'Things had to change on terrifying estate'

Carol Knight was at home in the Derker area of Oldham when flames lit up the bedroom window.

Outside, the 77-year-old's car was ablaze, having been deliberately set on fire.

"There was nothing left of it, so it was quite a shock really," she said of the incident in 2023. She said she had been "terrified" and knew "things had to change".

Last year, after five shootings between November 2024 and January 2025, Greater Manchester Police set about taking back control of the area through Operation Vulcan.

Using a "clear, hold and build" strategy, the force has helped "turn misery into hope", Det Ch Insp Chris Julien said.

Carol said she and her husband had lived in Derker all their lives and "weren't going to move out".

"If things were happening, we weren't afraid of reporting it to the police," she added.

But Julien said people had become "terrified, and were prisoners in their own homes", not wanting to go out after dark.

The last of the five shootings that came before the launch of Operation Vulcan happened when a gunman forced two people out of the back of a taxi and opened fire, seriously injuring a man.

Ethan Glasgow-Lattibeaudiere, 23, was later jailed for 16 years.

It was believed the shooting was the result of a turf war between rival drugs gangs from Derker and the Oldham Edge estate in Coldhurst.

Operation Vulcan was first launched by GMP in the Strangeways area to tackle the sale of counterfeit goods and the associated organised crime.

The same police officers were used to tackle anti-social behaviour and drug dealing around Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester city centre before they moved to Derker.

The strategy of the Vulcan operations is to clear an area of criminal activity, hold that position and then build it into a more prosperous place to live.

Over the last 10 months in Derker, there have been more than 200 arrests, 200 vehicles have been seized, four firearms have been taken off the streets and drugs worth thousands of pounds have been recovered.

Work has begun to build 132 new homes in Derker on four brownfield sites at Cromford Street, London Road, Evelyn Street and Abbotsford Road.

Homes had been demolished as part of the last Labour government's Housing Market Renewal Initiative but the land remained vacant when the national scheme was cancelled by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition in 2011.

Derker resident Beverley Simms, 67, said the streets had been a "wasteland" but things had been better since a tram stop was built.

She added: "Hopefully, things will be a lot better when these new houses are built and you'll probably feel safer walking the streets."

The housing association First Choice Homes Oldham has been working with the council and the police to evict tenants involved in criminal activity.

Mark Gifford, chief executive at First Choice Homes Oldham, said where police had identified tenants involved in crime, the housing association had taken back possession of their homes.

So far, 18 properties have been taken back.

Keith Brown, 90, said: "Derker used to be a grand place, but we had a spell of these bikers selling drugs and for a while I didn't feel safe at night."

"They knocked down the houses before they knew what they were doing but I hope it turns out right for the younger people," he added.

GMP said since Operation Vulcan was launched, violent crime had reduced by 25% and anti-social behaviour had decreased by 26%.

The force said the Derker operation would continue throughout this year.