'˜People deserve to die', rants wanted Blackpool man

A Blackpool man being hunted by police has warned that '˜people deserve to die'.

Ian Sparkes (pictured right) is wanted by detectives investigating a series of thefts from gaming machines.

They have appealed publicly for information that could lead to the 28-year-old’s capture.

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Just hours before officers urged Sparkes, of Grasmere Road, central Blackpool, to give himself up, he threatened one woman online and told his Facebook friends to ‘watch what I do this year’.

He also posted a picture online of a bundle of £20 notesHe also posted a picture online of a bundle of £20 notes
He also posted a picture online of a bundle of £20 notes

“You clearly know where my daughter is,” he wrote. “At least I can mess with your family this summer now, which means I will get closer to seeing my daughter.

“Scumbags. People deserve to die. Watch what I do this year.

“People getting knocked out and people going in the van.”

And yesterday, a day after police appealed for help in finding him on social media posts shared dozens of times, he wrote on his profile: “Keep sharing. Everybody that shares loses windows.”

He also posted a picture online of a bundle of £20 notesHe also posted a picture online of a bundle of £20 notes
He also posted a picture online of a bundle of £20 notes
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Sparkes, who also has links to Oldham, is alleged to have stolen cash from a number of machines across the country, and to have laundered money, Lancashire Police said.

He was arrested and quizzed in August last year after £320 was stolen from a machine at The New Manchester pub, on the Promenade, on April 12, and following thefts in Greater Manchester.

He was bailed but failed to return to the police station, sparking Tuesday’s appeal to find him, a spokeswoman for Lancashire Police said.

Det Con Mark Riley, of Blackpool Police, added: “We would ask anyone who knows of his whereabouts or information about his location to contact police. I would also urge Sparkes, if he sees this appeal, to hand himself in.”

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Writing on Facebook, Sparkes, who said he went to Palatine High School and St George’s, claims to have moved house at the end of last month, uploading pictures of his ‘new gaff’ and writing that ‘city life is peak compared to town life’.

And in several posts, he talks of his frustration of not being able to see his daughter.

One picture shared on January 16 alongside the words ‘Love London’ showed a bundle of £20 notes (pictured above).

Sparkes wrote: “You have to earn it in life, lad.”

He also claimed in separate posts three days earlier that £250 was taken off him at Blackpool Police Station, and said he ‘won’t be attending bail’, urging officers to ‘either charge me or NFA [no further action’.

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Sparkes was described as white, 6ft tall, and of a slim build. He has a scar on the back of his head.

Anybody with information can call police on 101.

Alternatively, they can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at Crimestoppers-uk.org.