Inquest jurors visit stands where 96 died at Hillsborough tragedy
THE jury on the Hillsborough inquest today visited the stadium where the 1989 tragedy took place, standing on the spot where many of the 96 victims died.
The jurors left the Warrington courtroom to visit Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield.
The 11-strong jury were bussed to the stadium along with coroner Lord Justice Goldring.
The tragedy, which took place on April 15 1989, was the worst sporting disaster in Britain.
Thousands of fans were caught in a crush in the ground's Leppings Lane terrace and 96 lost their lives.
Jurors were shown around the area, which they were told had "fundamentally changed" – there is now seating where it was once standing only and fences have been removed.
Orange tape was put in place to demonstrate the height of the dividing fence between pens three and four, and a cane was used to show the height of the fence between pitch and pens.
Adjacent to the terrace is the police control box, which is much larger and in a slightly different location than its 1989 counterpart.
The tragedy, which took place on April 15 1989, was the worst sporting disaster in Britain
Beneath the police box, jurors were shown an unaltered section of terrace so they could see how the stands looked 25 years ago.
Markings from where crush barriers had been removed remained.
A marked police van closed off Leppings Lane so the jurors could be taken towards the entrance, the site of gates A, B and C, which were used by Liverpool fans on the day of the disaster.
Traffic and police cones, as well as orange tape, had been laid out to illustrate to jurors the layout of the entrance in 1989, such as the location of a railing and gate no longer present.
The group visited the site of the former gymnasium, which was used as a make-shift morgue on the day of the disaster, but is now a Sheffield Wednesday shop.
Jurors were also shown the White Horse pub, just off the A61, where some Liverpool supporters went before the match, and the former site of Wadsley Bridge Train Station, from where Liverpool supporters were accompanied by police officers on their way to the stadium.
The group were finally driven along the same route ambulances took in 1989 to Northern General Hospital, where 88 casualties were taken.
They also passed by the Hillsborough memorial on the south side of the stadium and the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, where 77 casualties were taken.
Earlier this week the inquest was given a minute-by-minute breakdown of how the tragic events of that day unfolded.
The description was accompanied by rare video evidence from the day, including CCTV and footage taken by police and the BBC.
