Defiant teenagers return to Manchester Arena after surviving bombing

Defiant teenagers who survived the suicide bombing at the Manchester Arena have returned to the scene in a bid to 'gain closure'.

The girls, from Newton Aycliffe in County Durham, went back to Manchesterwhere they were caught up in the terror attack following the ArianaGrande performance in May.

Best friends Millie Robson and Laura Anderson have since spoken out about the trip they made to the venue ahead of its weekend opening – describing it as one of the 'toughest' days of their lives.

Writing on Instagram Millie said: "Revisiting Manchester Arena and seeingthe place where my life changed forever is something I couldn’t even thinkabout doing a few months ago.

"Nevertheless, today surrounded by my family and best friend we allowedourselves to gain closure from the difficult visit and truly showed me andLaura how lucky we were that night.

"Life is so precious and shouldn’t be taken for granted. Ever. My heart isstill and forever will be in Manchester.

"For now however, I’m moving on from this heartbreaking chapter of my lifeas a much better person and I'm so excited to see what the future holds."

The 15-year-olds were both injured in the explosion on May 22 when they were hit with shrapnel, metal, glass and bolts.

While Millie was left needing operations for holes in her legs from thewounds, Laura had to have shrapnel surgically removed from her leg, body and shoulder.

When Salman Abedi detonated his rucksack bomb in the Arena's foyer, hekilled 22 people and left 250 injured.