Complaints over a ’25-minute’ Heather Small concert, a U-turn on plans to axe a 7am Manchester to London train and a former cop being told to pay up or face more time behind bars for his crimes are some of the stories we have published todayMiddleton has now been left without any banksMiddleton has now been left without any banks(Image: Manchester Evening News)

Here are five of our stories that you may have missed today…

  • A town centre bank which closed its doors in spring will be transformed into a church. The NatWest bank on Long Street, Middleton, shut in April and has been vacant ever since. Just months after Natwest lost their physical presence in the town, a proposal from the Churches of God to convert it into one of their places of worship with the capacity for 257 people. The proposed ground floor will consist of the main service hall, service alter area, preparation room, storerooms and toilets. READ HERE.
  • A plan to axe the 7am Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston train service has been dropped, it has now been confirmed. Industry regulator The Office Rail and Road (ORR) had earmarked the weekday Avanti West Cost service – which stops only at Stockport and reaches the capital in under two hours – for the chop in the new timetable which comes into effect from December 15. It was still to travel, in order to move staff from Manchester to London, but without any passengers, seeing it dubbed the ‘ghost train.’ READ HERE.
  • A senior police officer retired from Greater Manchester Police hours before a disciplinary hearing found he pursued a junior female colleague and then texted her a picture of his penis. Rob Cousen, a high-flying officer who rose to become the commander of GMP’s Tameside division, snubbed the disciplinary hearing held at the force’s headquarters today (December 1), which concluded he was guilty of gross misconduct and would have been sacked had he not retired a matter of hours before. READ HERE.
  • A former GMP detective who stole kilos of cocaine from an evidence store room could now be facing more time behind bars if he doesn’t pay up. Andrew Talbot, a 55-year-old father-of-two from Leigh was jailed last year after being convicted of a string of crimes, including supplying class A drugs and misconduct in public office. His downfall came after shocking CCTV footage, previously released by GMP, captured the moment he dropped a bag of cocaine at a primary school after dropping off his daughter. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has now secured a Confiscation Order for the defendant to pay back his available assets. The judge determined Talbot benefitted in the sum of £179,372.17 from his criminal actions and then made a Confiscation Order of £75,420.67, equalling all of the amount he had available to him to pay – or face more time behind bars. READ HERE.
  • Music fans have been left bitterly disappointed after purchasing tickets to a concert in Greater Manchester on Saturday night that they believe had been “mis-sold”. R&B singer Heather Small – known for hits Proud, Moving On Up and Don’t Look Any Further – performed at Manchester Cathedral on Saturday night (November 29) as part of the Echoes live music series, which has already seen the likes of Peter Andre and the Vengaboys perform at the city centre venue. But after paying upwards of £40 per ticket, fans were left disappointed when Heather didn’t arrive on stage until after 10pm and sung for a total of 25 minutes alongside a backing track. READ HERE.

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