Hillsborough inquests: Friend 'convinced' victim was alive

Brothers Stephen Francis Harrison and Gary Harrison both died at Hillsborough

A victim of the Hillsborough disaster looked like he was "asleep" and he died despite being given adrenaline on the pitch, the inquests have heard.

The hearings have focussed on two brothers, Stephen and Gary Harrison, who both died.

The court heard that those around Stephen were "convinced" he was still alive.

Stephen, 31, and Gary, 27 were among Liverpool fans who were fatally crushed at the FA Cup semi-final in 1989.

The brothers caught a coach to Sheffield together.

'Lost cause'

Matthew Hill, a barrister representing the coroner, said there was "very little evidence" about Gary and his experiences on the day.

He added there was no evidence about how the brothers made their way into the ground.

Gary was pictured standing in pen three at the Leppings Lane end at about 15:04 BST.

Mr Hill played video footage of Stephen being carried on to the pitch at 15:24 BST.

PC Stephen Harratt gave him chest compressions while George Saxton, a senior St John Ambulance volunteer, did mouth to mouth resuscitation.

Mr Harratt said that Stephen was "limp and his arms were hanging limply by his sides".

In footage, timed at 15:35 BST, Stephen was seen at the other end of the pitch receiving treatment from another group, including Raymond Cawkwell, a fireman.

Mr Cawkwell said: "To look at Stephen, he looked like somebody who had just laid down on a sunny afternoon. He actually did look alive.

"It was just as if, like, if you see people who walk through the park and just laid there asleep with their eyes shut. That's how he looked."

Ninety-six Liverpool fans died after a crush during the 1989 FA Cup semi-final at Sheffield Wednesday's ground

A friend that was with Stephen was said to have been "totally convinced he was still alive".

Dr Miles Davidson, a junior hospital doctor sent to the ground as part of an emergency medical team, told the jury when he came to help "Stephen was not breathing, he didn't have a pulse and his pupils were fixed and dilated".

He said: "My feeling at the time was that this was a casualty who was a lost cause. However, there were good people around him offering him cardiac massage and doing that effectively.

"And I would have felt very uncomfortable not carrying that process on or saying that this was someone beyond, you know, redemption, so we carried on CPR."

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Dr Davidson gave Stephen adrenaline to try to restart his heart, but there was no change in his condition.

Video timed at 15:53 BST showed Stephen being lifted on to a stretcher.

An ambulance took him to Sheffield's Northern General Hospital where doctors tried to revive him for up to 50 minutes.

Stephen's body was taken back to the stadium's gym, where his brother Gary had also been taken.

They were transferred to the city's Medico-legal centre where their brother, James Harrison, identified them.

The inquests, in Warrington, continue.