The Rt Hon Lord Justice Taylor

“ There was a meeting of the emergency services in August 1988 to discuss procedure in the event of a major disaster at Sheffield Wednesday's ground. It was pointed out and minuted that "It was imperative that the Police Control give the exact location of any fire or incident and as much detail as possible. No senior fire officer is on duty at the match... Fire service will attend via Penistone Road or Leppings Lane as directed by the police."
20. The message from PC Bichard contained all the necessary information - Leppings Lane end, hydraulic cutting equipment, to cut metal fences. ”

“ There was evidence from Assistant Chief Fire Officer Hornsby that a Maxaman resuscitator had failed to work properly. It was delivering an oxygen flow appropriate to a "child" setting rather than a full "adult" flow. On examination, it was found that a retaining nut in the control knob had worked loose, possibly due to vibration in transit, and this had affected the flow of oxygen. The device had last been tested on 10 April 1989.
16. I accept the evidence of Mr Wells that the St John Ambulance cylinder was charged with oxygen and working properly. ”

“ Mrs Hicks had a seat in the north stand. Mr Hicks took up a standing position in pen 1 just below and to the west of the police box at about 2.15 pm From there, he had a view of the centre pens. He kept an eye on them as they filled up since he knew his daughters to be there.
2. His evidence was that by 2.50 pm he could see people were in distress. At about 2.55 pm he and others called to a senior police officer at the top of the steps to the control box to draw his attention to the crushing. Mr Hicks was only about 10 feet from the officer. ”