This week’s Manchester news in ten: school for mermaids opens and Jesus spotted riding a mobility scooter

If you’re getting the lion’s share of your news from Instagram memes or twitter feeds, this one’s for you. We’ve compiled the most interesting news from around our fair city. So grab a cuppa and enjoy. And by the way, there’s no fake news here.

Policeman jailed for stealing

A policeman who stole 10 ancient gold coins that he found with a metal detector has been jailed for 16 months. David Cockle, 50, who lives in Leigh, found the coins in a field in west Norfolk and sold them to a dealer for £15,000.

Plans to open hotel in town hall are dropped

Plans to turn the upper floors of Manchester own hall into a 65-bed boutique hotel have been dropped. The £30m venture was deemed “too risky”. Meanwhile the Grade I listed building’s £335m refurbishment has been given final approval.

20mph speed limit to be scrapped

Manchester town hall bosses plan to halt their flagship 20mph limit roll-out after finding it has made almost no difference to speeds or accidents. The measures were first phased in across central, south and east Manchester, with the rest of the city due to follow.

Transport bosses say ‘don’t go to work’

Transport bosses are appealing to people to work from home during a strike which will force Northern Rail to axe half of it services. During the 24-hour action by guards and drivers on Monday, the operator expects to run around 980 services, or 40 per cent of its normal timetable.

Train website crashes

The Virgin Trains website crashed because so many people are trying to buy tickets in their online sale which offered trips from Manchester to London Euston for £10.

Swearing banned in Rochdale

In a bid to curtail unruly yobs, Rochdale council has imposed a swearing ban on its town centre. The Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO), which includes a ban on swearing, skateboarding and begging, has been labelled a “staggering misuse of power” by a civil liberties group.

Pub to open at 9am

The Waldorf pub in Manchester city centre wants to start serving alcohol from 9am at weekends so that football fans can get a few bevvies down before the early kick-off.

No poos is good news

Rossendale council are investigating a novel way to curb fouling. The new scheme could see the creation of a doggy DNA database which could be checked against a sample of any offending dog muck. Similar trials to tackle dog mess have already been carried out by Barking and Dagenham council.

Jesus spotted on mobility scooter

Crocked Manchester City star Gabriel Jesus was seen whizzing around the intu Trafford Centre on a mobility scooter. The Brazilian forward, who broke a metatarsal in February, was filmed at the shopping complex with a group of mates.

School for mermaids now open

Kids can now enrol at Manchester’s first mermaid academy.  Claire Roberts, Manchester’s only qualified mermaid instructor, has launched Splash Mermaid Academy in Ashton. Children will get to wear a tail from a choice of ‘magical colours’ and join in mermaid skills, a treasure hunt, games and races.