Crime and safety news

Oldham Police have stepped up town-centre patrols this week to reassure Christmas shoppers and traders after a string of recent closures and prosecutions aimed at shutting down persistent crime hubs.

Officers on foot told reporters they will focus on Spindles and Union Street until the New Year, a move that follows the courts barring access to a Waterhead house that had become a magnet for drug dealing, theft and late-night noise.

Council lawyers secured the Closure Order on 20 December, the second such action at the same address after an earlier order in May. Neighbours welcomed the decision, with one calling it 'the best Christmas present' the street could receive.

The crackdown stretches beyond drugs. In November, a local nursery and its two directors were fined £5,700 when food hygiene inspectors found dirty kitchens and poor standards. September brought a £4,600 penalty for a private-hire driver who kept working after Oldham Council suspended his licence.

Trading Standards and police also arrested two men, aged 35 and 42, during a December 2023 raid in Chadderton that removed 18 dogs suspected of being illegally bred. Officers say the wider safety push is meant to show that repeat offenders, whether they sell drugs, run dirty kitchens or work without licences, will be pursued.