Police issue update after pub shut down over 'sexual services' with pair arrested

A man and a woman who were arrested after officers raided a pub and found 'significant evidence' it was being used to offer 'sexual services' have both been bailed, police have confirmed.

The Railway, on Manchester Road in Broadheath in Altrincham, was issued with a closure order earlier this week after officers raided the premises. Police said they had evidence that a vulnerable woman was trafficked into the borough to work at the site.

There was also 'significant evidence', the force said, that the pub has been used to 'offer sexual services for reward'. Two people were arrested as magistrates granted a three-month closure order.

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In an update issued today (February 23), a Greater Manchester Police spokesperson said both people - a 63-year-old man and 29-year-old woman - have since been bailed. An investigation is ongoing.

On Wednesday afternoon at the pub, all of the lights were off, the door was locked, and those passing by were met with a bold sign - a reminder of the court's closure order in place - 'to prevent nuisance and disorder'. Those living locally said the pub, which was recently revamped as an Irish bar, was 'always empty', with one woman claiming the 'lights were on and curtains were closed' in the early hours of the morning on the upper floor.

"I knew something was off... it's always empty and the curtains are closed", said Joan, a pensioner, who lives in an apartment just off Manchester Road.

Speaking to the M.E.N, she added: "They were opening at weird times. I'm nosey, and sometimes I'd come home after 3am and the doors were shut but the lights were on and the curtains were closed. I never thought much of it, but it