GREATER Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham visited Ramsbottom last weekend ahead of the upcoming local election.

Mr Burnham was in the town to support the Labour Party’s candidate for Ramsbottom, Kevin Thomas, and visited street stalls to speak to shoppers and residents about their concerns.

They were joined by Bury Council leader Cllr Rishi Shori, Bury North MP James Frith, and several other members of the local Labour Party.

In addition to speaking to residents, the group were also out collecting signatures for a petition to tackle government cuts to school budgets, which it is claimed will see Bury school funding down by £6.6m by 2020.

Mr Burnham said: "It was great to meet local residents in Ramsbottom and Prestwich this weekend. They raised concerns about the impact of ongoing cuts to public services, specifically the police.

“GMP has lost almost 2,000 officers since 2010. I am working hard to increase their numbers and improve the police presence on our streets."

Ramsbottom Labour local election candidate Kevin Thomas, who works as a secondary school teacher, said: “It was great to have Mayor Andy Burnham in Rammy to talk to local residents about the issues which matter to us.

“He supports our campaign against cuts to local schools, promised to keep fighting for more police officers to keep our communities safe and listened to concerns about plans to build on the green belt.

“If elected as a councillor for Ramsbottom I will be working closely with the Mayor, Bury Council and our MP on all of these issues.”

After his visit to Ramsbottom, Mr Burnham then headed to Prestwich to speak to residents there.