Sam’s 50-mile chase to track down stolen digger Packed buses are a public health crisis, says union
BOSS BOUGHT DEVICES AFTER SPATE OF THEFTS
A BUSINESS owner decided to take matters into his own hands when thieves attempted to steal a digger – without realising it had been installed with a tracking system.
Sam Daniel, 35, runs a family business, Ashley Plant Hire and Building Supplies LTD in Altrincham, which has been hit by a spate of machinery theft in recent months.
He and his business partners, his dad and brother, decided to purchase tracking systems for their most expensive items, so they could keep tabs on the machinery when they went home.
Last week, Sam had just arrived home from work at around 7pm, when he received an alert on his phone to report movement from his Micro Excavator digger.
Not wanting to be the target of yet another theft, he decided to jump in his car and follow the tracker – not realising he would end up becoming involved in a 50-mile chase.
“I checked again and it was heading down the A556 so I just ran out the house and went chasing after it,” Sam said.
“I was on a three-way call with my parents. My dad was guiding me where the tracker was moving and my mum was relaying the location to the police.
“By the time I caught up with the tracker it was at Junction 17 of the M60 near Bolton. I saw a van that stuck out a mile off so I followed that one and gave the details to the police.
“I was giving every detail I had of the van they were driving – where they were heading, the speed, what lane they were in.”
Eventually, several police cars took over Sam’s efforts and successfully pulled over the van on the M62 at Halifax.
“Four police vehicles flew past me with flashing lights and then there were more police cars,” Sam said.
“All of a sudden we came to a stop and police pulled the van over.”
“They checked inside the van and the digger was in there.
“I was one happy customer.” Sam posted the story on his LinkedIn profile following his dramatic evening, and said the reaction has been ‘amazing.’
“Excavator theft is on such a high at the moment and normally the thieves never get caught,” he said.
BUS drivers protesting over ‘fire and rehire’ plans at a Manchester depot have obtained video that they say shows a ‘dangerously overcrowded’ strike-breaking service.
Hundreds of Go North West staff have walked out after being told they needed to sign a new contract as part of a modernisation and overhaul of the business.
Bosses say the Queen’s Road depot in Cheetham Hill is losing almost £2million a year due to outdated working practices.
The two sides have been negotiating for almost a year but Unite balloted for strike action last month after talks broke down.
The indefinite strike began on Sunday and is affecting all 16 routes operated by Go North West.
Earlier this week, Go North West managing director Nigel Featham told the M.E.N how the company was bringing in smaller operators to run services during the strike and that all routes would still be served.
The move has sparked anger among striking Unite members.
And now Unite has published video showing a bus on Cheetham Hill Road which appears to have more passengers on board than it should have under rules designed to curb the spread of Covid.
Unite says single decker buses are restricted to 18 passengers, with no one allowed to stand.
Unite regional secretary Ritchie James described the video as ‘shocking’ and called on local politicians to suspend the service immediately.
He said: “The pictures of overcrowded buses are shocking, there is no social distancing and there is a huge risk of Covid being transmitted on these overcrowded buses.
“This is now a public health crisis and local politicians in Manchester must act immediately to ensure that the rogue bus service is suspended immediately and does not resume until measures are introduced to prevent the public health of everyone in Greater Manchester being placed at risk.
“The safest alternative and the most sensible solution, would be for Go North West to cancel its fire and rehire policy, allowing fresh negotiations to take place. Bus drivers could then return to work and a safe service could resume.”
In response, Go North West confirmed it is aware of a ‘single instance’ where covid compliance measures ‘fell short.’
A spokesman said: “We will be investigating fully and apologise to passengers on board.
“Passengers travelling by bus during the pandemic are making essential journeys. It is vital to ensure they get where they need to be, irrespective of Unite’s industrial action.
“We urge Unite to focus on a resolution based on discussion so that drivers can come back to work and normal services on Go North West can resume in time for the reopening of schools next week.”
THE Duchess of Sussex has accused the royal family of “perpetuating falsehoods” about her and Harry in the latest dramatic footage released from her Oprah Winfrey interview.
Meghan defended her decision to speak to the chat show queen suggesting she could not “stay silent” while “The Firm” was working against the couple.
The latest salvo in the worsening relationship between the Sussexes and the monarchy came hours after Buckingham Palace announced it is to investigate allegations of bullying made against the duchess by former royal staff.
The couple’s interview with the US television host is expected to lift the lid on their short period working for The Firm – as the royal family is sometimes known – before they stepped down last March and moved to America.
In the 30-second clip, from the interview recorded in mid-February before any recent royal developments, Winfrey asks the duchess: “How do you feel about the Palace hearing you speak your truth today?” She replies: “I don’t know how they could expect that, after all of this time, we
would still just be silent if there is an active role that The Firm is playing in perpetuating falsehoods about us. And, if that comes with risk of losing things, I mean, I...there is a lot that has been lost already.”
A palace source said: “We’re not getting involved in the drama around the interview.”
It is not clear what “falsehoods” Meghan is referring to but court documents from her recent legal action against Associated Newspapers, over articles which featured parts of her letter to her estranged father, shed light on her views about the monarchy. The legal papers claimed the duchess was left “unprotected by the Institution” of the monarchy when attacked by the media and “prohibited from defending herself”. There have been calls this week for the twohour primetime CBS special, which airs in the US on Sunday night, to be rescheduled in light of the Duke of Edinburgh’s heart treatment in hospital.
A source close to the Sussexes said the screening of the couple’s Oprah Winfrey interview was still expected to go ahead.
Buckingham Palace has said it is “very concerned” by the bullying accusations made by former royal staff against Meghan, and reported in the Times newspaper, and would be launching an investigation.
There has long been speculation about the atmosphere in the Sussex household, after a number of staff left, and the Times chronicles what it describes as “turmoil” within palace walls.
Jason Knauf, the Sussexes’ then communications secretary, made a bullying complaint in October 2018 in an apparent attempt to force Buckingham Palace to protect staff.
Mr Knauf left a few months after making his allegations and is now a close aide to Harry’s brother, working as the chief executive of William and Kate’s Royal Foundation.