Fourth youth charged with murder of teen
MUM FROM ECCLES APPEARS IN TV SHOW HIGHLIGHTING ISSUES CREATED BY THE REGION’S DRAMATIC PROPERTY BOOM
A MUM-of-two from Eccles stars in a show about the impact of Greater Manchester’s property boom on communities.
Christina Hughes, 41, says she went through the nightmare of being forced out of her home through no fault of her own, only to find out she could no longer afford to live in the area.
Christina - whose story is followed in BBC Two’s Manctopia: Billion Pound Property Boom - lived in a three-bedroom semi-detached home in Winton with her children Hadley, six and Kit, five, for five years.
The 41-year-old, who works 30 hours a week for a delivery service, was paying £670 a month to a private landlord and just about getting by, thanks to help from her mum Marian, 65, who lived nearby and assisted with childcare duties.
“I’m managing, but there’s no spare,” she tells the first episode of the programme.
Christina’s world was rocked after the landlord sent her a Section 21 notice seeking possession of the property. In certain circumstances this can be served by a landlord who wants to take back control the property they have rented out, with tenants having up to two months to vacate.
“I thought I was going to be here for a long, long time,” Christina says.
After going to local estate agents, an anxious Christina quickly realised that she would only be able to afford a onebedroom flat, because of how rents had soared between 2014, when thenchancellor George Osborne announced his Northern Powerhouse plan, and 2019.
This pushed Christina into seeking help from the council, through Salford Housing Office, to apply for social properties, which are offered at a subsidised rate.
Councils decide who gets offered housing based on a ‘points’ or ‘banding’ system.
Those who are deemed as more ‘in need’ - like being homeless, living in cramped conditions or having a medical condition made worse by your current home - will be higher on the list.
With each property that appears on the site, around 51 bids are received from residents and families desperately seeking accommodation, the documentary claims. Thankfully for Christina, after becoming homeless and moving in with her mum Marian, she ended up being housed in a two bedroom flat in the area she hoped for.
But she claims that the programme assisted her situation, and many others like her are not so lucky.
The programme highlights how, as development spreads to the outskirts of the city, rents are escalating, making it unaffordable for some existing residents - such as Christina.
● Manctopia: Billion Pound Property Boom starts tomorrow at 9pm on BBC Two.
A fourth teenager has been charged in connection with the murder of 17-year-old Mohamoud Mohamed in south Manchester.
The 17-year-old has been charged with murder and possession of a firearm/ imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. He will appear at Manchester and Salford Magistrates’ Court today. Three others teenage boys, two aged 17 and one aged 19, were previously charged with murder and have appeared in court. Police were called to Henbury Street at around 7.15pm on July 26 after reports of a disturbance. The force said Mohamoud, from Moss Side, was pronounced dead at the scene.
GMP said he suffered stab wounds in what the force described as an altercation.
Four other teenage boys also suffered injuries.
GMP said: “A 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been charged with murder and possession of a firearm/imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. He will appear at Manchester and Salford Magistrates Court on Monday 17 August.”