Man spotted ‘kicking and punching’ tram among seven to be arrested

A MAN found ‘kicking and punching’ a tram door was among seven people arrested by police at the weekend.

Officers from the Greater Manchester Police transport unit and traffic unit published a round-up of their Friday night shift on Facebook.

Five uninsured vehicles were also seized and ‘several’ people were reported for summons across the City of Manchester division.

The first job of the night was a man who tested positive for drugs while driving, police said.

The second was a man who ‘decided to pick a fight with a tram door’. He was spotted kicking and punching a Metrolink tram and ‘unfortunately for him, the tram won the battle’ said police, as he was arrested for disorderly conduct.

The third job was ‘a two for the price of one’, police said. Officers on patrol with the transport unit spotted a suspicious car near Victoria Station.

“On stopping the vehicle, the male passenger was wanted by officers from GMP Ashton on suspicion assaulting a female,” said police.

“He was offered a cell for the night and will be interviewed throughout the day. When we further examined the vehicle, a strong odour of cannabis was detected, resulting in the driver being tested at the roadside.

“Checks revealed cannabis in her system, resulting in a hat-trick for our arrests.”

Later on, an uninsured vehicle was stopped and eleven stolen mobile phones were found inside. Two men were arrested.

“Further enquires suggest these males have paid a visit to Lancashire overnight and returned with a quantity of stolen phones, likely to be stolen from 11? different victims!” said police.

“Following their arrest our Inspector authorised us to search their address for further suspected stolen items. On our attendance to the house in question, the property was found to be in squalid conditions, resulting in two people being arrested on suspicion of child neglect. “

Police said the action was taken as part of Operation Custodian - the long-running police campaign aimed at keeping the city centre safe at weekends and other key times.

However, police pointed out that the seven arrests resulted in ‘a mountain of paperwork’, meaning the majority of the officers would be working at 15-16 hour shift.