The bloody and brutal rise of the notorious Cheetham Hill Gang
manchestereveningnews.co.ukThe Cheetham Hill Gang started small. In the early days petty theft, handbag snatching and robbing shops was their bread and butter.
And, initially at least, the pickings were slim. A good job would net those involved a few hundred quid. But soon the ambitious young gangsters set their sights on bigger and better things.
In the late 70s and early 80s a void had opened up in Manchester's gangland. Try MEN Premium for FREE by clicking here for no ads, fun puzzles and brilliant new features. The old established criminal order - loosely based around the Quality Street Gang - had been largely dismantled by a determined and concerted clampdown led by 'God's Cop', the late GMP chief James Anderton.
But that just created opportunities for others. "What is certain is that two events - the success of the armed robbery clampdown and the obsession with the QSG - not only hobbled the old order but also made room for the new," crime writer Peter Walsh says in Gang War, his history of Manchester's gang culture.
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