Hillsborough Survivor Saved By 'Kiss Of Life'

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By Nick Martin, North Of England Correspondent

Survivors of the Hillsborough tragedy have given moving accounts of what happened to them that day.

They were called as witnesses to the inquests into the deaths of 96 Liverpool fans who died at the semi-final on 15 April, 1989.

Ian McDermott, who paid £6 for his ticket to attend the match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, told the jury that he was one of the fans who entered the stadium through a side gate which had been opened by police to allow fans into the ground.

He told the inquest he went through a tunnel at the Lepping's Lane end and arrived at a crowded pen three.

"I just describe it was a swirl. It was completely rotating all the time, never stayed still," he said.

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David Duckenfield was chief supt of South Yorkshire Police and in charge of policing on the day of the disaster

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Former South Yorkshire Police superintendent Bernard Murray was Duckenfield's deputy at the game. Was acquitted of manslaughter charges brought in a private prosecution in 2000. Died in 2006

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The former Police Federation spokesman Paul Middup was among those who sought to place blame on Liverpool fans and his version of events contributed to the now notorious Sun front page

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"I was completely compressed from all sides, I just couldn't move at all. I wasn't in control of my own movement.

"I knew instantly that there was a problem. The match was very quickly erased from my mind. I wasn't interested in anything that was happening on the pitch."

Shortly after kick-off Mr McDermott said he lost consciousness and woke up on the floor of the terraces.

He said: "There was a lot of people standing on my legs and there was someone holding my head. I could hear people shouting into my ear."

He told the inquest that he believed someone had given him "the kiss of life" and placed him face down on the pitch in the recovery position.

He told the inquest that in the days after the disaster he had suffered chest pains and panic attacks.

Gillian Edwards had attended the semi-final the year before with her friend Fiona and had stood in the same pen with a fence between them and the pitch, she told the inquest.

"We both said to ourselves we had to make sure we never had a barrier in front of us because we got crushed that year. It was uncomfortable which made us scared," she said.

She said on the day of the tragedy they had both returned to the stadium and also stood in pen three.

"It was fine. We were just having a laugh, banter with people I remember a beach ball going over head," the jury heard.

Shaking and tearful giving evidence, she said: "Two specific memories I have is one of the push forward and then another push, which scared me.

"I was used to football crowds and movement because of going to the various matches. That scared me but then it eased off. But then there was a second surge forward.

"There was no police. I knew there was something really wrong happening.

"I was making sure that I was breathing. I was making sure, just thinking 'What the hell is going on here?'.

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Gallery: Day Of Tragedy

This gallery contains images of the Hillsborough disaster, in which 96 people died. Here, people try to help those caught up in the crush

Policemen aid football fans at Hillsborough stadium

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"And there was a man who was shouting 'There's girls here, there's girls here. Get the girls out. Stop pushing!'.

"I could hear more panic in his voice, which was making me even more aware then how bad the situation really was."

Christina Lambert QC, on behalf of the coroner, asked: "You lost consciousness in the crowd that day?"

"Yes. I did yes," Ms Edwards replied.

The jury heard that Gillian Edwards suffered a "severe brain injury" during the crush and woke up in hospital having been in a coma for five days.

She was "totally blind" when she woke up and had since regained some sight since, the inquest heard.

John McCarthy told the inquest that his younger brother Ian was one of the 96 who died.

He recalled the crush and being told that his brother had died. He said he went to a gymnasium which had been set up as a temporary morgue.

"There was a pile of bodies on the floor, all over the place, laid out in lines. We had to step over them all to get to Ian because he was on the far side. Once we got there we wouldn't leave him alone.

"When we first got to Ian we knelt down beside him. He had his eyes open. I put him on my knee I said 'wake up'.

"I just couldn't believe he was gone. I sat there cradling him."

He told the inquest that several months ago police showed him video footage of the gymnasium and that he had identified his brother.

"The video zoomed in and I saw Ian. His face was covered and I couldn't work out what it was. Then I could see it was a bin liner. They put a bin liner over his face."

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