A family member has paid tribute to a pregnant mother with a ‘heart of gold’ who tragically died in a crash on the M66.
Frankie Julia Hough, from Chadderton in Oldham, was driving southbound on the motorway, near Bury, at the time of the crash at around 3.10pm on Saturday, May 13th.
She was in the car with her two young sons, nine-year-old Tommy, two-year-old Rocky, and her four-year-old nephew Tobias. The pregnant mum, 38, tragically died as a result of her injuries in hospital yesterday.
Her son, Tommy and nephew, Tobias are still in hospital in induced comas. Rocky suffered minor injuries and is being cared for at home by loved ones.
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A family member has described Frankie as being a ‘shining light’ and ‘fierce mother’ with ‘a heart of gold’.
She leaves behind her two boys and her partner Calvin, as well as her parents Julia and Frank, sister Becci Welby, brother-in-law Arron Welby, and many more loved ones.
Frankie had found out she was expecting a baby girl and had only just celebrated with a baby shower the week before she died.
Paying tribute to her on behalf of her family, her brother-in-law, Arron told the Manchester Evening News: “She was the most amazing person, she had a heart of gold. She was a dedicated, fierce mother and she was a fighter for her kids.
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“She was the best auntie. She was a shining light, she would protect her kids with everything she had.”
He added: “She was pregnant and was only just celebrating the week before with a baby shower when she found out she was having a little girl. It’s just so sad.”
Arron said Frankie would now be ‘shining down’ on her son and nephew as they continue to fight in hospital and his son Tobias — Frankie’s nephew — has been a ‘little warrior’.
He continued: “We don’t know what the outcome is going to be when he wakes up, we know he has had a head trauma. We’re hoping there will be no detriment to his long-term health, he is being a strong boy.
Tommy is believed to be also ‘making good progress’ but is still in an induced coma. His dad is by his bedside.
Arron added: “We’re just going day-by-day and bit-by-bit and want our boys back. It’s good if people pray and it gets us through, we want that power and positivity.
“We know she’s [Frankie] shining down on them now and bringing them through and showing us that she’s there and helping. She was just so strong-minded, if anyone was to go she would have picked herself.
“We’ll carry her legacy on. We now need to bring our boys through.”
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Frankie’s family thanked the first responders on the scene who were ‘amazing and professional’. They also thanked the teams at Manchester Royal Infirmary who are caring for the boys and at Royal Preston Hospital who cared for Frankie.
Adil Iqbal, 22, of Hope Street, Accrington, has been charged with one count of causing death by dangerous driving and two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
He appeared in court yesterday (May 15th) wearing a grey tracksuit and spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and address.
A man will complete his visit to every Wetherspoon pub in Britain and Ireland this week as he sips his final pint to conclude his mission.
Most people like to see how far they can make it in a pub crawl but David Bingham, 60, decided to take it much further than that.
The Derbyshire man, who set out on the task in 2019, will conclude his journey of sipping a pint at all 875 Wetherspoon venues this week, including the 40 that have closed.
Now he only has one final pub left to visit, and he’s booked a flight at the South Terminal in Gatwick Airport in order to tick it off his long list.
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The last of the boozers will be The Flying Horse, which is conveniently located right after security at the airport. Wetherspoons has praised his dedication.
Mr Bingham, from West Hallam, has said his other passions are trainspotting and following Burton Albion. He took on the challenge while also pursuing his other hobbies. Mr Bingham told the BBC: “If we were going somewhere new, I’d suss out the Wetherspoons.”
His partner Una Cooper bought him a directory of the pubs and he began ticking them off. “I’ve had a drink in most pubs, I’d say 85%,” he said.
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“I’m a lager lad, definitely. The one in Ramsgate [in the Royal Victoria Pavilion] is my favourite because the history behind that building is incredible.
“But there are five police stations, there are churches, there’s chapels, there’s a tram depot, there’s a fire station.
“They just save these fantastic buildings. I love architecture and I love buildings. It’s a history lesson.”
David Bingham
Wetherspoon spokesman, Eddie Gershon, said: “We applaud David Bingham on his outstanding achievement.
“Many people love to visit Wetherspoon pubs across the UK and Ireland, but only a handful have visited each and every one. David will now join that select group.
“He has obviously put in a lot of time and effort into achieving his goal and we thank him for his dedication to our pubs.”
An elderly woman has celebrated her 108th birthday and revealed her secret to having a long life was having dogs rather than children.
Ada Daniel has lived at Codnor Park Care Home, Derbyshire, since 2015. Knowing the centenarian had a very impressive birthday coming up, staff at her home put the news out there and appealed for 108 birthday cards.
But Ada was inundated with nearly 300 cards — showing what a popular lady she is.
She also received a very special card from the King and Queen to mark her big day.
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Ada couldn’t believe it as she said: “Three hundred? Ooh, gracious! Can’t believe it. Can’t believe it.”
Staff surprised her with a private birthday party which included an afternoon tea and numerous balloons which had been donated during the appeal to make her day extra special.
Kelly Goucher, activity co-ordinator at Ashmere, the company which runs the home, told the BBC: “Ada hasn’t got a lot of family left.
“She never had any children so she doesn’t have any grandchildren so we just wanted to get her as many cards as possible. She quite likes the fact that people know about her because of her age.”
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It was Kelly who decided to launch the appeal for 108 birthday cards on Facebook. She said she was shocked at the number of people who responded and wanted to send Ada their well wishes.
She said: “I woke up to 135 messages the following morning of people wanting to send cards.
Kelly also went on to explain that Ada didn’t have children but instead owned a lot of pet pooches. “She had a lot of greyhounds,” she said.
Adding: “She’s definitely a character. I did ask her what her secret was once and she said it was ‘to have dogs, not kids’.”
An 11-year-old boy has been seriously hurt after being attacked by a dog in Manchester.
The incident happened on Sunday afternoon (June 4th) in Swanley Avenue, Monsall and emergency services, including an air ambulance were in attendance.
Greater Manchester Police have said the young boy sustained injuries which were not life-threatening in the attack.
A 35-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of having a dog dangerously out of control and the animal was also seized, officers said.
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A cordon was put in place along Swanley Avenue, with a number of police vehicles and ambulances at the scene in the immediate aftermath. GMP are now asking for witnesses to come forward.
Officers have appealed for any CCTV, mobile or dashcam footage. Superintendent Nicola Williams said the ‘awful attack’ had left the boy’s family ‘incredibly distressed’.
She added: “I understand the concern an incident of this nature will cause in the wider community, and I want to reassure you we will carry out an extensive investigation into what has happened.
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“The dog has been secured and we have made an arrest of a woman who remains in police custody.”
Members of the public can give information by calling 0161 856 1146, quoting log 1530 of June 4th 2023, or use the LiveChat function on GMP’s website: www.gmp.police.uk. Alternatively, call the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.