Hillsborough inquests - December 10

The report below - and the witness testimony contained within it - does not necessarily reflect the views of Liverpool FC. Please be aware that the reports on these pages will contain evidence about the day of the disaster which may be distressing.

To view archive reports from each day of the inquest hearings, click here.

Courtesy of the Liverpool Echo - December 10

A father and son both showed possible signs of life after the crush at Hillsborough, the inquests heard.

The court was told Tommy Howard Sr, 39, and his son Tommy Jr, 14, from Runcorn, were both alive in footage at 2.56pm - when Tommy Jr's hand could be seen holding onto his dad's coat as they stood on the terrace for the semi-final on April 15, 1989.

Medical expert Dr Jasmeet Soar said Tommy Sr also appeared alive in photos showing him near the front of the pen at 3.03pm, although Tommy Jr could not be seen in those photos.

Fan David Lackey had described seeing Tommy Sr around the time of kick-off and hearing him say "my son, my son".

Police constable Peter Muir said he had seen Tommy Sr among a pile of casualties in the pen at about 3.17pm and described his eyes flickering and lips moving.

Dr Soar told the court: "The possible explanation for this is this is seizure activity when the brain makes the eyes and lips flicker and move."

Mr Muir said he carried Tommy Sr to the service road at the Leppings Lane end of the ground and felt a faint pulse.

But he said the pulse disappeared and he started CPR.

Dr Soar said: "I think we have the flicker of the eyes, the movement of the lips and then the next assessment of a possibility of a pulse and all three of those are signs that could suggest signs of life but all have a degree of unreliability about them."

Forensic pathologists Dr Nat Cary and Professor Guy Rutty said bruises on the inside of Tommy Sr's upper arms might suggest he was still alive when he was carried from the pen.

Dr Cary said the bruises, which were recorded on both arms, would be consistent with Mr Muir's description of carrying Tommy Sr.

He said: "That symmetry would lend itself well to being manhandled in the manner described."

Prof Rutty said: "This particular case, unfortunately, stood out because there are two features.

"First of all, there is the bruising and, secondly, there is this description of the possible signs of life."

The court heard spectator Paul Taylor and police officer Graham Butler both described seeing teenager Tommy Jr's eyes moving slightly after the crush.

Dr Soar told the court they were possible indicators of signs of life.

Mr Butler said he saw Tommy Jr's eyes flickering before starting mouth-to-mouth.

Dr Soar said: "It could be a sign of life or a sign of circulation and whether that means the heart is beating or just stopped beating, one can't say."

Tommy Jr was confirmed dead in the gymnasium at 3.55pm.

The post-mortem for Tommy Jr recorded an increased brain weight and some swelling - but pathologists said they were unable to confirm whether it was due to cerebral oedema, a condition which developed in people who survived an hour or more after the crush.

Dr Cary said: "It is the sort of case where there could have been a period of survival beyond recovery from the crush, but it doesn't get any better than 'could have been' in my view."

The court heard there may also have been signs of life in 14-year-old Adam Spearritt, also from Runcorn, on the pitch.

Intensive care expert Professor Jerry Nolan said Adam appeared unconscious as fans tried to lift him out of the pen at 3.15pm.

But, after being given CPR at the Leppings Lane end and carried to the Kop end, Adam was reported to have had a faint pulse when resuscitation attempts were made for a second time.

Special constable David Pearson had described feeling the slight pulse, but said it faded when he stopped CPR.

He said a doctor checked Adam's groin for a pulse and said he could find one.

Prof Nolan said: "It could be that there was a transient return of a heartbeat and that was just getting weaker each time before the chest compressions were restarted.

"It could be that there was a very, very weak heartbeat throughout this, so call low-flow state, as we have termed it, where it becomes at times difficult to feel but at other times it might be just something you can feel."

He told the court he thought it was possible that if Adam had received sustained CPR at the Leppings Lane end, rather than being moved, it may have made a difference.

But he said he thought he was in cardiac arrest by the time he was treated by three ambulance officers behind the North Stand.

The court heard Adam was taken to the Northern General Hospital where his heart was restarted after advanced life support but later stopped again.

Prof Nolan said he thought Adam had suffered an irreversible brain injury before he got to hospital.

He said: "In my opinion, in effect, irreversible damage had been done before that."

The court heard Halewood dad-of-five Pat Thompson, 35, may not have been dead when his brother knelt by him as he lay on the pitch.

The British Rail guard, who had gone to the match with brothers Joe and Kevin, was seen lying in a pile of casualties at the front of the pen at 3.19pm.

At 3.26pm he was seen lying on the pitch for a period of about five minutes with brother Kevin crouching next to him.

Off-duty nurse William Woods had described treating Pat in the pen with no response, but Dr Soar said the facts were incomplete.

He said: "So all I can say here is that he is unconscious, unresponsive in the pen, unconscious, unresponsive on the pitch.

"Anything more than that, we don't have enough evidence to be certain."

The court heard Pat was confirmed dead in the gym at 4pm.

A grandad died within minutes of suffering a fatal injury in the crush at Hillsborough, experts told the inquests into the 96 deaths.

The court, in Birchwood Park, Warrington, heard 62-year-old John Anderson, known as Jack, from Fazakerley, had gone to the match with son Brian.

Witnesses described him being pressed against a barrier in pen four of the Leppings Lane terrace in the crush but later falling to the ground.

A post-mortem report revealed Jack had suffered a split, or transection, of the abdominal aorta - the main pipe taking blood from the heart.

Medical expert Dr Jasmeet Soar said: "In my opinion, once the aorta had been transected, there was no treatment possible for his condition that could have led to survival, so it was unsurvivable in those circumstances."

Pathologists Dr Nat Cary and Professor Guy Rutty said the injury was likely to have been caused by the pressure with the barrier and Jack would have died two or three minutes after falling to the floor.

They gave the time of death as 3.08pm, based on evidence of Jack slipping to the ground when the match was stopped at 3.06pm.