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| Hillsborough inquests: Schoolboy 'begged' police for help in crush | Hillsborough inquests: Schoolboy 'begged' police for help in crush |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The best friend of a schoolboy who died after the 1989 Hillsborough disaster has described "trying to beg" a police officer for help after the crush began. | The best friend of a schoolboy who died after the 1989 Hillsborough disaster has described "trying to beg" a police officer for help after the crush began. |
| The new inquests have been focussing on the death of 14-year-old Lee Nicol. | The new inquests have been focussing on the death of 14-year-old Lee Nicol. |
| Austin Grimmant, a fellow Liverpool fan who was standing next to him, told the jury he thought a police officer found that Lee was breathing when he checked him on the Leppings Lane terrace. | Austin Grimmant, a fellow Liverpool fan who was standing next to him, told the jury he thought a police officer found that Lee was breathing when he checked him on the Leppings Lane terrace. |
| Lee, who died two days later, was one of 96 people to suffer fatal injuries. | Lee, who died two days later, was one of 96 people to suffer fatal injuries. |
| 'Told to move back' | |
| They were caught up in a crush on the terraces at the Liverpool v Nottingham Forest FA Cup semi-final in Sheffield on 15 April 1989. | They were caught up in a crush on the terraces at the Liverpool v Nottingham Forest FA Cup semi-final in Sheffield on 15 April 1989. |
| The jury heard how Lee arrived on the terraces between 13:00 BST and 13:30 ahead of the 15:00 kick-off. | The jury heard how Lee arrived on the terraces between 13:00 BST and 13:30 ahead of the 15:00 kick-off. |
| He and Mr Grimmant, then a schoolboy, were in the front corner of pen three, by a fence that separated it from pen two. | He and Mr Grimmant, then a schoolboy, were in the front corner of pen three, by a fence that separated it from pen two. |
| Mr Grimmant said that after players came on the pitch to warm up there was a surge in the crowd. | |
| He said: "It pushed us against the fence, it kind of went on longer than you would like. | |
| "I remember looking at Lee and we thought it were a little bit naughty. | |
| "It eased off so we just thought that it was a normal thing." | |
| Mr Grimmant said Lee then moved back on to a step behind him and was turned side-on in the pen. | |
| Speaking through tears, the witness described how Lee was pushed into his chest by a much stronger surge. | |
| He said Lee told him he was struggling to breathe while a man behind him was screaming. | |
| Mr Grimmant said as soon as the second surge came and Lee became distressed he tried to get the attention of a police officer on the pitch side. | |
| "I was basically trying to beg him to do something because you knew something was seriously wrong. | |
| "He just told people to move back." | |
| Mr Grimmant said Lee went out of his sight. | |
| 'Got to get to this boy' | |
| "I don't know what time it was, but people started telling me and they realised Lee was there." | |
| He said Lee was wriggling on the floor but stopped moving and other fans were being pushed around him in the crush. | |
| Another friend of Lee's, Alan Trees, was also in pen three. He told the jury he saw "quite a big man on top of Lee" who was "distressed" and "trying to get out himself, but was, sort of, directly on top of Lee". | |
| Mr Grimmant was helped into pen two and said from there he saw Lee was "crouched on the floor". | |
| He added: "Everybody was talking about him, saying 'we have just got to get to this boy'." | |
| He told the court he remembers a police officer was able to find Lee was breathing by reaching through the fence separating the pens. | |
| At 15:11, five minutes after the match was stopped, supporters passed Lee over the fence to police officers in pen two. | |
| Keith Marsh, a constable on duty at the match, helped carry Lee. He and a colleague took him away from the Leppings Lane end and placed him on the side of the pitch, near the South Stand. | |
| Mr Marsh said Lee "seemed unconscious" and "quite obviously he was in need of medical treatment". | |
| Mr Marsh and a colleague began trying to resuscitate him and at one point believes Lee "responded to the resuscitation" and was "possibly alive". | |
| Dr Michael Hutson, an off-duty doctor who went to the match with his family, also tried to resuscitate Lee. | |
| He said the 14-year-old had "no spontaneous breathing" and "no pulse" when he was with him. | |
| The jury also saw footage of Lee being wheeled on a stretcher across the pitch towards an ambulance at around 15:20. | |
| The inquests in Warrington, Cheshire, continue. | The inquests in Warrington, Cheshire, continue. |
| Who were the 96 victims? | Who were the 96 victims? |
| BBC News: Profiles of all those who died | BBC News: Profiles of all those who died |