The following is just one of the many witness statements released as part of the Hillsborough Independent Panel.
“The crush continued not abating, I remember a policeman jumping onto the caging and perimeter wall and shouting to get back and making pushing gestures at the crowd. This was impossible … At this point the man on my right hand side, I didn’t know him, was obviously unconscious, I couldn’t see too clearly as it was even difficult to move your head. Anyway this man had his head backwards but I was unable to move to assist him …
The next thing I realised was I fell backwards from the pressure at the front. I was trapped from about waist deep with arms and legs and bodies. I looked to my right where the man who was unconscious was and saw he was lying on his back,his eyes wide open with just the whites of his eyes showing, his eyes having rolled backwards. I thought the man was dead at this point and I leant over, pinched his nose, tilted his head back and tried to give him the kiss of life. After a while I lent up, slapped him across the face to try and get some response, but was unable to do so. I remember looking around and behind me and I could see there were about seven policemen standing around not doing anything …I screamed at one policeman to help me saying “Get this guy out, I think he’s dead.” …
I have heard stories in the press but I can say I saw nothing which I would class as a criminal offence before or after the crush …
My opinion is that I realise what’s been said in the press about the reasons for opening the gate but that situation should never have arrived if people had been organised into queues and there was better policing outside the ground.”
REST IN PEACE THE 96
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