Hillsborough inquests - November 13

The Hillsborough inquests commenced on March 31, 2014 and are the subject of reporting restrictions that have been imposed by the Attorney General's office. Liverpool Football Club is respectful of these restrictions and will therefore only be making available updates from other media channels for the duration of the inquest.

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 BBC - November 13

A police commander inside Hillsborough has told the inquests how he stopped the match as the disaster unfolded.

Former superintendent Roger Greenwood became emotional as he described trying to radio the police control room before running on to the pitch.

The resulting chaos would "stay with me for the rest of my life", he said.

Ninety-six Liverpool fans died as a result of a crush at the FA Cup semi-final match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in April 1989.

Mr Greenwood said he first noticed something was wrong just after kick-off when he saw fans coming over the fence between the terrace and the perimeter track.

He told the jury he did not think it was a pitch invasion because "it was too early in the game, so it had to be something else".

He went over to the Leppings Lane end and saw fans from the first "four or five rows" being "squeezed", he said.

The middle to the back of the crowd was watching the game, "seemingly unaware" of what was happening in front of them, and he shouted at them to move back, Mr Greenwood told the court.

The inquests heard the officer stood on an advertising hoarding to get a better view of the terraces and helped pull a fan out of pen three.

He told the court at that stage he believed the situation was "recoverable" and police could "minimise the risk".

But the situation worsened and he decided the match needed to be stopped.

He described trying unsuccessfully to radio the police control room and waving his hands to get their attention, before running onto the pitch to speak to the referee.

After watching footage shown to the court, taken just after 15:00 GMT, Mr Greenwood said it was "impossible to portray... what the situation was like".

"It was utter chaos," he said. "It was an emergency - an emergency that I had never witnessed before - and will remain with me and has done for the rest of my life."

The court had to take a short break after Mr Greenwood became emotional as he recalled going on to the pitch to stop the game.

He told the jury he still thought it was "out of the question" that a number of people were going to die at that stage.

Footage of Mr Greenwood standing by the perimeter fence along the front of the pens at 15:11 was shown to the court.

By that time, he knew police were dealing with "mass casualties", he said.

An extract from a statement Mr Greenwood made in 1990 was read to the jury.

"I had to concentrate on the disaster itself and deal with it with the resources immediately to hand," it read.

"I expected the control box, who were aware of the seriousness of the situation, to take control. I felt as if I was dealing with the disaster alone."

Mr Greenwood told the court: "That's how I felt - that I was operating in some isolation at that stage".

The inquests in Warrington continue.