Hillsborough: A survivor's story

Apr 15 2008 By Damian Kavanagh, Liverpool supporter

On the walk down to the ground the four of us had agreed to meet up at a bookies we'd passed if we got split up after the match. I did notice that unlike the previous season there were no police stops on the way to the ground with a check for tickets etc but thought nothing of it.

I got searched as you usually were on the way in. Me and Bailey went straight ahead and through the tunnel directly behind the goal after buying a program. It was the obvious route to take; the clearly marked entrance that greeted you as you entered the stadium through the turnstiles - there were no conspicuous signs directing you to go through anywhere else. Jamie and Scott didn't follow us. They didn't usually go right in the middle of the Kop and decided to go out of their way and walk around to the side - I'm glad they did; it was chocker in there last time they said.

I noticed from the clock on the Stand to my right that it was 2:15pm. Like I said this was a little early for me. I always tended to go in the Kop at about 2:30pm coz any later and by then the crowd congestion would make it almost impossible to get into my spec in the middle. The crowd built up steadily like any other match. The singing was building up. Everything seemed fine. We're on the march with Kenny's Army...

When you're in a large crowd you can't see what might be happening just yards away from you. A big open terrace like the Kop allowed you to roam wherever you liked once you'd entered it. This Leppings Lane end was a smaller terrace, split into pens with fences that were specifically designed to keep supporters in a particular area. Many or most fans wouldn't have realised that the area directly behind the goal here was split down the middle into two Pens and with radial fences also preventing access to the sides of the terrace, either side of the these two central pens. Bailey didn't know this until seeing the media coverage after the disaster and it was only later that I learnt that the area that we'd been in was called Pen 4. The perimeter fence down the front was to keep fans off the pitch. Being a young lad and with grounds having looked like this since well before I was going, the wariness I'd obviously have about this set up today wasn't there. In fairness a paying customer at any entertainment event should be able to take their safety for granted.

We were leaning backwards onto a crush barrier, like we would in the Kop. We were well used to riding the waves of the crowd surges. It's the reverse of what happens at grounds now. These days when somebody gets excited and stands up it forces everybody behind to do the same in ripple effect if they wanna see the action. Back in those days somebody would strain forward to see the action causing a domino effect that would stop at the crush barriers. It could hurt going up against these barriers with the force of the crowd behind so I always got my back to the barriers and with plenty of people in front of me whenever I could. Being young, fit and only a little fella I could wriggle my way around the terraces.

Timings become blurred from now on as I describe what happened next. From memory I think from the police videos I later saw, that I left the pitch some time around 3:45pm.