HILLSBOROUGH families today called for a High Court hearing to quash the inquest verdicts of the 96 victims of the disaster to be held before Christmas.

Yesterday attorney general Dominic Grieve made an historic application to the High Court for new inquests to be held into the deaths of the 96 fans who died in the 1989 tragedy.

The families said they were "over the moon" with the announcement, but called for the hearing to be heard before Christmas.

Margaret Aspinall, chair of Hillsborough Family Support Group, said: "This is a major milestone, it is the main thing that the families have wanted for such a long time.

"It is great that the application has now gone in, we just hope that it is this side of Christmas."

There are just 10 days left before the High Court rises for its three-week end of year break.

A spokeswoman for the High Court said: "The hearing will be listed as soon as possible. It is not yet known at this stage whether it will be before Christmas."

The Lord Chief Justice has told MPs Steve Rotheram, Andy Burnham, and Maria Eagle that the case is being treated as a "matter of urgency".

The original "accidental death" verdicts have prevented any meaningful inquiry into the lack of care received by the 96 Liverpool fans who lost their lives in Sheffield.

Separate to this own application, Mr Grieve also granted permission to Anne Williams to apply for a fresh inquest for her 15-year-old son Kevin who lost his life at Hillsborough.

Anne, who has campaigned tirelessly and is now terminally ill, has had three previous attempts rejected. She had applied for permission to the attorney general before the panel’s findings were released.