Diane's scene out of hell

In the panic following the horrific IRA mega-bomb blitz of Manchester city centre - causing damage estimated at £300million - High Street store supervisor Diane calmly soothed those injured by flying debris.

A "veteran" of two Manchester bomb attacks, the Tyldesley mother-of-two Diane was one of 200 Marks and Spencer's staff evacuated from the store which bore the brunt of the 1,000lb bomb blast.

The nightmare was brought home to Leigh by Nicky Weir, who is still suffering headaches with the huge shock waves from the explosion.

"It was like a scene out of hell," said Nicky, a supervisor transferred on Monday to Country Larder's Leigh cafe because of the Arndale devastation. DIANE STAFFORD was working her usual Saturday morning shift at Marks & Spencer's - just 50 yards from a maniac's bomb.

Yet, for many City Centre workers, when the warning came it was at first treated as "just another hoax."

The reality came with scenes of destruction reminiscent of the wartime blitz.

Diane, of Rydal Close, Tyldesley, was going about her daily role as a sales floor supervisor at Marks & Spencer on Corporation Street.

Shortly after 10 am staff were warned to leave the building.

She recalled: "Around 200 staff were out of the building within five minutes.

"We couldn't get to our normal emergency meeting point because police and firemen were cordoning-off an area half-way up Cateaton Street.

"We went up a loading area to an underground car park.

"At this stage we thought it was another hoax, but we were told there was a vehicle parked outside Marks & Spencer and police were investigating.

"We were in the underground car park for 15 minutes - just 200 yards from blast.

"We were moved to Victoria Station and when the bomb went off we realised how close we had been to the blast.

"Just before it went off we were in phone contact with police and we were told all we would feel would be a rumbling under foot."

Diane received minor cuts as all hell broke loose and the glass station roof shattered.

As an ex-switchboard operator at M & S, she had in past dealt with hoax calls.

Prepared for emergencies through her fire service training, she acted calmly, helping the store's first-aiders deal with casualties.

And, having experienced an earlier Manchester bombing, she reckoned: "That was nothing compared with this."

She added: "I can only describe the blast as horrendous. I can't explain how it felt. You couldn't tell whether it was the building around you that was caving in. There wasn't time to think.

"I had my own staff to check. We have first aiders and we tended to the public as well.

"We then walked to Boddingtons and were invited into the Strangeways Brewery yard. We could see a pall of black smoke rising from Arndale.

"You can't complain about police or emergency services. They did everything they possibly could, but the public stood around ogling."

She was later taken home by her Salford-based firefighter husband, Alan - who would have been involved in the emergency had he been at work.

This week Diane moved temporarily to work at Marks and Spencer stores in Salford and Wigan. A 57-year-old Leigh man is still being treated for serious facial wounds suffered in the Manchester bombing. John Hogan is described as "comfortable" in Hope Hospital, Salford.

He was due to be transferred to Withington Hospital - the North West centre for plastic surgery.

Mr Hogan received severe injuries after being showered with broken glass.

A hospital spokesman said: "He is still upset by the whole event but is now comfortable." A THRIVING craft business is temporarily in limbo because of the bombing.

Ironically, Glennis Andrews - a Leigh-based partner in Handcrafted Creative Recycling - was in Ireland with her husband Neville when she heard about the blast.

Now she and business partner Fiona Newton are hoping they get the go-ahead to retrieve their van and goods in time for a big craft fair this weekend.

They exhibit at the Royal Exchange where Fiona was manning the stall.

But she had to walk home, leaving the stall at the Royal Exchange and their van on the car park in the no-go area.

"We don't know when we will be able to retrieve our goods and the van, nor what condition things will be in. It is very frustrating," said former schoolteacher Glennis, who set up in business in 1992.

Her near-neighbours Frank and Joyce Wright, of Manchester Road, Leigh, had to cut short their City Centre shopping trip.

They had left Kendal's department store and were heading along Deansgate to shop at Marks and Spencer when they were advised to leave the area.

Local magistrate Frank explained: "We weren't told what was happening but heard a shopkeeper mention something about a bomb.

"We returned to Gartside Street car park and left the area as quickly as possible. It was pretty hectic.

"We were in Chapel Street when the bomb went off. It really rattled the car. In fact, I thought the driver of a big car behind me had bumped in to us." CAFE supervisor Nicky Weir was at work in Leigh on Monday - still feeling the effects of Saturday's blast.

As supervisor at the Country Larder cafe in the wrecked Arndale Centre, she was injured by shards of glass as she sheltered with other evacuees.

Admitting she still suffered headaches Vicky said: "We were evacuated at 10.30am and were sitting on the grass at the top of Victoria Station embankment when the blast went off.

"At first I thought it had come from the station. It was chaos, like a living hell. Nobody knew what to do. It was sheer panic with people rushing around.

"I received a few superficial cuts on my head from showering glass but I didn't need treatment. I thought there would be others who needed medical attention more urgently than I did."

On Monday Nicky was at work, transferred to Country Larder's Leigh branch in Spinning Gate because of the Manchester mayhem. LEIGH Euro MP Terry Wynn slammed the bombers.

Echoing the words of the European Parliament who expressed their anger and disgust at the bombing, he said:

"There is no justification whatsoever for that type of action aimed at innocent men, women and children.

"I am also adamant this bombing must not derail the peace process in Belfast.

"The emergency forces must be congratulated. But for their speedy action instead of 200 injured there could have been 200 dead."

Speaking from Strasbourg, his Greater Manchester West Euro colleague Gary Titley condemned the bombing as "despicable."

Questioning whether such actions would speed a solution to the Anglo-Irish troubles he said:

"It has obviously been done to undermine the peace process. That must not be allowed to happen."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.