Manchester Arena Inquiry: Nell Jones family from Cheshire 'cherished 14 wonderful years with her'

Video of Sir John Saunders paying tribute to Nell Jones

A 14 year old schoolgirl from Cheshire 'didn't have a care in the world' when she was killed in the Manchester Arena bombing.

The Chair of the Public Inquiry into the atrocity, once again struggled with emotion as he summed up the many tributes to Nell Jones, who was well known for her 'fabulous smile'

Sir John Saunders said, "Nell Jones was a 'talented 14-year-old', 'she had everything' and the 'possibilities of life opened up in front of her."

"To lose all that, is a tragedy and is so unfair."

"I can only say to her family and friends and all those who knew her and loved her, I feel for your loss."

Her parents Jayne and Ernie from Holmes Chapel, together with her brothers Sam, Will and Joe, and three cousins were in the inquiry room as tributes for Nell were read out.

Nell was described as a 'happy contented baby' who was surrounded by love as she grew up on the family farm. She had joined Knutsford Young Farmers in 2017.

She loved her brothers and she grew from their 'annoying little sister' to a cherished sibling.

Nell loved books and excelled in her studies but remained 'modest about her abilities'.

Her family cherished the '14 wonderful years they shared together'.

Her teachers recalled a 'charismatic performer' on stage and someone who excelled at maths. She was good at writing stories and poems.

Her best friend Olivia said: "Nell was the best friend you could wish for. She was kind, thoughtful and had a wicked sense of humour."

The inquiry heard Nell attended the concert with her friend even though Nell was not really a fan of Ariana Grande.

But she was excited as her friend had given her a ticket for the gig.

Nell's mother met her outside school to hand over 'concert clothes'. The schoolgirl asked if she could have money for merchandise and her mother handed her £20 and told her to have 'a lovely time'.

The two friends were 'very excited' and took a long time to get ready for the concert, singing along to a CD of Ariana Grande that played loudly during the car journey to Manchester.

The friends had loved the concert and sang and danced from the very first song, the inquiry was told.

After the final song, Nell re-entered the City Room at 10.30pm and began walking towards the corner of the foyer.

The inquiry heard she was just two metres from the bomber when he detonated the device.

At 10.55pm Nell had been covered by a pink jumper by a member of the public. Police officers who tended to her said it was sadly obvious Nell had died.

An initial post mortem examination concluded Nell Jones died of 'multiple injuries'.

Inquiry-commissioned 'blast wave' experts concluded the teenager's injuries were 'unsurvivable.