Father tells of ‘worst moment’ at Hillsborough disaster

A FATHER whose two daughters were killed in the Hillsborough disaster has told a court of the “worst moment” of his life as he travelled to hospital with one girl while her sister was on the pitch.

Trevor Hicks, whose daughters Sarah, 19, and Victoria, 15, died on April 15, 1989, gave evidence at the trial of match commander David Duckenfield at Preston Crown Court yesterday.

He said the girls had been in the central pens of the Leppings Lane terrace while he had been in a pen to the side and his wife Jenni was in the North Stand.

As kick-off approached the pens seemed “very full” and it was clear there were problems, he told jurors.

Mr Hicks said that he and another man, whose son was in one of the pens, shouted up to a police officer on the gantry next to the police control box.

He said: “We were basically shouting ‘Look, can’t you see things are going badly wrong’.”

Asked how the police officer responded, he said he was sworn at and told to shut up. He said he later spoke to a second police officer who did not respond.

“We were helpless, we were just the crowd and were in the hands of the organisers and the policemen, obviously,” he said.

He said he thought he saw Victoria being carried out of the terrace so he left the pen and then found both girls on the pitch, adding: “They were almost side by side.”

Mr Hicks recalled how he went in an ambulance to hospital with Victoria while Sarah was still being treated on the pitch.

He told the court: “That was probably the worst moment of my life. I had two daughters, only one with me. Obviously they both needed attention, we thought they were both alive.

“We put Victoria in. I turned to get Sarah. There was a few seconds, half a minute, where I was hesitating whether I should go or stay. The best thing to do was go with Victoria expecting that the other ambulance would follow and Sarah would be along very quickly.”

Barry Devonside, whose 18-year-old Christopher died in the crush at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final, also gave evidence.

He described being “frozen in fear” as he saw the disaster unfolding that day from his seat in the North Stand. Mr Devonside