Salford in shock as licensee is killed on 46th birthday

A community in Manchester has been left shocked by the killing of landlord Len Tague, who died on his 46th birthday in his pub. Mr Tague had only been the licensee of the Joseph Holt-owned Park Hotel in Monton, Salford, since Christmas. He died following emergency surgery at Hope Hospital in Salford last Friday morning, when a decision was made to turn off his life support machine. Police immediately launched an appeal for witnesses and asked regulars for help. Detective Superintendent Kevin Duffy said: "Len's family are obviously distraught by what has happened. It should have been a day for celebration and instead they spent the day at his bedside." On Saturday night, police charged a 23-year-old man from Salford with murder, robbery and theft of a vehicle in connection with the incident. Mr Tague died nearly two weeks after the murder of Punch landlord Michael Hughes, who was beaten to death as he struggled with an intruder at his pub, the Royal Oak in Pelsall, near Walsall. The body of Hughes, a father-of-five, was discovered in upstairs living quarters on 27 April by cleaners. Detectives said the property had been broken into and a small safe containing less than £1,000 was missing. At the opening of his inquest last Friday, coroner David Milne urged the public to help capture the killer. "I wish to appeal to anybody who knows any of the circumstances leading up to Mr Hughes' death to come forward.