Hillsborough campaigner Trevor Hicks hopes his fight for justice would make his daughters proud

A father whose two teenage daughters died in the Hillsborough disaster wept today as he told how he hoped his long fight for justice for those who were killed would make them proud of him.

Trevor Hicks, who lost his daughters Sarah, aged 19 and 15-year-old Victoria in the crush that killed 96 people also spoke about the toll the years of campaigning have taken on him.

Speaking to Christine Talbot from ITV Calendar, Trevor, who now lives in Keighley in West Yorkshire, was asked what Sarah and Vicky would make of their dad as the new inquests into the deaths came to an end.

Mr Hicks is President of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, which has campaigned for justice for the 96 Liverpool fans since the tragedy in April 1989.

He was speaking as a two-year long inquest into the deaths of all the fans concluded that they were unlawfully killed, after the original inquest verdicts of accidental death were overturned following years of battling by the families.

During his interview, Mr Hicks watched CCTV footage of the last moments he saw his two daughters just before the start of the FA CUP semi final game against Nottingham Forest on April 15th 1989.

He described how the whole family, including the girl’s mother Jenny, had travelled up from London full of anticipation for the game.

The family were ardent supporters of the team and the Hicks girls, known as the London Girls, were friendly with other supporters.

The next time Trevor saw his daughters he was battling to save their lives on the pitch after they were crushed by overcrowding in the pen. He had to make the heartbreaking decision to leave elder daughter Sarah being treated on the ground while he went with 15-year-old Vicky in the only ambulance.

Their mother, who had gone to another part of the ground to sit down, could only watch helplessly, unaware her own daughters were dying.

He also talks of how in the aftermath he drank too much and his marriage to Jenny broke down, although they still work together on the Family Support Group, where she is vice-chair.

He later moved to West Yorkshire, where he is a businessman and happily re-married, but Mr Hicks says everyday events, like the impending wedding of his stepdaughter, constantly remind him of what he has lost.

See the full report here from Christine Talbot: