Welcome to Unmissable, our weekly digest of the stories you might have missed.
As temperatures plummeted over the course of last weekend we went out onto the streets to speak to some of those sleeping out(Image: Manchester Evening News)
In the early hours of Boxing Day morning came the news that a homeless man had been found dead in Manchester city centre. Anthony Horn was pronounced dead at the scene after his body was discovered on a walkway next to a canal near the Bridgewater Hall.
Friends said Mr Horn was one of a small group of homeless men who regularly slept under an overhang at the back of the concert venue. It’s thought the 47-year-old dad-of-one may have died from the cold.
As temperatures plummeted over the course of last weekend we went out onto the streets to speak to some of those sleeping out in sub-zero temperatures – it was an eye-opening process.
Welcome to Unmissable, our weekly digest of the stories we think you might have missed.
“I thought ‘why doesn’t it happen to me? Why do I have to sleep on this cold floor?’”
The rough sleeper, who we chose not to name, is speaking to our reporter Chris Slater about the death of his friend.
He says Mr Horn was ‘the only friend I had’ and that the pair used to sleep in a car park together. And as the temperatures plummeted below zero overnight, he says his death and the bitterly cold conditions had caused him to become morbidly reflective.
“He has a family, I don’t,” the man says. “He is missed, I wouldn’t be. So I kept thinking, why didn’t they take me?”
The man says for several years he has been sleeping on the pavement in a nearby back street. He says he spent last night simply in a sleeping bag on a piece of cardboard and a blanket, with a fleece and two layers to keep him warm.
You can read the article in full here.
The @povcl1nt profile which posted videos filmed using Meta glasses(Image: TikTok)
Elsewhere this weekend we published an investigation into content creators using Meta glasses to film people without permission, often footage that then ends up across social media.
Josh Fairhurst was at work in a Manchester city centre store when he was approached by a man wearing Meta glasses on December 12. At first the interaction in the shop was normal, and the 22-year-old recalls serving the man like any other customer.
But the man returned more than an hour later with a ‘little flashing light’ on the side of his glasses and asked Josh for his number. Josh says he noticed he was being recorded after seeing a ‘continuous dull flash’ on the frame of the glasses.
Lisa Cooke from Warrington has suffered with migraine since she was a teenager (Image: Supplied)
This morning we published this excellent and insightful article about people who suffer from migraines. Our What’s On editor, Jenna Campbell, who herself suffers with the condition, spoke to a range of people about their experiences and difficulties in getting treatment.
The Elizabethan pub in Heaton Moor is our Pub of the Week(Image: JW Lees)
On a lighter note, our regular Pub of the Week feature from the dauntless Adam Maidment was a classic this week.
He visited a historic Stockport drinking spot that has welcomed some music stars, and turned away others...most notably Liam and Noel Gallagher.
An image of Manchester’s New Year’s Eve celebrations in 2016 is still popular ten years on from going viral(Image: Joel Goodman)
It’s the ten year anniversary of the ‘Creation of Manchester’, the extraordinary photograph taken by Joel Goodman capturing the nightlife on New Year’s Eve in the city.
It’s an image that captured Manchester’s nightlife, humour and heart like nothing else.
Read some reflections on a masterpiece here.
And finally…
As we begin 2026 here at the Manchester Evening News, we want to pick up where we left off with great investigations and features. If there’s something you think we should be reporting then let me know – we’re always happy to hear from readers.
I can be contacted at rob.williams@reachplc.com