Suspects hand themselves in after receiving festive message from GMP

Twenty-seven suspects have handed themselves in to police in Oldham after the force sent a festive message to people who had failed to show up at court.

Officers sent the 'Christmas cards' to 80 people in the area with a 'Merry Christmas' message on the front and a message inside that read: "A warrant for your arrest was issued by crown court."

All the suspects had missed a court date and were required to appear charged with a range of offences including domestic violence, burglary and public order.

The message went on: "You must go to Oldham Police Station now - if you do not come to a police station our officers will arrest you and you could be held in prison until a court date."

Chief Superintendent Chris Bowen, Commander for GMP's Oldham district, said: “We put the cards out notifying individuals that they were wanted and encouraged them to come forward and contact us.

“We wanted to do everything we can to reduce demand and make sure that everything is dealt with efficiently rather than spending weeks knocking on doors when you don’t know whether people will be in.

"For some offences, but not for all, it’s appropriate to drop someone a line and say ‘give us a ring and let’s do something by arrangement'. We did get a significant clear-up, which was impressive.”