Tens of thousands of pounds that have been forfeited through criminal activity across Greater Manchester will be spent in Oldham.

Following a successful forfeiture of £265,000 at Tameside Magistrates Court last month, £120,000 have been earmarked for two Oldham initiatives.

The Fitton Hill Bulldogs community sport centre will receive £70,000 which will be spent on an additional disability host within the clubhouse while full-size rugby and football pitches will be improved.

The sports centre will also benefit from stronger security provisions and a pavilion refurbishment.

Oldham Mountain Rescue Team, a voluntary organisation that provides professional rescue services 24/7, will also receive £50,000 which will be used to pay for a new van and life-saving equipment.

A further £50,00 will be spent on the 'getaway safe' gangs project which is an early intervention project aimed at young people to challenge attitudes towards gang culture, knife carrying and social responsibility. 

Wigan Youth Zone will also receive £22,000.

The funds come as the Account Freezing Order team of GMP's Economic and Cyber Crime Unit, established in September 2021, said it hit a milestone having forfeited over £5 million in criminal funds this tax year.

The specialist operation called Nest-egg was created in 2022 to target the illicit use of bank accounts by organised criminals, money launders and fraudsters across Greater Manchester.

To date, the team have frozen and forfeited a total of £5,111,165.

One such bust involved a large scale drug smuggler who used a network of companies in Greater Manchester to launder criminal funds.

The team recovered £1,399,388 funds alone from the account.

Across the investigations, at least 50 per cent of the money seized is invested back into the community to fuel projects that mean the most to people in Greater Manchester.

When victims can be identified, their money is also returned to them directly - £2,302,962 of which has been returned since April 2022.

Detective Sergeant Ben Miller, who leads the Account Freezing Order Team, said: “We will continue our hard work to identify criminal bank accounts and freeze them, stripping criminals of their cash and reinvesting this money back into the community will always be our main priority.

“The investigations can often take months or even years to reach the point where we can forfeit criminal funds, it is important to showcase successes like this, to show the public that we are working hard behind the scenes. 

"We continue to ensure that Greater Manchester is not a safe haven for criminals by targeting their greatest asset - their finances."

He also said it is "fitting" that the money will be used for good causes.

Temporary Detective Superintendent Joseph Harrop, the lead for operation Nest-egg added: “Through hard work and dedication, we can reach the point in an investigation where we are able to forfeit funds, we continue to show criminals that crime does not pay in Greater Manchester.”