‘Scariest moment of my life’
Lucy’s pop gig screams terror
A terrified schoolgirl at the pop gig where 22 people were killed in a terrorist attack revealed: “I thought I was going to die”.
Shaken Lucy Haggerty recalled the horrific moments of youngsters screaming in terror after the bomb explosion at the Ariana Grande music concert at the Manchester Arena on Monday night.
The Our Lady’s High School pupil travelled down with her mum Louise to see the teenager’s American pop idol at the 21,000 sold-out concert held at the Manchester venue, the largest indoor music arena in Europe.
Lucy, 14, told of the panic and chaos in the aftermath of the suicide bomb attack. “It was the scariest moment of my life,” she said. “About 30 seconds after the house lights came on, there was a massive bang.
“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.”
An eight-year-old girl was among the dead and 58 injured in the worst terror attack in Britain since the July 7 bombings in London in 2005 when 56 were killed and 784 injured.
Lucy 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, a Christmas gift from her mum. “I was so excited,” she added. “I expected this to be the best night of my life and it turned out to be the worst. I wish I had never gone.”
Lucy said both and her mum had a lucky escape and were both okay.
She said: “I just a bit teary and shaken up. My mum can’t stop looking at me and asking if I am okay.
“The day after the concert, 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 A Shotts family survived the horrific terror attack in Manchester by the skin of their teeth.
Graham Osborne travelled down to the Ariana Grande concert with daughters Taylor, 18, and 14-yearold Kenzi and were caught up in the suicide bombing.
A total of 22 people, including an eight-year-old girl, were killed as the blast ripped through the Manchester Arena at the end of the Ariana Grande concert.
A lone attacker detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) in the 21,000-seater arena’s foyer as fans left the concert around 10.30pm on Monday night.
Graham, 42, said:“We managed to get out of Manchester Arena by the skin of our teeth. The four-hour journey home has been a total blank except for our talks and phone calls. 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.”
“Me and the girls will get over it through time, but my heart goes out to the families who haven’t been so lucky. It was honestly mental. You could hear manic screaming.
“I expected to see a puff of smoke like the Twin Towers. We ran twenty yards to the exit and we were probably one of the first 30 cars to get out.”
Almost 60 people were injured in the suicide bombing described by Prime Minister Theresa May as a “despicable act”.
North Lanarkshire Provost Jean Jones has written to Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to express condolences. She said:“All of us are horrified by the senseless violence which targeted innocent young people enjoying a concert.”
A minute’s silence was held before the Tour Series cycling event in Motherwell yesterday.