City News in 250 words: Wednesday 29 June

THOUSANDS OF PUBLIC SECTOR WORKERS will march through Manchester tomorrow as staff strike over pensions. The anti-cuts demonstration, which will march from Oxford Road to Castlefield, has been organised by four unions taking part in nationwide industrial action. More than three quarters of the region’s schools are expected to close as teachers join the protest.

A MAN HAS BEEN CHARGED following an attempted break-in at a house in Salford, in which a burglar was stabbed to death. The 23-year-old has been charged with aggravated burglary and possession of a bladed article. John Bennell, 27, was murdered in a house in Ethel Avenue, Pendlebury, last Wednesday. Greater Manchester Police have also arrested another 23-year-old man on suspicion of aggravated burglary.

THE FAMILY OF A MAN WHO WAS KILLED in a hit and run tragedy may launch civil prosecution against the witnesses suffering from ‘collective amnesia.’ The crash suspects told inquest that ‘they couldn’t remember’ being involved in the incident over 200 times. David Lees, 23, was killed after being hit by a car in Prestwich in October 2006. Mr Lees's mother Anne said: "We are not going to give up. No matter how many years it takes.”

GREATER MANCHESTER POLICE INQUIRY DESKS are to close, as part of plans to save £134m. Thirty-four desks were deemed uneconomic to keep open after a review found they were rarely used. It said that the way people contact the police is changing, and police will launch a 101 number, for non-emergency calls, in November.

Fact of the day: This week in 1884 Exchange Station opened, near Manchester Cathedral. Heavily bombed in the December 1940 Blitz, it closed permanently in 1969.   

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