Hillsborough inquests - November 23

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 - November 23

A teenager may still have been alive when he was taken out of an ambulance and put on the pitch at Hillsborough, medical experts told the inquests.

The court, in Birchwood Park, Warrington, heard 17-year-old Steven Robinson had been in pen four of the Leppings Lane terraces for the semi-final on April 15, 1989.

Off duty charge nurse Michael Hollinghurst had described trying to resuscitate Steven in the pen after the crush relieved.

Footage showed Mr Hollinghurst crouching down at the front of the pen while another fan appeared to be doing chest compressions on an unseen casualty at 3.16pm.

Intensive care expert Dr Jasmeet Soar said: “There’s a small but real chance that signs of life could have been missed in that short period that we have seen in less than ideal circumstances.”

Steven was shown on video from 3.18pm being carried out of pen four through a gap where fencing had been ripped down.

He was then placed on a trolley and carried to the back of a St John Ambulance.

Dr Soar said Steven appeared to be unconscious on the footage, but he could not comment further on his precise condition.

The court heard Steven had been taken into the ambulance but police inspector John Harper ordered that he and another casualty were taken back out, to provide space for others, after assessing them as dead.

Dr Soar said the conditions in the ambulance would have been better than those in the pen to check the teenager for signs of life.

He added: “Although, still not ideal.

“So, again, we couldn’t be precisely confident.

“Again, I think it is for the jury to decide exactly what assessment Mr Harper made.”

He said there was a small but real chance that Mr Harper could have missed signs of life before Steven was taken out of the ambulance and placed on the pitch.

The jury heard that a post-mortem for Steven recorded bruises on his right arm which could have been caused as he was carried from the pen.

Forensic pathologist Professor Guy Rutty said: “They can be caused by that part of his arm being gripped at any time when he was still alive.

“So that could have been prior to the incident, during the incident or whilst he was being carried out.”

The court heard he was carried across the pitch at 3.33pm and confirmed dead in the gymnasium at 4.02pm.

Experts said Steven died some time between 2.57pm and 4.02pm and pathologists gave his cause of death as compression asphyxia.

The younger of two brothers who died in the Hillsborough disaster was still alive when the match was stopped, the inquests heard.

Kevin and Christopher Traynor, from Birkenhead, had gone to the match on April 15, 1989, together.

Kevin, 16, was shown in pictures in pen three between 3.06pm, when the game was stopped, and 3.08pm.

Spectator Jonathan Ellis, pictured standing next to him, said at about the time the photos were taken he had spoken to Kevin, who had asked him for help.

Intensive care expert Dr Jasmeet Soar said: “So with a high degree of certainty I would say he was alive in that time window, based on that witness statement and the photographs.”

The court heard detective constable Malcolm Turner described checking Kevin after carrying him from the terrace and then being approached by a doctor who also carried out checks and then told him Kevin was beyond help.

Mr Turner went to help others and returned to Kevin about 10 minutes later.

He helped to carry him across the pitch at 3.32pm.

Dr Soar said there was no evidence of any resuscitation attempts and there was uncertainty about Kevin’s exact condition when he was assessed.

He said there was a small but real chance Kevin was alive when Mr Turner carried him onto the pitch at about 3.15pm.

Brenda Campbell, representing the family, said: “So, putting it another way, there is perhaps a small but real chance in relation to Kevin that this interaction represented an opportunity for the type of medical intervention that could have saved his life?

Dr Soar said: “Yes, if resuscitation had started, again, there’s a small but real chance that it could have been associated with survival, assuming his heart hadn’t stopped at that time.”

The court heard Kevin’s post-mortem had recorded him as weighing 96 kg - about 15 stone - when he had actually reached a target weight of 64kg to classify for welterweight boxing in the weeks before the tragedy.

Professor Guy Rutty, a forensic pathologist, said he believed human error had led to the mistake.

Pathologists gave Kevin’s cause of death as compression asphyxia and said they believed he had died between 3.06pm and 4.08pm - when he was confirmed dead in the gymnasium.

The court heard Kevin’s brother Christopher, 26, was treated on the pitch by police officers David McEwan and Kevin Landers.

Both officers gave CPR to two casualties, but could not recall which one was Christopher.

Mr Landers described a doctor approaching them while they were with the casualties.

Neither remembered seeing any response from either casualty

Dr Soar said: “There is a small but real chance that there could have been pulse or breathing, based on this uncertain evidence.”

The court heard Christopher was carried across the pitch at 3.34pm and confirmed dead in the gymnasium at 4.03pm.

His cause of death was given as compression asphyxia.