Inside the plush Manchester suburb where gangsters live side-by-side with celebrities

Hale,just outside of Manchester,is a popular option for celebs (Picture: Bruce Adams/Daily Mail)

We never truly know who our neighbours are,do we?

For residents in Hale,a posh village outside of Manchester,that sentiment has proved to be more than true.

Just nine miles south of Manchester,the small village is filled with celebrities – but a darker side shows that crime bosses live right next door.

Carl Jones,59,lived in a detached home in the centre of Hale,but was jailed for more than 30 years after being found guilty of dealing drugs and guns.

Another resident,Philip Waugh,40,supplied military-grade weapons to gangs and blinded a victim with acid,the National Crime Agency found.

Sign up for all of the latest stories

Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.Even as two notorious criminals were caught within the past year,having lived in Hale,the town is still a hotspot for celebrities,including Molly Mae and Tommy Fury.But locals who have lived in Hale for decades told the Daily Mail that things feel amiss.The Cheshire village plays host to a lot of celebrities (Picture: Bruce Adams/Daily Mail)A local business owner said: ‘It started in the last ten or fifteen years. Some of the new shops and businesses just seem to have come from nowhere. ‘How can a shop make money when it’s empty all week? For me,there are just too many tinted windows,cold stares and mystery. ‘I used to know everyone with a business in Hale,but now I feel surrounded by strangers. Most of the locals used to drive old Volvos,and it was all fairly low-key. ‘There are rumours that some of the blacked-out Range Rovers have bulletproof glass. Something has changed.’In 2018,another major drug lord was found to have been living in leafy Hale,operating a £66,000,000 operation out of his home.Celebs Molly Mae and Tommy Fury live in the leafy enclave (Picture: Social Media)Julian Solomon was one of eight men to be caught after police found more than £66 million worth of Class A drugs in the back of a lorry – the biggest drug seizure Greater Manchester Police has ever made.Solomon,a former bouncer,ran the operation that saw drugs trafficked from Belgium to the UK via Holland from his home in Hale,close to Manchester Airport.He then arranged for the drugs to be distributed among dealers across the region. Seven of the gang were jailed – for over 103 years in total – after being convicted of drug conspiracy charges.Solomon,37,was found guilty of conspiracy to import cocaine and heroin and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at .