UPDATE: |Dawn broke and officers spread across the town… then doors started getting smashed in News

Shouts through the letterbox went unanswered, so the battering rams came out

Before the sun had even fully risen, one corner of Bury town centre was packed. Around a 100 police officers stood in neat lines, listening intently.

They were facing the statue of former Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel. Not only one of the town’s most famous sons, he is also regarded as the father of modern British policing due to his founding of the Metropolitan Police in 1829.

Those first officers were affectionately called ‘bobbies’, a nickname that has stuck to this day.

The location was not a coincidence. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) chiefs chose his memorial as the spot from which to launch a day of proactive action across the town. It was part of Operation Avro, a force-wide blitz on local crime which moves to a new area each month.

The officer overseeing it, Detective Superintendent Stuart Round, told his own bobbies that Sir Robert’s founding principles were a ‘cornerstone’ and ‘remain as relevant as ever.’

Their boss, Chief Constable Stephen Watson, told them they were the ‘tip of our spear.’ And within minutes, that metaphorical spear was swung into action.

The large group of officers dispersed, split into small teams, and climbed into a convoy of vans, which spread out to locations across the town, to execute warrants.

Three vans pulled up on an estate a few miles away from the town centre where they have been reported issues with drugs and anti-social behaviour. They shuffle out towards the semi-detached house they are about to raid.

Knocks at the door and shouts of ‘police’ through the letterbox went unanswered. ‘Open this door or its coming through’ shouted an officer.

It was only as one of two battering rams were passed forward and started to be hammered against the door, creating a defening thud, that there were shouts of ‘wait!’ and ‘I’m coming down!’ from an upstairs window.

It was too late. The door was taken partly off its hinges before finally being breached and officers rushed inside. A man was detained and handcuffed.

Inside the house, GMP say, cannabis, a samurai sword and a ‘police-style baton’ were recovered. Two off-road bikes were also seized.

The man, aged 59, was arrested on suspicion of on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and possession of class B drugs with intent to supply.

Warrants were executed at a number of other addresses, including one on the same street, and businesses. A total of 14 arrests were made whilst six weapons and £5000 in cash was seized.

Back in the town centre, Mr Burnham said: “Anyone going into work in Bury this morning might have been slightly surprised to see a hundred or so officers gathered in the centre under the statue of Sir Robert Peel.

“But I bet it made a lot of people think ‘oh that’s good to see.’ But that’s the new GMP.”

Chf Con Watson said AVRO was ‘something people are becoming increasingly familiar with’ and was ‘about putting our best foot forward and showing the power of GMP.’

It showed ‘why neighbourhood policing is so important’ he added but said there was ‘no degree of complacency’ within the force.

“Confidence is a lagging indicator” he said. “You have to do a lot of stuff.

“There’s a Dutch saying, trust arrives on foot and leaves on horseback. The fact of the matter is, you have to do things consistently before it starts to break through. We are starting to see that.”