A Merseyside restaurant set to reopen after a devastating fire, a dad’s chance meeting on a Liverpool street and key changes to a Wirral hospital route are just some of the stories we have published today
19:45, 30 Jan 2026
Adam Noble, owner of Medusa restaurant in Waterloo(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Here are five stories published by the Liverpool Echo you may have missed today.
1) ‘Every ambulance on Wirral’ pictured waiting outside hospital A&E
On a freezing Thursday evening, there is a seemingly endless queue of ambulances parked up in a row outside Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside. The images, taken by an ambulance clinician at around 7.30pm last night, Thursday, January 29, highlight the extent and the impact of the crisis hitting NHS hospitals and services in our region. Dozens of ambulances are pictured parked outside the hospital as ambulance workers wait to hand patients over to hospital staff, with one NHS worker saying they were stuck outside with a patient “all day”. The ambulance clinician, who asked not to be named, told the ECHO there were 23 ambulances parked outside Arrowe Park Hospital. They claimed this number included every available ambulance on the Wirral and around six from Liverpool. READ HERE.
2) Dad knew he’d made right call after chance meeting on city street
Tijo Matthew was 22 when he left his hometown for the first time and travelled thousands of miles to study in Liverpool. It was 2012, and the shy student had never before set foot outside of his home in Kerala, southwestern India. But after his initial struggles to acclimatise to his new surroundings, he is now helping others from his home country settle on Merseyside. Tijo explained he had some initial trepidations about moving to the UK, but that soon changed when he familiarised himself with his new surroundings. He said: “Before I came over to the UK, I was told a completely different story [from the truth], I heard that the people were quite racist, but when I came, I met lovely, lovely people here.” READ HERE.
3) Changes could be made to key Merseyside hospital route
Changes could be made to three key roads in a Merseyside area after previous plans for cycle lane schemes fell through. One of them involves a key route to a hospital. Wirral Council is asking the public for their ideas about how three roads in the borough could be improved “to make sure everyone can reach these key destinations safely and easily”. The three roads being considered are Arrowe Park Road between the Woodchurch estate and Thingwall, Price Street in Birkenhead, and Birkenhead Road between Seacombe ferry terminal and the docks. All three roads were previously considered for cycle lane schemes but they did not move forward. The scheme at Price Street was supported but the Birkenhead Road project faced opposition from the Soccer Dome, a key business in the area. READ HERE.
4) Jimmy Tarbuck recalls ‘terrible’ arrest following child abuse allegations
Liverpool comedian Jimmy Tarbuck has spoken about the “terrible” experience of being arrested as part of Operation Yewtree. The 85-year-old entertainer, who grew up in Mossley Hill, was among a number of high-profile figures investigated during the police operation into historical sexual abuse in the entertainment industry, launched in the aftermath of revelations about Jimmy Savile. Tarbuck was arrested in April 2013 following allegations made by six individuals. He was released without charge almost a year later and has now spoken about the experience in a rare interview with The Daily Telegraph. Recalling his reaction at the time, Tarbuck said: “Kids? I said, ‘Are you kidding me?’ Ken Dodd said, ‘If I’d seen him going away with 10 chorus girls, I’d believe it. But not schoolgirls.’” READ HERE.
5) Man watched his ‘biggest dream go up in flames’ on Christmas Eve
A Merseyside restaurant will finally reopen its doors after being destroyed by a fire on Christmas Eve. Adam Noble, owner of Medusa on St John’s Road in Waterloo, was forced to close the doors to his restaurant on December 24, 2025 after it was engulfed by flames. Medusa has had to remain closed while repairs and refurbishment works were carried out. The restaurant will finally reopen its doors tonight, Friday (January 30), after weeks of hard work and support from the community. Adam, 30, told the ECHO he is “over the moon” to be welcoming customers once again. READ HERE.
Read all the latest headlines at Liverpool ECHO.