A Teesside dad told how he and his daughter missed the Liverpool parade crash by just moments, and may have unknowingly walked past as the horror unfolded.
Lifelong Liverpool FC fan Steve Badger, 41, had travelled to the city with his 14-year-old daughter, Georgia, to watch the Reds celebrate their Premier League victory. The Thornaby dad-of-four had taken videos from the corner of Water Street and The Strand, close to the Liver Building, before the pair made their way down Water Street.
There were lots of other families with children on the street, he said, and they were about halfway down when he saw police officers running past them. They heard sirens and "a commotion" but did not realise what had happened until returning to their car and hearing the shocking news on the radio.
"It still hasn't really sunk in, it's quite hard to comprehend," he told Teesside Live. "It's like, bl**dy hell, we were really lucky there."
Police were contacted just after 6pm on Monday after receiving reports that a car had hit a number of pedestrians on Water Street. The jubilation turned to scenes of horror as the crash unfolded.
Steve, a self-employed plumber and St Patrick's Catholic College pupil Georgia, drove down to Liverpool on the morning and had enjoyed a visit to Anfield before heading to the city centre for the parade. He said they saw lots of families with young children, aged around nine of ten, in the crowds on Water Street.
Video Loading
Video Unavailable
Click to play Tap to play
The video will auto-play soon8Cancel
"The atmosphere had been brilliant all day - there was no trouble at all, everybody was singing," he said. "Some people were drinking but there was no trouble at all, it was just really busy.
"After the bus went past we walked up Water Street. We got about halfway past there and loads of police ran past us so I think we might have walked past it without realising.
"We were walking on the right hand side of the pavement walking up so we might have walked past it as the car was there. We heard sirens and the police van couldn't get any further.
"Then about three or four policemen ran past us down the street shouting 'people, get out the way'. You could hear a bit of commotion and bottles smashing - I thought there must have been a fight or something."
After heading back to their car, Steve started to hear news on the radio about the crash. He also had messages from friends and a missed call from his wife Amy, 40.
"I didn't know exactly what had happened until we got home and I saw the videos and thought, 'bloody hell, we were really lucky," he said. "I was quite shocked how close we were to it. If we had been there five minutes prior."
Photo taken by Steve in Liverpool on the day of the parade
Photo taken by Steve in Liverpool on the day of the parade (Image: Steve Badger)
Steve, who has three other children; Blake, nine, Gracie, seven, and Bobbie, five, said Georgia is a Liverpool fan and also supports Middlesbrough. She was also "shocked" by how close they were to the crash scene.
Road barriers had been placed around the area from early on in the day, he said. "I've seen a couple of videos online and it's quite hard to understand how the car could get down that way because there was a barrier in the way there," he said.
"We were down there from early on and all the streets were barriered off. We got some dinner and went down about 2pm and it was really busy.
"So when people started walking back up, I don't know if they've moved the barriers or what, but it's quite hard to understand how a car could have got down there. There was that many people you wouldn't try to drive down there."
The North West Ambulance Service said 27 people were taken to hospital and 20 were treated at the scene, with four children among the injured. Two of those taken to hospital, including one of the children, suffered serious injuries.
A 53-year-old man was arrested after the incident. Police have said they are not treating it as "terror-related".
For Teesside updates and breaking news direct to your inbox every day, go here to sign up to our free newsletter
Join Teesside Live's WhatsApp community for top stories and breaking news sent directly to your phone
Middlesbrough Dock with the Transporter Bridge, Middlesbrough College and Temenos
Teesside Live is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our community.
Through the app, we'll send you the latest breaking news, top stories, exclusives and much more straight to your phone.
To join our community group, you need to already have WhatsApp. All you need to do is click this link and select 'Join Community'.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Teesside Live team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like.
To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'Exit group'.
If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Click here to join our WhatsApp community.