THE FRESH inquests into the Hillsborough tragedy where a Bromsgrove man was among 96 fans to die, have continued this week.
The hearings which are taking place in Warrington, have heard that the Football Association applied for Liverpool FC fans to be allocated the opposite side of the ground for the 1989 FA Cup semi-final with Nottingham Forest instead of the Leppings Lane end where disaster struck.
However police chiefs refused because they wanted the same arrangements as the fixture which took place the previous year between the same teams in the same competition.
A former turnstile operator who worked at the stadium in the years leading up to the tragedy has also provided evidence and said police told him to get fans in as quickly as possible. Consequently he allowed in about ten per cent of supporters who either did not have a ticket or had a ticket for a different part of the ground.
He also claimed other operators received cash from fans who did not have a ticket and wanted to gain entry.
In recent weeks the inquests have also heard from a structural engineer who said Hillsborough’s Safety Certificate for the Leppings Lane End allowed a capacity which was beyond safe.
He added the 1,296 fans which were in ‘pen 3’ on the day was nearly twice the amount which should have been allowed.
The court has also been shown footage of the day of the disaster including events leading up to it and when the incident unfolded.
It has since been streamed on the Internet and people can click on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuByc_JG-Z0 to view it securely.
Visit www.hillsboroughinquests.independent.gov.uk/hearings/ to read the daily transcripts of the hearings.
Proceedings continue.
