Hillsborough inquests: Fan 'cradled' brother's body

Pat Thompson went to the match with his two brothers

A man who saw his brother being fatally crushed at Hillsborough cradled his head in his arms after seeing him lying among a pile of casualties, the inquests into the disaster have heard.

Kevin Thompson, who himself blacked out on the terraces, had been at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final with his brothers Pat, who died, and Joe.

After regaining consciousness, he found Pat, knelt down and cradled his head.

Joe Thompson then tried to resuscitate Pat but a medic told him he was dead.

The jury heard Pat Thompson, a 35-year-old British Rail guard from Halewood, Merseyside, was a father of five and that his youngest children - twins Rebecca and Brendan - were only nine months old when he died.

Ninety-six football fans were fatally injured at the match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in Sheffield on 15 April 1989.

The three Thompson brothers entered the ground through the Leppings Lane end turnstiles and headed straight down a tunnel that led to terrace enclosures.

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Kevin Thompson described in a statement how they struggled to move in the crowd.

"It got tighter and tighter," he said. "I saw Pat go blue and struggle with his hands out, but couldn't do anything as I couldn't breathe myself.

It was "hard to stand up", he added, because "people were standing on each other".

"I couldn't do anything and I said to myself I couldn't breathe, so I wouldn't try. I thought about Pat and the kids and gave up breathing."

Mr Thompson said the next thing he remembered was waking up when a police officer hit his face.

The jury saw footage of him walking through pen three at 15:19 BST - 13 minutes after the match was halted - and spotting Pat.

In the statement Mr Thompson said police officers carried his brother to the stadium's gymnasium, which was used as a temporary mortuary.

He continued: "They put him on the floor and left me with him. I was screaming and shouting.

"Joe was there trying to help someone else and when he saw Pat was dead he went up the wall too.

"I just wanted to hold on to Pat because there was nothing I could do."

Joe Thompson recalled how he was standing outside the gymnasium when he heard Kevin shouting at him and saw Pat "laid out".

He tried to give his brother the "kiss of life" but was told by a medic that he was dead.

An unidentified officer gave Gary Collins a heart massage

The inquests also focussed on the final movements of another Liverpool fan, Gary Collins.

A police officer who tried to revive the 22-year-old from Bootle described how a doctor told him "very positively" to carry on with resuscitation on the pitch.

Mr Collins, who worked as a quality controller at a food factory, had also previously been standing in pen three.

Brian Gee, a police constable on duty that afternoon, said he gave Mr Collins mouth-to-mouth resuscitation while another unidentified officer performed heart massage.

After a while a doctor came over, looked into Mr Collins's eyes and told the officers to keep going.

Mr Gee told the jury the doctor was "very positive in saying carry on".

The medic returned later and checked Mr Collins again.

"He gave an assessment and basically said, you know, he's deceased, not those exact words," Mr Gee said.

Two other PCs, Caroline Marsh and Frances Thompson, also tried to revive Mr Collins without success.

Ms Marsh described in her statement how a friend of Mr Collins came over and "thought he was going to be ok".

The friend was "distraught" when they told him it was "too late" and "pleaded" for them to "keep on trying".

The inquests, sitting in Warrington, Cheshire, are due to resume on 28 July.