Hillsborough: The Forest view
As Liverpool fans died in the deadly crush at Leppings Lane, some Nottingham Forest fans - thinking it was deliberate hooliganism - hurled abuse across the ground. But when the severity of the situation dawned, the taunting quickly ended and the ground was united in shock and disbelief.
Gary Roe is a Forest fan who was at Hillsborough that day:
"For us it was revenge time against our old 1970s rivals Liverpool, a repeat of last year's FA Cup Semi Final. We couldn't seem to overtake the Scousers in the League these days but this side were young and talented and we stood a good chance."
"Finding a parking spot was a task with a sell out crowd and we kept in the vicinity of our ‘end' (The Spion Kop) so we wouldn't have to pass through the Scousers at the end of the game when we had beaten them! We parked what seemed miles away from the Hillsborough Stadium and took our time passing pub after pub which were full, forcing us to go without a pre-match pint. Still we were a bit intoxicated by the atmosphere."
"The ground was filling up and the fans began to sing and chant. The insults were flowing from behind the goal. About five minutes to kick off we watched as some of the standing Liverpool supporters being hoisted into the upper tier of the Leppings Lane end. From the safety of the South Stand we shouted: "idiots" and worse."
"The stadium was full to the brim. It was a great atmosphere, a sunny day and there was a trip to Wembley up for grabs. The match soon got underway with Liverpool fans still climbing up into the stands but now I realised how packed it looked in the standing area. There was some space at the flanks but the fences in between were blocking the swell from the centre. The fence at the front to stop pitch invasions was also now an obstruction."
"Then a few minutes into the game, some fans had got onto the pitch. Now why would they want to start a pitch invasion when both teams are level and no doubt they were the favourites to win again?
After about five minutes, the police bolstered their numbers at the Leppings Lane End. More fans got onto the pitch and then the referee stopped play.
We stood and looked at the goings on and then at each other as if to say ‘that's all we bloody want'. We still looked at the spill onto the pitch as idiots or hooligans. The players then left the field and it seemed as if a panic had started.
"As more fans tried to climb the fences, the police stopped trying to force them back. Some fans ran toward the Forest end but most seemed to be in a state of panic walking around in aimless circles with nowhere in mind to go. The First Aid attendants came to the Leppings Lane End but it appeared there might be a few more injuries than expected, maybe some had got crushed in the rush of people trying to get over the fences. A few more minutes and someone near us said a radio report had announced a death among the Liverpool fans."
"What's going to happen now? They surely would abandon the game as a life was lost. The crowd and police eventually started getting the injured out of terraces then fans used advertising boards as stretchers for the injured as they took them away from the crowd still fighting to get on the pitch.
We saw at least three fans getting mouth to mouth resuscitation. I lit another cigarette and on a visit to the toilets, the news spread that three fans were now dead. I related the news back in the seats. This didn't seem real three fans dying at the game. I suppose we expected a lot of injuries to fans, but not fatalities. It seemed a bit surreal as the disaster was unfolding. A policewoman and a fan had started mouth to mouth on a supporter on our side of the pitch and he started breathing again as we saw a thumbs up from his mate. A round of applause nearly broke out at the relief of this incident."
"The match was abandoned and pleas over the PA system told fans to wait 15 minutes, then slowly leave the stadium. I looked around me and at least a hundred fans headed straight for the stairs. I shouted in the direction of the exits: "They said wait 15 minutes before you leave, idiots." I shook my head in disgust of the everyman for himself attitude.
"By the time we decided to make a move, the stand was half empty so we looked on helplessly as a stretcher carried by firemen contained a body of a man of my stature whose face was grey with death. I lit another cigarette to calm my nerves and couldn't help thinking that could have been us. I deeply inhaled and looked at my mates. None of us spoke a word at this sight; we all knew what had happened to this poor fan. And if a six foot, heavily built man had suffered, what about the women and kids in that end?"
"By now some of the fencing had broken to free the crowds and fans were all over the pitch searching for wives, husbands, mates and children. Some were sat as if exhausted, some probably in shock."
"We left the ground with the news of at least four deaths. Outside, it was silent but for the sirens of the emergency services. By the time we were near Annesley on the way home, the death toll had gone up to 55. In silence, I think we tried to picture the carnage unseen from the stands but it was still an unreal situation, 55 fans gone."
"Pictures in the newspapers the next day brought it home to me. I cringed at the faces squashed against the fencing. Some of those were dead. They looked so helpless; it made me want to sob for their pain. It was real now and, oh, if we could turn back the clock and the fences weren't there. It's all helpless pathetic ‘if's and buts'."
"I had to look again at the front page then it hit me. Here are my equivalent, only wearing different colours. Normal football loving folk who enjoy their Saturdays supporting their favourite teams, then returning home to their families or going for a beer or two to talk about it again with friends and relations. These are just working class folk, my brethren, and my comrades.
They didn't deserve to die like that. I dread to think how it was for those who were expecting their loved ones to come home but didn't. Twenty four hours that went from expected elation to horrifying reality."
