Atherton Online

A customer was hit with a gun during a robbery at an off-licence in Atherton.

It happened at the Food and Drink 4U shop on Green Street, Atherton, shortly after 9am on Saturday 14 April 2012.

The man was inside, along with a lone member of staff, when two men burst into the shop wearing dark-hooded tops and with their faces covered.

One of the thieves was carrying a handgun, which he used to strike the man across the back of the head and then dragged him onto the shop floor. While he pinned the customer down, the other offender went behind the counter and began to fill a light-coloured duvet cover with tobacco and cigarettes.

A post-mortem examination has revealed a man died from burns and smoke inhalation after his body was discovered in Leigh.

Shortly before 3pm on Monday 9 April 2012, the body of the man was found on private land near Pennington Brook, off Pennington Road and Chestnut Drive.

Officers attended and have recovered the body, which was badly burnt.

Two mountain bikes to help raise money for charity were stolen in Astley.

Sometime between 11.30pm on Wednesday 21 March 2012 and 9.30am on Thursday 22 March 2012, offenders broke into a shed at a house on the East Lancashire Road.

Two bikes, a Muddy Fox and Vertigo, were taken alongside power tools.

The bikes were to be ridden for sponsorship to help raise money for a local cot death charity.

Police Constable Wayne Warner based at Leigh Police Station said: “This is a particularly callous crime and the victim would like the bikes returned as the charity is personal to him.

Belong Atherton, on Mealhouse Lane, is holding a free advice session about older people receiving care at home, at 10 am on Thursday 5th April. The talk will cover financial topics such as the carers cash allowance, personal budgets, and direct payments for home care, as well as providing the opportunity to ask questions on any care at home issue.

The advice session will be run by Belong Atherton, with special guest speaker Pat Millward from the Wigan and Leigh Carers Centre. The event is free to attend and refreshments will be provided.

The public enquiry counters at Atherton, Bamfurlong and Standish Police Stations will be closing on Friday 30 March 2012.

Police enquiry desks at Ashton-in-Makerfield library and Hindley town hall will also close on this date.

This is due to a review which has been undertaken by the Greater Manchester Police Authority (GMPA) and Greater Manchester Police (GMP) to establish the cost-effectiveness of the 55 public enquiry counters across Greater Manchester. The Force has to make £134million of savings by 2015.

Part of the review has included research on how the public enquiry counters are being used.

Fewer than 30 people use the front desks at Atherton and Bamfurlong each day, and fewer than 10 people use the desks at Ashton-in-Makerfield, Hindley and Standish.

This means these enquiry counters are very expensive to run compared to those at Wigan and Leigh police stations, which receive 181 and 113 visitors each day respectively.

Concern is growing for a Wigan man who is missing from home.

50-year-old Edward Sheehy, also known as Edward Charles, was last seen in the early hours of Thursday 22 March 2012 at his home on Miriam Grove, Leigh.

Atherton Community School - a new secondary school preparing to open in Atherton this September - has now received confirmation from Wigan Council that the preferred sites for the new school have been approved.

In recent months, Chapel St - the school sponsor - with the support of Partnerships for Schools have been in negotiation with the local authority over terms to use Atherton Town Hall for the first year of the school as a temporary measure, while building works are completed on the part of the Hamilton Street site buildings for the new school. The plan is to use some of the existing school buildings, which will be completely refurbished, as well as constructing some new buildings too.

Greater Manchester Police has been made aware that there is potentially a quantity of pharmaceutical grade methadone hydro chloride in circulation in the Atherton area.

Anyone that comes across or is offered any of the drug is asked to call police.

Sergeant John Connor, of the Atherton Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “Prescription methadone usually comes in a liquid but the drugs we are looking for are in powder form.

“We have spoken to a pharmacist and they have told us that due to its purity, it would be lethal to those who use it.

Police have issued the picture of a man wanted following a burglary in Wigan.

Lee Watts, born 25/3/70, has links with Leigh and Burnley, Lancashire, and detectives believe he has vital information in relation to the investigation.

In the early hours of Christmas Day, 25 December 2011, burglars broke into the Hare and Hounds pub, Golbourne Road, Lowton, and stole Christmas presents from the living quarters.

Watts has now been linked to the offence.

A man has been arrested in connection with a robbery at a Leigh restaurant.

The robbery happened at around 11am on Sunday 4 March 2012 when three men wearing balaclavas went into Frankie and Bennies on Derby Street, Leigh.

One of the men was carrying a machete and threatened staff with it, before stealing cash.

The three men then threatened staff again before making off in a stolen blue Volkswagen Polo towards Glazebury.