A BALA councillor who was at the tragic Hillsborough game 27 years ago says he hopes the families of the victims can now find peace after an inquest ruled they were unlawfully killed.

Liverpool fan and town councillor John Caradog Williams, who was in the crowd on that terrible day in 1989, says he is haunted to this day by what happened and has been supporting the campaign ‘Justice for the 96’ throughout their fight for justice.

Mr Williams and his son Ian were among the thousands of fans who had travelled to Sheffield to see their team play Nottingham Forest in the semi-final of the FA Cup on 15 April, when 96 fans died in the Leppings Lane stand.

And it was pure chance that Mr Williams’ son was not in the Leppings Lane stand that day – something that still haunts him.

On Tuesday, a landmark inquest found supporters played no role in the disaster after years of suspicion and animosity between the police, national media and football fans.

Jurors found the supporters were unlawfully killed in the Leppings Lane terraces and were not at fault in any way.

Mr Williams said: “My son had a ticket for the Leppings Lane terrace, but since my mate had a spare ticket, he decided to come in with us to the adjacent stand.

“It doesn’t bear thinking about what may have happened if he had gone in with his original ticket, it’s too terrible to contemplate.

“I’m still very bitter about what happened that day. It was all so avoidable, they just needed to put the biggest crowd in the biggest stand. It’s simple.”

See the full story in this week’s Meirionnydd edition of the Cambrian News