Two held after incident where man died ‘trying to stop car being stolen’

Flowers have been left near the scene of a “horrible” incident where a “devoted family man” was killed trying to stop his car being stolen.

Chris Hanley, 57, died after being found unresponsive on Olympic Street, in Beswick, Manchester, just before 11am on Saturday.

Police say initial inquiries suggest he was hit by a black Land Rover car and the victim was killed trying to stop his car from being stolen.

Despite the efforts of members of the public and emergency services at the scene, the victim was pronounced dead.

A 35-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder and a 43-year-old man arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender are in custody for questioning.

In a tribute issued through police, Mr Hanley’s family said: “As a family we are heartbroken and shocked at the sudden loss of Chris, a loved and devoted family man who adored his grandchildren, tragically and unfairly, taken way too soon.”

Residents on Olympic Street in Beswick, around half a mile east from Manchester city centre, said they were first alerted by a car revving its engine before emergency services arrived on the scene.

“All I heard was a car revving,” said one local resident, who asked not to be named.

He added: “That’s what woke me up. I looked out the window shortly afterwards and saw some police cars go past followed by an ambulance. The street was full of blue lights.

“One of the people who responded first, she was an off-duty nurse, she was the first person there and may have called the police.

“It has been a bit of a shock, but no-one knows who he was, so we are all in the dark. It’s not like you know one of your neighbours and he has been killed. We don’t know who he was or if he was local.

“It’s a quiet residential area, we have a few Air BnB’s in the area, making it quite noisy on a Saturday night, but I’ve been here since 2007 and it’s been quiet and no incidents like this.”

Another resident, who did not wish to speak at length, said: “It was horrible. I’m still shocked.

“These houses are OK but we are surrounded by estates. We’ve had quite a bit of trouble around here, more so than where I used to live in Longsight.”

Bunches of flowers have been left at the roadside on Holly Street, at the bottom of Olympic Street, which had a damaged street sign, but locals said this was not as a result of Saturday’s incident.

Detective Chief Inspector Rachel Smith from Greater Manchester Police’s Major Incident Team said: “At the centre of this investigation is a grieving family, who we will do all we can to get answers for.

“Our investigation is moving at pace, and I have a team of detectives who continue to work relentlessly to capture a picture of what happened in the events leading up to this incident.”