outside shops, taking drugs openly and entering residents’ gardens. He has been banned from the area for three years.