Police chiefs have tried to allay fears that there is a “Manchester pusher” stalking the city’s waterways, after a cyclist was hurled into a canal at night.

Rumours of a possible serial attacker have been revived after a 34-year-old office worker was thrown into the city’s Bridgewater canal then kicked back in as he tried to save himself from drowning.



The victim said he was “lucky to be alive” after being attacked by a “complete psychopath” on the canal path near Old Trafford football stadium at 10pm last Tuesday.

Greater Manchester police said they were looking for the suspect, said to be a white male aged between 20 and 40, but stressed there was no evidence to link it to other incidents.



The victim, who said he almost drowned after his legs became tangled in his bicycle while he was below the surface of the canal, said he had asked police about the “Manchester pusher” legend and that “they were well aware of the stories”.

“I definitely feel like I’m lucky to be alive. I could easily have drowned because of what he did,” he told the Sunday Times. The victim’s wife posted a warning about a “canal pusher” on a Greater Manchester community page on Facebook.

At least 76 bodies have been discovered in the waters of Greater Manchester since 2007. Seventeen of the deaths were classed as “unexplained”, meaning neither the police nor a coroner was able to determine how the person died.



Police and council chiefs have tried for years to dispel “the myth” of a serial canal pusher but the theory often returns. In 2015, police bosses said there was “no evidence whatsoever” of a serial attacker after a psychology professor suggested the relatively high number of deaths could be down to foul play.

Councillor Pat Karney, Manchester’s city centre spokesman, said the theory of a “Manchester pusher” was an urban myth.

“The police and the council have examined every case in the city centre over the last 10 years and have found no link or connection between the fatalities. Most of the tragedies are through accidents caused by alcohol,” he said.

“It’s an urban myth that will never die, and any time there’s an incident or accident it comes up again. I think it causes distress to the families that have lost their loved ones.”

Chief Inspector Andy Sutcliffe said of Tuesday’s attack: “I understand, given the circumstances of this report, that people will be alarmed, but I need to stress there is no evidence to suggest that this is linked to any other incidents and we’ve had no further reports.

“While we are carrying out our inquiries and finding out exactly how and why this happened, our main priority is the wellbeing of the victim, and we need to make sure that his best interests are at the forefront of our investigation.”