Live updates for Greater Manchester and east Cheshire have finished for the day, but we'll be back from 08:00 on Friday with more of the day's news, sport, travel and weather.

BBC Weather

It will be a cloudy afternoon, with sporadic outbreaks of rain or drizzle accompanied by some low cloud and hill fog over higher ground such as Compton Moor.

It will stay fairly mild, though rather breezy at times. Maximum temperature: 10C

It will be rather cloudy overnight with further patchy rain and drizzle at times and a minimum temperature of 7C.

More from BBC Weather

Pictures released by the fire service show the scale of the fire that broke out this morning in Oldham, forcing hundreds of people to be evacuated from their homes.

Image source, GMFRS

A total of 100 homes were cleared as 80 firefighters tackled the major fire at a former cotton mill in Cardwell Street.

Image source, GMFRS

Fire crews later had to withdraw as part of the building collapsed in the intense heat which could be felt 1,600ft (500m) away.

Image source, GMFRS

It took crews nearly seven hours to get the blaze under control but Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said it managed to stop the flames causing electricity blackouts to 2,500 homes and avert gas explosions.

Image source, GMFRS

Bolton News

Bolton Council could increase council tax by 6% over the next two years to pay for social care., external

Image source, Geograph/Mr M Evison

BBC Sport

Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan is set to be out for "several months" with knee ligament damage, boss Pep Guardiola has confirmed.

Image source, PA

Gundogan, who joined City from Borussia Dortmund for £20m in June, limped off in tears in his side's 2-0 win over Watford on Wednesday.

"I'm so sad as it looks like we'll be without him for a long time," said the City boss.

• A former mill in Oldham could be on the verge of collapse after a major fire this morning causing hundreds of people to be evacuated from their homes
• Councillors in Rochdale have approved a 34% pay rise for themselves
• A popular brand of pink wafer is under threat after a Wigan company went into administration following a "sharp fall" in the value of sterling after Brexit

A fire also broke out at the Maple Mill site in 2009 when an explosion in a diesel generator outside the mill caused major damage.

Image source, Graham North

The building also suffered major damage in late September when around 50 firefighters attended another fire at the Cardwell Street site.

Image source, GMFRS

BBC Sport

League One side Bury have moved Chris Brass from head of football operations to the role of head coach on a deal until the end of the season.

Image source, Getty Images

The 41-year-old has been in interim charge since David Flitcroft left the Shakers after an 11-game winless run.

Brass, who spent 18 months as a player at Bury, was Flitcroft's assistant before he took up his former position.

Ryan Kidd will be assistant to Brass, while Chris Sedgwick will remain as first-team coach.

Councillors in Rochdale have approved a 34% pay rise for themselves.

It means their basic annual allowance will rise from less than £8,000 to more than £10,000 in a move that will cost the council £158,000 a year.

Council leader Richard Farnell will be awarded a 51% pay rise, to more than £47,000 a year. 

The council said the basic allowance is still below the Greater Manchester average.

Signs across Greater Manchester's Metrolink tram network have been running a message of support for Oldham band Inspiral Carpets' bid to get to the top of the charts for Christmas.

Fans of the band have been trying to get their 1994 single Saturn 5 to number one in memory of drummer Craig Gill, who died in November.

Sean Coughlan
BBC News, education correspondent

The biggest shake-up of school funding in England for decades will see less funding for big cities including Manchester to give bigger budgets for schools in the suburbs.

Image source, Reuters

Education Secretary Justine Greening has announced a new national funding formula for schools from 2018-19, saying it would resolve "unfair" and "inconsistent" funding levels.

But it will not increase the overall budget - and the National Audit Office says schools face cuts of £3bn.

Fire crews are still working to extinguish the fire at Maple Mill, as 80 firefighters remain at the scene.

Parts of the building are unstable, and there is still a lot of smoke in the area as residents are urged to keep windows and doors closed.

Former England football captain Rio Ferdinand said he has donated £500,000 worth of toys and gifts to a children's charity.

The Manchester United star posted, external on his official Facebook page he and his Rosso Restaurant hoped to "put a smile on locals kids' faces this Christmas".

He announced the donation live on air to Cash for Kids, the official charity of Manchester radio station Key 103.

The charity said it was "totally overwhelmed" with the donation.

Phil McNulty
BBC Sport chief football writer

Manchester United defender Marcos Rojo is a "clean player with an aggressive nature", says manager Jose Mourinho.

Image source, Reuters

Rojo escaped with a yellow card from referee Craig Pawson for a two-footed lunge on Wilfried Zaha during United's 2-1 win at Crystal Palace on Wednesday.

The Argentine also avoided a red card for a similar challenge on Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye in the 1-1 draw at Goodison Park on 4 December.

"Rojo is playing phenomenally," said Mourinho.

Charlie Slater
BBC Weather presenter

It will be a cloudier day than yesterday and there will be outbreaks of rain or drizzle 

It will stay fairly mild, though rather breezy at times. Maximum temperature: 10C.

More from BBC Weather

JD Sports is launching an investigation into working conditions at its Kingsway distribution centre after a report by Channel 4 found workers complaining it was "worse than a prison".

Image source, JD Sports

The retailer said it was "disappointed and concerned" at the Channel 4 News footage, adding it was not an "accurate reflection of our culture".

However, JD Sports said it would begin an investigation of the Rochdale site.

The report alleges that workers can be sacked after three minor misdemeanours.

A pink wafer manufacturer has gone into administration after the sharp fall in the pound since Brexit "compounded" the firm's already challenging trading conditions.

Image source, Thinkstock

Over the past year Wigan-based Rivington Biscuits has "experienced particularly challenging trading conditions" and has been "left with no viable alternative other than to seek the protection of administration".

The company, which makes Pink Panther wafers, will cut 99 of its 123 staff and retain 24 while it seeks a buyer.

Administrator FRP Advisory said the firm would "fulfil orders into the New Year". 

Fire crews are still at the scene of the fire that broke out at a mill in Oldham at about 04:00.

A man has been jailed for 15 years after being convicted of historical sex abuse.

Michael Burke, 37, from Rochdale, was earlier found guilty of eight counts of rape and another serious sexual offence against three women over an 18-year-period.

Burke was cleared of nine other serious sexual offences after a three-week trial at Manchester Crown Court.

He had claimed his accusers were involved in a "conspiracy" against him.

• Hundreds of people have been evacuated from their homes as more than 70 firefighters tackle a huge fire at a mill in Oldham
• Greater Manchester's councils are expecting to be £175m a year short of what they need for social care by 2021
• Planners will decide today whether to approve a scheme to more than double the size of Salford City FC's ground