'Pub bombings most horrific night of my career'

Eric Noble was a 26-year-old police officer when he was called to deal with the aftermath of the Birmingham pub bombings.

Thursday marks 50 years since 21 people were killed and more than 200 people injured, when bombs went off in The Mulberry Bush and the Tavern in the Town.

The pubs were destroyed on the night of of 21 November 1974 in the largest unsolved mass murder in modern British history.

Mr Noble who now lives in Ryall, in Worcestershire, said in his 30 years of police work nothing had compared to the evening's horrific nature.

Eric Noble was part of hundreds of officers that were deployed to the airport where the body of an IRA bomber was due to be flown to Ireland

Mr Noble was part of hundreds of officers that were deployed to the airport where the body of an IRA bomber was due to be flown to Ireland.

He told BBC Hereford & Worcester the force had information an incident may happen that night and was stationed at the airport for several hours.

He said: "We were called back to the city centre and were told something happened.

"We parked at Digbeth police station, I was the driver of the van that night.

"I got out the van with the intention of walking up past the Bullring to the Mulberry Bush pub when I saw a taxi driver carrying a blanket.

"Inside it was body parts and that's when I realised that something serious happened."

Eric Noble, pictured in about 1980, helped remove the bodies of bomb victims from The Mulberry Bush

Mr Noble, who joined Birmingham City Police in 1968, described the scene in the city centre as "mayhem", gridlocked with cars as ambulances struggled to access the scene.

He said: "It was quiet and it was eerily dark, we could see bodies lying there on the ground.

"It's hard to explain how horrific the situation was. The loss of life - the people who were killed in the blink of an eye.

"The taxi drivers were amazing in taking the injured to hospital. During my 30 years in the force, I've dealt with horrific things but nothing compares to the horrific nature of the whole night."

Mr Noble said he wanted people to remember that the pub bombings happened - and that something like that should never happen again.