Policeman 'swore' as Hillsborough dad shouted for help

Trevor Hicks said the last time he saw his daughters was as they headed to the Leppings Lane terrace

The father of two girls who died in the Hillsborough disaster said a police officer swore at him when he raised concerns about the terrace crush.

Trevor Hicks, whose daughters Sarah, 19, and Victoria, 15, died in the tragedy was testifying at the retrial of match commander David Duckenfield.

Preston Crown Court heard he was told to "shut his prattle" when he begged police to deal with the emergency.

Mr Duckenfield, 75, denies the gross negligence manslaughter of 95 fans.

Mr Hicks travelled with his daughters and then-wife Jenni from north London to the Liverpool and Nottingham Forest FA Cup Semi-Final on 15 April 1989.

He last saw his children as they headed down the tunnel to the central pens of the Leppings Lane terrace.

He said: "One of my last clear images of them was them looking over their shoulders with a bit of a grin."

The people who lost their lives in the Hillsborough disaster

Mr Hicks, who was in a side pen, just underneath the police control box, told the court he realised something was happening in the central pens when he saw people being pulled into the stand above and carried over fences.

He said he shouted with others up to a police officer on the platform of the control box.

"We were shouting at him 'Do something, you've got it wrong, you've got to help people'," Mr Hicks said.

"I think we even said people were dying in there, which we didn't know at the time, but we were very concerned because you could see it was very bad in the pens."

The officer gave "a few filthy looks" but did not respond.

Mr Hicks said a second police officer came up the stairs to the control box and he and others shouted again for help.

"Basically he swore at me," he said.

"He told me to 'shut your prattle' which I'll never forget."

The trial continues.