Hillsborough trial hears of 'gross overcrowding'

Crowds converge on Hillsborough for the FA Cup semi-final

Former FA chief executive Graham Kelly has told a court that the police commander at the Hillsborough Stadium, where 96 people were crushed to death in 1989, instantly blamed fans for the disaster.

Mr Kelly told Leeds Crown Court he held a meeting with former chief superintendent David Duckenfield 15 minutes after the FA Cup semi-final between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool was stopped.

At that meeting Mr Duckenfield told him that fans had pushed through a gate, causing a crush on the terraces, the court heard.

The jury has already been told that the fatal crush occurred after Mr Duckenfield ordered exit Gate C at the stadium to be opened to release pressure on the turnstiles, causing hundreds of people to flood on to the terraces.

I knew I was looking at something that was extremely dangerous

Off-duty Pc James O'Keeffe

Mr Duckenfield, 55, of Bournemouth, and his assistant, former superintendent Bernard Murray, 58, of Pontefract, West Yorkshire have pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of two of the victims.

Both men also deny wilfully neglecting to carry out a public duty.

Gate 'forced'

Mr Kelly, one of the official FA representatives at the match, told the court that when he entered the police control box at around 3.20pm, Mr Duckenfield said only five things.

"He said that a gate had been forced, there had been an inrush of supporters, he showed me a TV screen which he said depicted the gate which had been broken through.

Graham Kelly held meeting with police

"He said there had been some fatalities. He said the game would have to be abandoned."

Mr Kelly said Mr Duckenfield did not mention anything else about what had happened, despite attending another meeting soon after with representatives from the clubs and the referee.

He agreed with William Clegg, QC, cross-examining for Mr Duckenfield, that the police were responsible for protecting spectators from attack.

Mr Clegg added: "But they were in no sense responsible for the safety of the spectators in the sense of ensuring their safety in the ground, getting to seats and into pens and things like that?"

Mr Kelly replied: "That is the responsibility of the club as the holder of the safety certificate."

'Police at fault'

The court also heard from an off-duty police officer at the match, James O'Keeffe, who said: "I'd seen what had happened and I believed at that time the police were at fault."

Nottingham Forest fan Mr O'Keeffe, from Leicester, who at the time of the disaster was a Pc with the Leicestershire force, filed an internal police report form the next day about what he saw at the match.

He told the court: "The central pen was grossly overcrowded. There was no movement in the crowd whatsoever.

"I knew I was looking at something that was extremely dangerous.

"Although I was shocked at what I saw, the injured and dead, in no way was I surprised at what I saw given that the terrace was so grossly overcrowded at three o'clock."

The case has been adjourned until Monday.