Pride of Britain visits the city full of heroes
SURVIVORS of the Manchester terrorist attack and hospital staff who dealt with the aftermath have declared this year’s Pride of Britain Awards the most important ever.
Our Mini tour of the UK called in at the Royal Children’s Hospital, in the city, to meet doctors, nurses and patients.
Among those wanting to make nominations for this year’s Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards, in partnership with TSB, were hero surgeon Dr PeterMarc Fortune and little Lily Harrison, eight, who suffered shrapnel wounds, fractured ribs and a broken scapula in the blast.
Dr Fortune said everyone at the hospital deserved recognition: “The wounds we were dealing with, as a British surgeon, you wouldn’t ever expect to deal with. They were warzone injuries.
“But what stood out for me was the calm and professionalism with which the whole team dealt with the situation.
“It went more smoothly than you could have dared to hope – and that is down to an absolutely dedicated, selfless team,” he said.
Lily’s mum Lauren Thorpe agreed. She and Lily’s dad, Adam, were also injured. She was left with a leg wound while he fractured his ankle.
Lauren said: “Lily was drifting in and out of consciousness as we got out of the arena. We didn’t know if we were losing her, but we were trying to keep her awake. There were no ambulances free, but a police officer, he saw us and got us in a police van which took us to hospital.
“He was a hero to us that night. We’ll never forget what he did.”
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said he hoped the awards would recognise such acts of bravery and humanity. He said: “This is the one night of the year when the great and good are in the audience and the real people are up on stage getting the recognition they deserve.”
He added that railway staff who, on the night of the attack, had run to help out at the arena from nearby Victoria Station should also be honoured.
Today the Minis are in Liverpool and at the set of Hollyoaks, before heading north of the border to Glasgow tomorrow. You can register your nomination at prideofbritain.com or by picking up a form from your local TSB branch. Closing date is August 25.
Winners will be announced at a glittering ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House, hosted by Carol Vorderman and screened on ITV in October. BEE’S A HERO Dr Fortune