A REDDITCH dad who witnessed first hand the terrors of the Manchester bomb attack has spoken of his nightmare experience.
The local resident and his nine-year-old daughter had booked front row seats to see Ariana Grande – their first ever pop concert together.
“It had been an amazing concert and my daughter had enjoyed every minute of the performance. But as we were starting to leave, we heard a loud bang,” he said.
“My first thought was that it was someone firing a gun. I kept hold of my daughter and made sure we stayed near the stage. There was a big barrier there and I thought this was somewhere we could hide and be protected if we needed to.
“No one knew what was going on, so we stayed put until some security staff came and asked us to leave via a side door. As we left was saw smoke, and people shouting. It was horrific. My daughter told me she thought it was a war zone.”
They made their way swiftly out of the building and got as far from the venue as possible and didn’t find out what had really happened until they heard a news report later that night.
“As the show ended my daughter turned to ask me if we could go to lots more concerts together. After what happened, she’s since told me she never ever wants to go to another one. She’s very traumatised and having trouble sleeping.
“She – and thousands of other children – have been robbed of a pleasure and experience that should have been special and magical for them.
“We did everything we could to make her dream of seeing her favourite singer come true – and it turned into a nightmare.”
The youngster, who attends St Thomas Moore School in Woodrow, is being fully supported by her teachers and staff at the school.
“She knows it was an unusual and unexpected thing to happen – but it doesn’t make it any less terrifying for a child,” added her dad.
