‘I thought I was going to die’ Lucy (14) reveals terror after bomb
A Motherwell school pupil has told of the moment she thought she was “going to die” following the explosion at the Ariana Grande concert.
Lucy Haggerty (14) had travelled down to Manchester to see her idol with her mum Louise.
And the teenager, who attends Our Lady’s High, recalled the panic in the Manchester Arena.
Lucy said: “About 30 seconds after the house lights came on, there was a massive bang. It was the scariest moment of my life.
“The area around us was foggy, my heart sank and my first thought was that someone had shot Ariana, but then I realised what was happening.
“Everyone just stopped for a second and started screaming.”
She added: “People were climbing on top of each other, jumping down tiers, climbing barriers and trying to get out the doors as fast as they could.
“At that point I thought I was going to die. I just kept waiting for the whole place to be blown up.
“Everyone was just caring about themselves, barging through and standing on top of each other.
“There were some points I thought I was going to lose my mum, but we somehow managed to stick together.”
The teenager said she had been really looking forward to the concert.
She continued: “I was so excited. I expected this to be the best night of my life, and it turned out to be the worst. I wish I never went.”
Lucy said she and her mum are both okay.
She said: “We are both okay, just a bit teary and shaken up. My mum can’t stop looking at me and asking if I am okay.
“Today (Tuesday) we were supposed to be having a day out shopping at the Trafford Centre, but we are now just trying to get an earlier train home.”
Mum Louise (39), a North Lanarkshire Council worker, said: “We are so shaken up. At the end of the concert there were big balloons and I thought it was maybe just one of those that had burst. That’s when we realised what had happened. I just tried to keep Lucy calm as I could see she was so scared.
“This was supposed to be a lovely mother and daughter trip that Lucy had got for Christmas. She had been so looking forward to it and had everything planned down to a tee.
“The concert was full of kids, families and teenagers and it is just horrendous. You don’t think about things like this happening. We are so thankful we got out unharmed. My heart goes out to everyone hurt.
“We are waiting on a train home now. We managed to get an earlier one home.”