Oldham 4 on police most wanted list

Brian Bolton is wanted.

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Greater Manchester’s 40 most wanted criminals — including four from Oldham — are being broadcast around the county this week on a police van fitted with huge screens.


The digital version of the wanted poster shows the faces of those wanted in connection with a variety of offences, including murder, sexual offences, burglary, robbery, and assault.

The Oldham offenders are Omar Safdar (23), sought in connection with a conspiracy to supply Class A drugs; Damian Skelly (21), wanted for recall to prison, and Darren Lee Sharpe (34) and Brian Bolton (34), both wanted in connection with domestic violence assaults.

The van started its tour of the city centre and 10 other busy locations yesterday, exactly 10 years after Crimestoppers’ most wanted online gallery was launched in the UK.

Supt Craig Thompson, from Greater Manchester Police, said: “This week the faces of Greater Manchester’s most wanted criminals will be beamed across the area as part of the Crimestoppers Week of Action.

“Officers will be making it a top priority to search for and arrest those most wanted. We will be relying on help and information from the public via Crimestoppers to help us find those who have, up to now, avoided facing up to their crimes.

“There will be significant activity in each division across Greater Manchester and we will be utilising a number of resources to make the week a success.

“Nothing is more important to us than the safety of our communities and I want to assure everybody that during the week of action there will be nowhere to hide for the individuals that we are seeking.”

The launch in Manchester coincides with similar launches in London and Glasgow, with vans visiting other major cities.

To date, the Crimestoppers website has listed a total of 12,524 appeals, leading to 3,589 arrests. More than 100,000 people have contacted the charity in Greater Manchester over the past 25 years.

Crimestoppers’ most wanted list was launched on November 17, 2005 and was, at the time, the first national online source of wanted individuals in the UK.

The site initially provided photographs and descriptions of known suspects before expanding to include an “unknowns” section of CCTV images.

The aim was, and still is today, to give members of the public the opportunity to give information about any of the suspects to Crimestoppers anonymously.

Today the Crimestoppers most wanted site is proving to be as popular as ever — receiving around 30,000 views every month from the public.

Gary Murray, North-West regional manager of Crimestoppers, said: “Most wanted appeals to the nation’s armchair detectives — those who want to help fight crime from the safety of their own home and, above all else, anonymously.

“It was quite ground-breaking when it first launched as the first national online source of wanted individuals and it continues to be an important tool for UK law enforcement today.”

Email: alexcarey@oldham-chronicle.co.uk