The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Youngsters caught up in horror
The worried dad of a Fife teenager caught up in the Manchester terror attack has spoken of his relief at hearing she was safe.
Heather Cupples, who celebrates her 17th birthday next week, had travelled alone to the city to meet up with Merseyside pal Riley Bates for the first time.
But the young friends’ get-together turned to horror as they were separated at the Manchester Arena in the aftermath of the bombing.
Dad Iain spoke about the young part-time care home worker’s ordeal as he waited for her to return home to the East Neuk yesterday.
“She was meeting a friend down there and going to the concert – it was something planned for a little while and was a big trip for her,” he said.
Although only young, she had taken trips to Glasgow by herself in the past.
“We did have reservations, but you kind of talk it through,” said Iain.
Heather was staying in a hotel close by the concert venue and beside the bus station, which meant she would not have to travel far.
Iain, who works with the St Andrews Students’ Association, had heard from his daughter, through texts and calls, and she was looking forward to the concert.
Thankfully, Iain first heard of the atrocity from Heather herself.
“I got a call from Heather at 10.50pm and she said there had been a bang and bit of panic in the audience but that she was OK,” he said.
“At that time I had no idea what was going on, no idea anyone had been killed, and so was just happy she was OK.”
In fact, fellow concert-goers had come to Heather’s aid as Riley launched a frantic Twitter search for her friend.
A call around hotels failed to give Riley any news, but as she searched, more than 24,000 people retweeted the picture she had posted of Heather.
Only an hour later Nathan Lamb replied to say he had found Heather and took her into his hotel.
He tweeted: “She’s safe, we’re at a Premier Inn right now on Medlock Street, we saw her on the street and her phone was dead so we let her stay with us.”
His tweet received more than 6,000 retweets and led to a relieved Riley thanking everyone who helped.
Iain has concentrated on getting Heather back safely to their home in Anstruther and has not heard any details of what she faced.
“She, unlike a lot of other people, is not hurt,” he said.
He thanked those who helped his daughter.
Iain said: “I talked to one of them, they have been great, they helped her and made sure she wasn’t alone at the time – that was a big help.”
Dundee mother and daughter Liz Bannon, 30, and Aimee Ferme, 13, were still in the arena when the bomb went off.
Aimee, who has just turned 13, had received a ticket for Christmas and the trip to Manchester had been arranged to celebrate her becoming a teenager.
“It was just the loudest bang you have ever heard,” said Liz.
“It stopped everybody in their tracks. Everyone looked at each other and then there was a mass panic, people started running and trying to get to the exits.”
Liz said security guards began telling people to get out of the building and she saw wheelchair users picked up and carried out of the building.
She and Aimee then went out on the streets to “get as far away as they could”.
There they met a Stockport woman and her 10-year-old daughter who took them in until Aimee’s dad could drive down to Manchester to collect them.
“We are still in a bit of shock. Now that we are home we are feeling a bit better, just horrified that so many people have died and that there are children involved.”