PART of Manchester city centre will be sealed off when the Labour Party Spring Conference is held next weekend.

As part of the major police and security operations, G-Mex, the Manchester International Conference Centre (MICC) and the Midland Hotel will be cordoned off.

A number of road closures will be in place from midnight on Thursday, March 11, and the diversions will be signposted. Public transport is expected to be unaffected by the conference and the Metrolink should also run as normal.

The G-Mex Undercroft and Great Northern Phase 1 NCP car parks will be closed to the public from midnight on Thursday, until 6pm on Sunday, March 14.

Chief Superintendent Dave Thompson said: "As a result of the conference and the other events taking place, the city is going to be extremely busy next weekend.

"For a considerable period of time our dedicated planning team have been working hard to ensure the policing operation is comprehensive whilst causing as little disruption as possible to those living, visiting and working in the city centre.

"The policing operation will be high profile and there will be large numbers of officers on the streets.

"Armed officers will also be on duty but people should not be alarmed by the appearance and scale of the policing.

"This is standard practice for an event of this type.

"We recognise that parts of the operation, such as the road closures and car park closures, will cause disruptions for people but they are extremely important in allowing us to effectively police the conference."