'No life signs' in Hillsborough victim Kevin Traynor

Kevin (left) and Christopher Traynor both died at Hillsborough

A policeman who carried a 16-year-old Hillsborough victim off the terraces said there seemed little point in putting him in the recovery position.

Det Con Malcolm Turner said he saw no "signs of life "on Kevin Traynor as he lay on the pitch.

The inquests focused on the apprentice joiner's death and that of his elder brother Christopher, 26.

Ninety-six people died as a result of a terrace crush at the 1989 Liverpool v Nottingham Forest FA Cup Semi-Final.

Liverpool fan Jonathon Ellis, who stood in front of Kevin in pen three in the Leppings Lane end, said the pressure was "a bit like a vice getting tighter and tighter".

He said: "You got to a point when you literally couldn't move. My arms were down by my side - I couldn't move them up at all."

Mr Ellis said Kevin's chest was pressing against his shoulder, adding: "I remember him looking at me because our heads were very close together.

"He was asking me 'help me, help me, help me out'."

Mr Ellis said: "He did say to me 'I can't breathe' - I can't quote the exact words but it was 'help, get me out, I can't breathe.'"

He said he tried to reassure Kevin by saying "you will be out soon - there are people climbing over the front".

'No pulse'

Mr Turner helped carry the teenager off the terraces at about 15:15 BST and laid him on the pitch.

His mouth was "full of vomit" and he was "discoloured".

The officer said he could not find a pulse in Kevin's neck or wrist and his pupils did not respond.

Ninety-six Liverpool fans died after arriving to watch an FA Cup semi-final match at Hillsborough

He told the inquests a doctor also checked pulse and pupils but said the teenager had "gone" and "we should leave him".

Brenda Campbell, representing Kevin's family, asked Mr Turner if he considered putting Kevin into the recovery position.

Mr Turner responded: "If we had found a pulse or seen any reaction in his pupils, then yes, I would have cleared the vomit and put him in the recovery position.

"Having checked him and found nothing - and also been confirmed by a man who said he was a doctor - there seemed little point."

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The jury also heard about efforts to save Christopher Traynor.

PC David McEwan gave him mouth to mouth resuscitation, while PC Kevin Landers did chest compressions but Christopher showed no signs of life.

An advertising hoarding used as a makeshift stretcher broke on the way up the pitch and Christopher was placed on to the ground, the hearing was told.

Their brother John Traynor and sister Theresa Arrowsmith identified their bodies, along with Christopher's widow Liz, at 02:55 BST the following morning.

The inquests into the tragedy of 15 April 1989, sitting in Warrington, Cheshire, are due to resume on Monday.