Manchester 250: Tuesday 16 October

MANCUNIAN WAY has been partially closed after a man appeared to fall from the road onto a slip road at 8.45am today. The man was on the wrong side of the railings and fell about 30ft onto the London Road slip road below. He is currently in a critical condition at Manchester Royal Infirmary. The inside lane of the eastbound carriageway between Regent Road and London Road was closed for several hours.

A MAN has been arrested on suspicion of rape after a woman was attacked on a night out in Manchester city centre at the weekend. Police are interviewing a 31-year-old man from the Cheetham Hill area. The woman was attacked in a secluded area off Longacre Street near to the Piccadilly Trading Estate.

URMSTON is close to becoming a ghost town according to recent reports. Shops in the area are said to be struggling due to the delay of a £43m regeneration project. The redevelopment will include a new shopping centre, supermarket, library and 144 apartments. The first phase is due to be opened in 2009. Meanwhile it seems customers are deserting Urmston for other shopping destinations such as Manchester city centre and the Trafford Centre.

PLAIN clothed police officers are on the look out at Manchester Airport for football hooligans travelling to Moscow for the Russia v England Euro 2008 qualifier tomorrow. Chief Inspector Chris Ullah from Manchester Airport Police Station said: “Anyone thinking of travelling to Moscow with the intention of causing trouble should think again.”