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Month: February 2012

Thieves dig 100ft tunnel to rob cash machine

Written by Hannah Tosh on . Posted in News.

A group of thieves dug a 100ft tunnel underground to rob a cash machine attached to a Blockbuster Store in Fallowfield of £6,000.

The robbery, which took place on January 2, was the second time in four years that the cash machine had been targeted by a tunnel. After the robbery four years ago the tunnel was filled in.

The police believe that the criminals could have spent up to 6 months building the passageway that was approximately 100ft in length and 4ft tall.

The thieves dug the tunnel from a rail embankment at the rear of the store underneath the car park and foundations of the buildings. The tunnel ended directly beneath the cash machine where the gang then had to cut through more than 15 inches of concrete to get to the ATM.

The thieves only managed to steal a limited amount of cash as the machine had yet to be filled up following the busy Christmas period. Had the machine have been refilled up to £20,000 could have been stolen.

Police said that it was quite a sophisticated heist as lights and support beams had been fitted throughout the tunnel. They estimated it could have taken around six months to be built. Detective Sergeant Ian Shore said: “we doubt they would have been able to keep their plans secret for all that time, without telling others about their scheme. They must also have spent a lot of time in the area over the past few months, which people may have noticed. In all my years of service I have never seen something quite as elaborate as this.”

The police urge anyone living in the Fallowfield area noticed anything suspicious to get in touch.

Editor’s Note, Issue 10 (Christmas Issue)

Written by Nick Renaud-Komiya on . Posted in News.

Well, that went fast didn’t it?

The first semester is almost at an end. Many of you will be studying abroad next year, beginning a whole new chapter in your university life. Looking back now I wish I had been more active and had spent six months overseas. You’ll be back next September with stories to tell and new friends made.

We here at Mancunion Towers will be saying some fond farewells to some of our team. Phoebe Chambre, one of our brilliant Arts editors will be jetting off to Vancouver, while Patrick Madden, one half of our super dedicated Sports editorial team will be spending half a year in Australia.

I hope you two have a great time and return with hilarious suntans. Canada isn’t known for its tropical climate but who knows, anything is possible!

So, what do we have in store for you this week?

The music team have done battle to find the 11 best albums of 2011, along with the year’s highlights. Turn to page 20 to find out who made it to the top of the list.

The law requires that we publish a recipe for Christmas dinner (on pain of death!), so go to page 26 to see how to put on an ace festive meal for you and your housemates. Why not have a go at whipping up some mulled wine. We’ve got it covered here.

So there we have it, our last issue of the year. We hope you’ve enjoyed reading our humble rag this first semester. If you would like to get involved putting it together please do get in touch. We are always looking for contributors, both young and old, undergrad and post grad alike. Look out for our special recruitment event happening at the start of next semester.

For those of you with exams in January, I wish you all the best of luck.

Above all, enjoy yourselves over the festive period.

Now, I’m off for an eggnog.