Hillsborough Inquests: Trevor Hicks describes 'worst moment'

Trevor Hicks was giving evidence at the new Hillsborough inquests

A father who lost his two daughters at Hillsborough has described one of his "worst moments", when he had to leave one child to care for the other.

Trevor Hicks' daughters Sarah, 19, and Victoria, 15, were among the 96 who died as a result of the 1989 disaster.

He told the new Hillsborough inquests he tried to resuscitate Victoria and accompanied her to hospital, but had to leave Sarah behind.

The jury heard Mr Hicks was sworn at and ignored by police at the stadium.

The former chairman of the Hillsborough Family Support Group said he and his then-wife Jenni travelled from London with their daughters to watch the FA Cup semi-final on 15 April.

Once inside the Sheffield ground, Mr Hicks said his daughters had "given him the slip" and went to stand in pens behind the goal with their friends rather than "having their old man around".

He was standing in a side pen of the Leppings Lane end, underneath the police control box, but his daughters were inside pen three.

Describing the moment he realised his daughters were in the crush on the terraces, he said: "In my view, they were in danger of being hurt. For the life of me, I never thought they'd be killed."

Trevor Hicks' daughters were separated from their father once inside the stadium

He described to the hearing how he asked for help from a police officer, who swore and told him to stop his "prattle". He then told how another ignored him.

Mr Hicks said he spotted Victoria being passed out of the pen and he rushed onto the pitch to give her first aid.

Sarah was lying next to her, he said.

Mr Hicks described the situation on the pitch as "mayhem", with no medical assistance apart from a St John Ambulance cadet.

He said he went in an ambulance with Victoria to the Northern General Hospital after he was assured Sarah would follow in the next available ambulance.

But about 15 minutes after arriving at the hospital he was told by a police officer that Victoria had died.

'Soft drinks & coffee'

Mr Hicks said later that evening he and Jenni asked to see Victoria's body.

They were told: "She's nothing to do with you. She's the property of the coroner."

He told the hearing the couple were later taken to see both girls' bodies at the temporary mortuary at the stadium's gymnasium.

After seeing a board displaying photos of the dead, Mrs Hicks commented on the number of photographs on the wall.

A police officer told her "they're not all there yet, love", Mr Hicks said.

While at the mortuary, Mr Hicks said they were repeatedly asked what the family had to drink that day.

He told the jury he answered: "They were teenagers with their parents. We'd had soft drinks and coffee."

He added: "The way we were treated at the gym... was appalling."

Christina Lambert QC, counsel to the inquests, put it to Mr Hicks that following the disaster he had a "number of questions and concerns," and he became a key figure in the Hillsborough Family Support Group.

Mr Hicks said the Taylor Inquiry into the disaster "dealt with most things", but the first inquests, concluding in 1991, "tried to re-write it".

After a long campaign by victims' families, the original inquest verdict of accidental death was quashed in the High Court in 2012, leading to the fresh inquests now being held in Warrington - which continue.