He said: “There was a brilliant atmosphere that day and everyone was excited about how far Liverpool would go in the cup.

“I’d been to Hillsborough before and remember there being too many people in one of the pens.

“A man came up to me and asked if he could swap my ticket in the Leppings Lane stand, so we did just before the game.

“I would have been going into that stand and I often think what happened to that man?

“When I think about my own life, when I went to that match I wasn’t married, had no children, no qualifications and was trying to move on from my construction job.

“Since then I’ve married, had children, gained a degree and masters, entered politics and now I’m the Mayor of Liverpool.

“I think about the 96 who died and I know they could have been even more successful, but never got the chance.”

The Hillsborough Family Support Group and the city council are still deciding on how to commemorate the anniversary but hope to hold a memorial at Anfield.

Peter Hooton, from The Farm, is also organising a memorial CD with contributions from Ian Brodie, Elvis Costello, Pete Wiley and James Walsh of Starsailor.

Mr Hooton said: “I was there and it was very emotional, I was wandering around on the pitch in a daze. The Liverpool fans were heroes that day and we want this CD to remember the 96, their families and the heroes.”

laurasharpe