News
Oldham teenager Alex Batty fears mum will be jailed for his disappearance
Alex is now adjusting to ordinary life in Oldham
Alex Batty, the teenager from Oldham who went missing six years ago, has expressed his fears that his mum and grandad may face jail over his disappearance.
Alex went missing in 2017 while on a holiday in Spain with the two family members. He was 11 at the time.
Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, the now 17-year-old said: “That’s why I didn’t come home sooner – all I worried about was them getting locked up.”
His grandmother, Susan Caruana, who is his legal guardian, agreed. “That’s the last thing I would want. I don’t want them to go to prison,” she said.
It comes after Greater Manchester Police said detectives had launched a criminal investigation into alleged child abduction as they work towards understanding the circumstances surrounding Alex’s disappearance.
Alex was on a pre-agreed holiday with his mum, Melanie and his grandfather, David Batty, where it was arranged that they would take him away for a week on September 30th, 2017.
However, Alex did not return after a week and was last seen at the Port of Malaga on October 8th of the same year.
He told hosts Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley he spent years ’emotionally preparing’ to leave his mother and grandfather, adding that he ‘knew it was time’.
Last month, the teenager turned up at a police station in France after a delivery driver spotted him walking along a road in the foothills of the French Pyrenees, near Toulouse.
Alex said he was getting ‘fed up’ of the nomadic lifestyle he was living along with his mum and grandad. He said: “We stayed in a lot of caravans. We stayed in a lot of houses, always up mountains hours away from any kind of village. One day I just thought ‘ok, I can’t take this any more’.
“I knew everything was in place for them to leave where we were, so if I were to leave, everything would be gone by the time the police arrived.”
Now back living with his grandmother in Oldham, Alex spoke of how he is adjusting back to ordinary life as a teenage boy in the UK.
“I’ve had one friend in the past six years – everyone else has been a lot older than me so I’m very comfortable talking to adults but with children my age it is different,” he said.
Susan said she had to learn to live with the pain of her grandson being gone. She said: “It took a long time to learn to live with it. I wasn’t worried about him coming back someday, I was more worried I wouldn’t still be around.
“Now he is home all those fears have gone. It’s amazing. It’s amazing to wake up and not have that pain in the pit of my stomach.”
Despite having to get used to normality, Alex said his current ambitions were to go to college to study Computer Science, get a part-time job and to organise a night out for his 18th birthday next month.
News
Oasis announce huge reunion tour as Liam and Noel Gallagher ‘make peace’
The news we’ve all been waiting for!
After years of will-they-won’t-they speculation, Oasis are officially BACK together for a reunion tour.
The Gallagher brothers have put aside their differences in the name of music, making thousands of fans extremely happy in the process.
The band teased the news on their socials over the weekend, posting a video on Sunday morning with today’s date (Tuesday, August 27th) and the time 8am.
And now shows have been announced for multiple dates in the UK and Ireland, with tickets going live this Saturday, August 31st.
The legendary Mancunian rockers will take to the stage next summer, with gigs in Cardiff, London, Edinburgh, Dublin and, of course, Manchester.
15 years after splitting, the band confirmed they would be back for 14 shows, saying: “The guns have fallen silent. The stars have aligned. The great wait is over. Come see. It will not be televised”.
The gigs will be Oasis’s ‘only shows in Europe next year’, with tickets on sale this Saturday at 8am in Ireland and 9am in the UK.
The Oasis 2025 tour dates in full:
July
4th – Cardiff, Principality Stadium
5th – Cardiff, Principality Stadium
11th – Manchester, Heaton Park
12th – Manchester, Heaton Park
19th – Manchester, Heaton Park
20th – Manchester, Heaton Park
25th – London, Wembley Stadium
26th – London, Wembley Stadium
August
2nd – London, Wembley Stadium
3rd – London, Wembley Stadium
8th – Edinburgh, Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium
9th – Edinburgh, Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium
16th – Dublin, Croke Park
17th – Dublin, Croke Park
You can grab your tickets HERE.
News
Stagecoach hiring over 100 new bus drivers for Bee Network with £31k salaries
Fancy a career change?
Stagecoach Manchester is hiring over 100 new bus drivers to work from its Oldham depot, following the second phase of the Bee Network launch in March.
You can apply for a range of roles, from positions with no experience required to fully qualified bus drivers.
Successful applicants will receive full training as part of the job, and trainees will get paid to train. Then after only 12 months’ service at Stagecoach, drivers can expect to earn up to £16 per hour, which equates to £31.6K per year, before overtime.
As well as that, drivers that already hold a PCV licence may be eligible to receive a £1,200 joining bonus.
Stagecoach
There’s also a host of other benefits available to all Stagecoach employees, like 28 days paid holiday, generous pension and free Stagecoach bus travel for successful applicants and a companion.
Rob Jones, Managing Director at Stagecoach Manchester said: “Expanding our offering in Oldham means we’ll be investing more in the economy and supporting our local community, as well as strengthening our workforce.
“Whether you’re looking for a career change or you’re a fully qualified, experienced bus driver, there’s a role for everyone here in Oldham.
“We’re looking for personable and dedicated drivers who are ready to help us build on the success of the Bee Network and connect the people of Oldham and Greater Manchester with the places and people that are important to them.”
Stagecoach
Phil Cornwall, bus driver at Stagecoach Manchester, said: “I’ve been a driver at Stagecoach for 25 years and I couldn’t recommend it more.
“From the perks to the people to the passengers, it really is a great place to work.”
To apply, head to the Stagecoach website HERE.
Two men have now been charged with murder, following the discovery of a human torso in Kersal Dale.
As well as that, more suspected human remains were also discovered this morning, Monday April 29th, in an alleyway close to the railway lines off Worsley Road, Eccles.
This follows earlier discoveries of human remains over the past three weeks, at Kersal Dale, Blackleach Reservoir and Colliery Wood, all in Salford.
Greater Manchester Police
Michal Jaroslaw Polchowski (25/04/1956) and Marcin Majerkiewicz (10/04/1982) both of Worsley Road, Eccles, have been charged with murder.
They are set to appear at Tameside Magistrates Court this afternoon.
While formal identification is still ongoing, the remains found at Kersal Dale are believed to be of a local man in his 60s. The remains found at the other three locations are still to be tested, but police are confident they belong to the same victim.
ACC Sarah Jackson said: “We have had large numbers of officers, staff and specialists working diligently on this investigation over the last three weeks. It has been very much a large, collective effort, with the victim and family at the heart of it from the outset.
“We have specially trained officers deployed to support the family as they come to terms with this tragic news. They are aware of this morning’s further discovery and will continue to be kept up to date with how we are progressing.
“Despite the charges brought today, our work is far from over.
“The scenes we already have established in Bury and Salford will remain in place for much of this week whilst our searches and enquiries continue. Local officers will continue to patrol the impacted areas to provide reassurance.
“We will continue following every line of enquiry to recover and reunite the victim with his family, bringing a dignified end to this terrible scenario.
“I’d like to thank the communities of Salford and beyond for their cooperation throughout this investigation. I know this incident has come as a shock, and the support we’ve had from those in the area is very much appreciated.”
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