Seventy Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims and police joined a new kind of Chanucah party in Manchester on Tuesday.

Top brass at Greater Manchester Police sponsored a supper attended by assistant chief constable Terry Sweeney at Manchester Maccabi in Prestwich to mark the first night of Chanucah with singing from Manchester King David High pupils. The event was organised by Manchester's Representative Council and attended by GMPA's chairman Cllr Paul Murphy.

But there was a serious side to the night - it is one of a series of interfaith events designed to glean feedback from faiths on priorities regarding crime.

Attendees filled out a questionnaire on the force's performance. Mr Sweeney said the summer riots had showed the "importance to understand the complexity of faith communities".