Kelly Mattison

I am a reporter for the Congleton Chronicle weekly newspaper. I previously worked as a freelance journalist and my work was published in The Guardian, Big Issue North and York Press. In October 2023  I completed my studies at News Associates for my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism.  I received a bursary from the Journalism Diversity Fund to complete this. 

My Recent Work

Mancunian Matters •

WATCH: Manchester charity provides free vet care to homeless dogs

Gary has come to The Station pub car park in Tameside to get his three-year old dog Darcy seen by a vet.

The 50-year-old from Manchester was street homeless for three years and is now sofa-surfing.

On the first Wednesday of every month people who are homeless can get their pets examined for free by a vet from Street Paws charity outside the pub.

For four days a week the pub is transformed into the We Shall Overcome hub where pub landlady Pauline Town MBE has been handing out free packed lunch
York Press •

York campaigner 'heartbroken' as bid to help sex abuse victims rejected

Kev Curran, 43, from Clifton, began his campaign in memory of his brother Declan who took his own life aged just 13 in 1995 after allegedly being raped by a sex offender.

Kev received more than 10,000 signatures on a petition to make it mandatory for police and the CPS to offer counselling to child victims of abuse.

The UK Government responds to all petitions which reach 10,000 signatures.

But its reply to Kev's petition stated: “The provision of counselling to victims of child sexual abuse i
Mancunian Matters •

American bulldog battered by her previous owner finds love in her forever home

An American bulldog who suffered a brutal beating at the hands of her previous owner for chewing the TV remote has been adopted into a loving home.

A witness called the RSPCA when they heard Kia yelping and said they heard a man shouting at her, hitting her in the face, stamping on her, and picking something up from the ground and hitting her twice in the head with it.

Within two hours of receiving the call an inspector from the charity arrived at the Rochdale property accompanied by police.
Mancunian Matters •

North West Ambulance Service appeals to public for support during January strikes

Patients requiring non-urgent hospital treatment on 11 and 23 January are being urged not to call 999 due to further ambulance strikes.

Instead, North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust’s advice is to take alternative transport such as a taxi or get a lift from family and friends.

While ambulances will be available on these dates, the service needs to ensure they are available for people with urgent and life threatening injuries or illnesses, such as cardiac arrest, loss of consciousness and ser
York Press •

Grime and hip hop artist from York gets BBC Radio 1Xtra play for new single

Kritikal Powers uploaded his new track All Hands on Deck onto the BBC Introducing website and the station picked it out from its database.

“It’s rare that this happens,” he said. A producer from 1Xra contacted him to let him know they would spin the record the same evening.

With no back up from a record label the artist’s current plays on Soundcloud are 872,627 and he previously shot to number 63 in the iTunes charts sitting alongside platinum selling rapper 50 Cent.

Kritikal, real name Liam,
Mancunian Matters •

Indie punk singer songwriter Jamie T whips audience into a frenzy in sell out gig in Manchester

After a five-year hiatus Indie-punk singer songwriter Jamie Treays made a victorious return to the stage last night in Manchester’s Victoria Warehouse as part of his 5th album sell out tour.

The artist referred to the re-issue of his debut hit album Panic Prevention in July this year to mark its 15th year anniversary and addressed his screaming fans “We went platinum in a couple of days Manchester. Thank you for that day.”

Treays’s first appearance on stage was greeted by his army of ecstatic
the Guardian •

'Now I feel free': why social workers must be ready to help care leavers forgive

“We have to understand that to forgive is not to say that it was OK, but to free ourselves from the pain. We are reclaiming that power and saying to the world, we have a choice,” says Jenny Molloy, care leaver, motivational speaker, bestselling author and patron of the British Association of Social Workers. “Professionals need to help us to get to that point.”

At nine years old, after experiencing severe neglect from both of her parents, Molloy walked into a police station with her two younger
the Guardian •

Teaching boys about healthy relationships: 'They need it from birth'

“Misogyny is getting worse and it’s toxic for boys to grow up in a society where girls and women are treated poorly,” says Birmingham headteacher Sarah Hewitt-Clarkson.

Last year, her primary school became the first in the UK to hire community interest company A Call to Men UK to train two male members of staff to talk to boys aged between nine and 11 about what it means to be man.


Surely children don’t need to be taught about these issues at such a young age? “They need it from birth,” says
the Guardian •

How interviewing successful care leavers taught young people to dream big

“When I was younger I used to actually think that I was going to be a massive failure because people made it sound like being in care was the worst thing that could happen to you,” says Lauren, 16.

“But since we’ve interviewed [inspiring care leavers], it’s amazing how wrong everyone was and now when I do stuff, I don’t think that I’m going to fail. I think that as long as I try my hardest and do my best then I don’t really care what anyone thinks as long as I’m proud of myself.” Lauren is one
the Guardian •

I see domestic abuse everywhere – but people still don't understand what it is

As an independent domestic violence worker, I have trained doctors and nurses in A&E departments across Greater Manchester in how to spot the signs of domestic violence, and worked one-to-one with patients in hospital with visible injuries. I am a trained to facilitate the freedom programme, a 12-week awareness-raising course on domestic violence. I deliver this programme to women of all ages who have experienced abuse. I also go to schools to teach girls about healthy and unhealthy relationship
the Guardian •

Where community rehabilitation ‘is harder than a short-term jail sentence’

A group of offenders on a community rehabilitation programme have been shown the reality of car-related crime by firefighters from Greater Manchester fire service.

Eight offenders recently spent a day at Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service training centre where they took part in a simulated exercise to pull a passenger free from a mangled car after a serious road accident. Thai Smith, 25, from Burnley, was given the job of holding the “injured” car driver in place while the other offende
Load More
York Press •

York campaigner 'heartbroken' as bid to help sex abuse victims rejected

Kev Curran, 43, from Clifton, began his campaign in memory of his brother Declan who took his own life aged just 13 in 1995 after allegedly being raped by a sex offender.

Kev received more than 10,000 signatures on a petition to make it mandatory for police and the CPS to offer counselling to child victims of abuse.

The UK Government responds to all petitions which reach 10,000 signatures.

But its reply to Kev's petition stated: “The provision of counselling to victims of child sexual abuse i
Mancunian Matters •

American bulldog battered by her previous owner finds love in her forever home

An American bulldog who suffered a brutal beating at the hands of her previous owner for chewing the TV remote has been adopted into a loving home.

A witness called the RSPCA when they heard Kia yelping and said they heard a man shouting at her, hitting her in the face, stamping on her, and picking something up from the ground and hitting her twice in the head with it.

Within two hours of receiving the call an inspector from the charity arrived at the Rochdale property accompanied by police.
Mancunian Matters •

North West Ambulance Service appeals to public for support during January strikes

Patients requiring non-urgent hospital treatment on 11 and 23 January are being urged not to call 999 due to further ambulance strikes.

Instead, North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust’s advice is to take alternative transport such as a taxi or get a lift from family and friends.

While ambulances will be available on these dates, the service needs to ensure they are available for people with urgent and life threatening injuries or illnesses, such as cardiac arrest, loss of consciousness and ser
York Press •

Grime and hip hop artist from York gets BBC Radio 1Xtra play for new single

Kritikal Powers uploaded his new track All Hands on Deck onto the BBC Introducing website and the station picked it out from its database.

“It’s rare that this happens,” he said. A producer from 1Xra contacted him to let him know they would spin the record the same evening.

With no back up from a record label the artist’s current plays on Soundcloud are 872,627 and he previously shot to number 63 in the iTunes charts sitting alongside platinum selling rapper 50 Cent.

Kritikal, real name Liam,
Mancunian Matters •

Indie punk singer songwriter Jamie T whips audience into a frenzy in sell out gig in Manchester

After a five-year hiatus Indie-punk singer songwriter Jamie Treays made a victorious return to the stage last night in Manchester’s Victoria Warehouse as part of his 5th album sell out tour.

The artist referred to the re-issue of his debut hit album Panic Prevention in July this year to mark its 15th year anniversary and addressed his screaming fans “We went platinum in a couple of days Manchester. Thank you for that day.”

Treays’s first appearance on stage was greeted by his army of ecstatic
the Guardian •

'Now I feel free': why social workers must be ready to help care leavers forgive

“We have to understand that to forgive is not to say that it was OK, but to free ourselves from the pain. We are reclaiming that power and saying to the world, we have a choice,” says Jenny Molloy, care leaver, motivational speaker, bestselling author and patron of the British Association of Social Workers. “Professionals need to help us to get to that point.”

At nine years old, after experiencing severe neglect from both of her parents, Molloy walked into a police station with her two younger
the Guardian •

Teaching boys about healthy relationships: 'They need it from birth'

“Misogyny is getting worse and it’s toxic for boys to grow up in a society where girls and women are treated poorly,” says Birmingham headteacher Sarah Hewitt-Clarkson.

Last year, her primary school became the first in the UK to hire community interest company A Call to Men UK to train two male members of staff to talk to boys aged between nine and 11 about what it means to be man.


Surely children don’t need to be taught about these issues at such a young age? “They need it from birth,” says
the Guardian •

How interviewing successful care leavers taught young people to dream big

“When I was younger I used to actually think that I was going to be a massive failure because people made it sound like being in care was the worst thing that could happen to you,” says Lauren, 16.

“But since we’ve interviewed [inspiring care leavers], it’s amazing how wrong everyone was and now when I do stuff, I don’t think that I’m going to fail. I think that as long as I try my hardest and do my best then I don’t really care what anyone thinks as long as I’m proud of myself.” Lauren is one
the Guardian •

I see domestic abuse everywhere – but people still don't understand what it is

As an independent domestic violence worker, I have trained doctors and nurses in A&E departments across Greater Manchester in how to spot the signs of domestic violence, and worked one-to-one with patients in hospital with visible injuries. I am a trained to facilitate the freedom programme, a 12-week awareness-raising course on domestic violence. I deliver this programme to women of all ages who have experienced abuse. I also go to schools to teach girls about healthy and unhealthy relationship
the Guardian •

Where community rehabilitation ‘is harder than a short-term jail sentence’

A group of offenders on a community rehabilitation programme have been shown the reality of car-related crime by firefighters from Greater Manchester fire service.

Eight offenders recently spent a day at Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service training centre where they took part in a simulated exercise to pull a passenger free from a mangled car after a serious road accident. Thai Smith, 25, from Burnley, was given the job of holding the “injured” car driver in place while the other offende
Load More