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Man questioned by police over illegal Denton car cruise

A man has been questioned by police in connection with last weekend's illegal car cruising event in Denton.

Greater Manchester Police say the 25-year-old was interviewed by officers on Thursday (23 July), after voluntarily attending an interview at a police station in Hyde.

A representative from Tameside Council’s Environmental Health team was also present. 

Police, who haven't disclosed the identity of the man or where he is from, say he continues to be under investigation.

Hundreds of cars and thousands of people descended on Windmill Lane in the town last Sunday, resulting in misery for motorists on the M60 and M67 who were stuck for hours in lengthy tailbacks, while Denton residents were subjected to countless cars and motorbikes revving and racing around their streets, cheered on by huge crowds. 

Denton MP Andrew Gwynne said he was "absolutely appalled" by the "disgraceful and extremely dangerous behaviour". 

Superintendent Jane Higham, of GMP’s Tameside district, has said the force hopes the interviewing of the man reinforces to the public that it remains "absolutely committed" to investigating the illegal event which she described as "reckless" and "not acceptable". 

She commented: “We continue to recognise the level of upset and dissatisfaction within the local community after the events of last Sunday (19 July 2020). The scenes posted on social media were not acceptable and we are absolutely committed to piecing together the full circumstances of this event.

“We hope that the news that a man has been interviewed by police officers reinforces our commitment and demonstrates that we are still actively investigating, alongside our partners at the local authority.

“It’s important to stress that enquiries into last Sunday’s event are very much ongoing and we will pursue anyone found to have committed an offence. This type of behaviour is reckless and puts our communities at risk.

“Here in Tameside we will also continue to explore all measures available to us, with a view to preventing any similar events occurring in the future. By the same token, we would urge the public to please reach out to us if they have any intelligence that could help us gather a wider picture and stop the coordination and organisation of such illegal events taking place in the next few weeks or months.

“Thanks to similar intelligence, we were able to stop an illegal rave happening in the area last weekend – which just goes to show how important the support and help of the public is.”

Earlier, Greater Manchester Police announced that it will be holding a live Q&A chat online on Thursday 30 July for local residents to ask questions about the police's response to the event. 

Anyone with any information about last Sunday's event should contact police on 101, quoting incident number 1748 of 19/07/2020. Details can also be passed anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

 

Main image:

Some of the disgraceful scenes at Windmill Lane in Denton which were posted on Snapchat.

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