I only stumbled upon the name Trevor Hardy last week whilst watching the crimewatch programme. i found it strange that, as someone who grew up in Newton Heath, Moston area, that I have not heard of him.
I decided to ask my family about him.
From what I gather, its still a sensitive issue in that part of Manchester, and typical manchester, whatever happens in north manchester seems to be forgotten... It appears that Trevor Hardy was always a 'bad un' and there are a plethora of stories about his antics... Chasing people, stalking people and so on... There was one story, where some kid called him an abusive name from what appeared to be a safe distance... Trevor then chased said child, and he did not give up chasing... He eventually chased this kid into his own home. The kid slamming his door behind him only for trevor to kick down the door, luckily, this kids mum was around to 'shue' him out...
And another story of him stalking my uncle, who was barley a teenager, around brookdale park. My uncle, scared because he, like everyone else in Newton heath, was quite aware of the terror Trevor caused to people, made his way into the bowling area of the park.. he then told his predicament to the men who were playing bowls. They told him to "sit with 'em on a bench". Trevor then made his way into the bowling green and walked past the bench... all the while his stare focused onto my uncle. The men then decided that it would be best that he stay with them for a while until they were sure that he had gone.
Also, his dad, who was distinctive by his blue cap, used to drink in the church on Droylsden Road in Newton Heath. Nobody ever mentioned Trevor to him, and no one ever gave him a hard time as he was a 'decent' bloke.
Finally, I used to walk past that area of the lightbowne estate on a daily basis a few years ago... and to know what happend on that bit of wasteground gives me shivers...